question about HJ Airport before Airtran (Atlanta, Dallas: rental car, rental, mover)

[rlrl]

Curious, as a flier of Airtran Airlines from NY to Atl occasionally, I read that Airtran began in 1997 which was a merger from Valujet which operated from 1992-1996. Valujet in turn acquired planes and staff from Eastern Airlines which went out of business in 1991

does this mean that the current Airtran gate concourses at HJ were previously Valujet before 1997 and prior to 1992, before Valujet, were the gates for Eastern Airlines? (I know i am asking to look back at least 20 years)

[flyonpa]

Cool link i found ; Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport in 1980

[rlrl]

just that since I am from NY, i don't recognize the 1980 HJ configuration since i didn't start visiting until 2000. love the pics tho!!

[testa50]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

Cool link i found ; Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport in 1980

Awesome site.

The 1980 Atlanta terminal to me is an amazing feat of planning and design. I still marvel at it every time I fly out of Atlanta and end up in a poorly-designed airport that can't handle its crowds, has multiple secured areas, requires long walks and shuttle rides to get to different areas, etc.

I don't think I've ever seen a more functional airport than Atlanta's. The main issue as I see with it is international arrivals, which is getting fixed.


Many cities are still dealing with basically a modernized and expanded version of our 1961 terminal.

[flyonpa]

Most airport were made for point to point (pre-dereg), Not to connect at (And what connection were limited), When airlines went to Hub/Spoke the ARM type term's made for long distances to get from one arm arm to next. Current HJ, Denver, Dallas, were made for people to connect at not for O&D traffic. Being local to Atlanta now, it make for longer walks to get from curb to gate, But when I would connect thru ATL it was/is gate 50% of the time my gate is in same concourse, rest of the time its a quick people mover ride (with out having to go thru secuirty) to next concourse. For us locals the international term is going to be a pain, depending on how they set up the access to the Current HJ landside term. To get to marta, rental cars, off-airport parking etc, you will still need to re-clear security at International and take the peoplemover to the current HJ to access all of those services.

[rlrl]

LaGuardia fits your description of the bad airport!!

[lorilove]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

Most airport were made for point to point (pre-dereg), Not to connect at (And what connection were limited), When airlines went to Hub/Spoke the ARM type term's made for long distances to get from one arm arm to next. Current HJ, Denver, Dallas, were made for people to connect at not for O&D traffic. Being local to Atlanta now, it make for longer walks to get from curb to gate, But when I would connect thru ATL it was/is gate 50% of the time my gate is in same concourse, rest of the time its a quick people mover ride (with out having to go thru secuirty) to next concourse. For us locals the international term is going to be a pain, depending on how they set up the access to the Current HJ landside term. To get to marta, rental cars, off-airport parking etc, you will still need to re-clear security at International and take the peoplemover to the current HJ to access all of those services.

Re-entering security will defeat many of the goals of why the new terminal is being built. I do know there will be a Ground Transportation so I will assume off-site parking won't be an issue. The ATL Skytrain was planned after the terminal so hopefully that was taken into consideration although it may not be phase I. Worse case scenario I suspect they will have shuttles from one terminal to the other which I have seen at other airports.

Actually, when I think this through. You won't be allowed to re-enter security. A used boarding pass will never get you through.

[Newsboy]

Hard to believe today, but when the Midfield (present) terminal opened in 1980 Delta and Eastern were pretty much neck-and-neck in traffic / passenger volume, Atlanta being the largest hubs for both. The original gate assignments gave Delta all of Concourse A, Eastern all of Concourse C and B was split evenly between the two. In fact, Eastern even had its own "secret" transportation tunnel (foot traffic only) that led from its end of Councourse B to its main gates on C to speed transferring passengers along. It has since been closed off.

Concourse D was reserved for all other domestic airlines -- of which there were far far more of at that time! What's known today as Councourse T was the original international terminal.

Any questions?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by flyonpa

Cool link i found ; Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport in 1980

Excellent link, flyonpa. Thank you!

[lorilove]

I remember when Eastern had offices off of Akers Mill Road in Cobb County.