AAG's late August/early Sept schedule has recently been finalized -- more or less -- with a couple of things of note.

Most interesting is that it appears some new flight/route will be added to the schedule -- at least one new one I should say. There is an EMJ flight departing about 10:30am that doesn't have an inbound flight to feed it; there is also an inbound flight at ~4:30pm that doesn't have an outbound turn so I'm predicting there will be a new EMJ arriving ~9:45am from somewhere, and a return departing SAN ~5:15pm. I have a long list of options of cities that could be added but I'm curious to see what others think?

I will mention that perhaps this could be the long-awaited PAE flight, if those schedules are going to be released anytime soon. I don't know if PAE service is on time or if it has been delayed. Anyone have any information?

Other reveals on the schedule are that the SAN-BWI r/t is being re-timed to a morning departure out of SDIA -- instead of the red-eye timing that it currently enjoys -- and the 737 will turn in BWI and return to SAN ~8:45pm! Beautiful and perfect times now; AS should pick up a lot of new corporate travelers headed to DC!

Also, the 3 routes that see frequency increases this summer, and that in the past usually lose those extra frequencies, are keeping them at least thru October: FAT (triple-daily), PDX (4x daily) and SJC (also 4/day) will maybe keep the extra flights permanently? (The Nov 4 schedules will be finalized sometime later in the summer.)

Finally, if anyone is interested in flying AAG 'Buses, the new sked has a bunch of SAN flights converted to AirBi: SFO will of course remain all-'Bus, SEA will see 4+ 'Buses on the route, PDX will have 1 r/t opd with a 'Bus and all of our Cabo flights -- 12/week -- will be flown with AirBi. We will be seeing ~13 daily 'Bus departures on AS! (And 4 of them will RON here.) I assume most of the flights will op with 320s but there could be some 319s and even an occasional 321 in the mix. Most of them will prolly still be wearing their old clothes as the repainting of the xVirgin fleet is being eliminated for the peak summer period and few have already been to the paint shop! (There's a thread about that.)

bb

SANFan wrote:

AAG's late August/early Sept schedule has recently been finalized -- more or less -- with a couple of things of note.

Also, the 3 routes that see frequency increases this summer, and that in the past usually lose those extra frequencies, are keeping them at least thru October: FAT (triple-daily), PDX (4x daily) and SJC (also 4/day) will maybe keep the extra flights permanently? (The Nov 4 schedules will be finalized sometime later in the summer.)
bb

I’m surprised to see that AS doesn’t time their HNL/OGG flights to line up with connections better. I’m guessing there is more than enough O&D to sustain them, but I would think there would be a fair amount of connecting traffic from STS/BOI/OMA/FAT/ABQ/MRY if flights lined up? At least SJD and MCO are timed well...

flyfresno wrote:

I’m surprised to see that AS doesn’t time their HNL/OGG flights to line up with connections better. I’m guessing there is more than enough O&D to sustain them, but I would think there would be a fair amount of connecting traffic from STS/BOI/OMA/FAT/ABQ/MRY if flights lined up? At least SJD and MCO are timed well...

I agree. I decided years ago that AS either can't or doesn't want to make SAN a real connecting point. Maybe they are happy to base their growth here only on O&D. Which apparently, btw, is working pretty well!

AS generally has one HI departure later than the rest -- at about 10-11am. They change the destination occasionally; maybe AS is seeing how that works for connecting opportunities. The majority of the r/t between SAN and HI leave here about 7am, and they return late at night, around 11pm. (Again, there is one arrival that is usually sked earlier than the rest.) If AS wanted to use flights to HI for connections, they would have afternoon departures from SAN and red-eye returns but I would expect they would also keep the schedules they have now; in other words, I would hope they would essentially double the service to the Islands. (Just as they do from PDX and SEA.) That doesn't seem to be in the cards for AAG but it does sound exactly what I've heard WN has in mind for SAN.

I was a bit disappointed to see the LIH and KOA flights have been reduced in frequency after the peak summer season. I was hoping they would keep those 2 routes at daily service especially with WN knocking on the door here. Since AS is in the markets, why not establish as much service as possible BEFORE WN comes to town?

bb

AS is starting SAN-GEG service on Oct 1; it will be a daily EMJ with the following schedule:

#3462 DLY Begins 10/1
Dep SAN 5:40pm
Arr GEG 8:25pm

#3416 DLY Begins 10/2
Dep GEG 7:10am
Arr SAN 9:55am

One interesting item of note: there has been no announcement of this new route by the airline! Maybe there are more new routes that nobody has stumbled across yet? I'm not sure what is going on at AS these days. I'll be anxious to see if there will be an announcement of this route at some point in the future.

GEG has been served a few times before, by AS as well as WN & XE . AS left the market in April 2008, shortly before XE shut down their operation for good. WN served the market last year for 5 months but did not return this summer (or winter.) They can’t seem to make up their minds whether to be in the market or not. Last I saw, they recently added a Sunday-only flight for the month of September 2018… You tell me, are they in the market or not?

Anyway, I think the AAG EMJ is a much better suited airplane for the market than WN’s 737. The AS flight should stick around this time around. It's nice to get a new route from AS after we've lost 2 routes, MEX and MMH, in the last couple of months. This add gets AS up to 29 destinations from SAN!

bb

SANFan wrote:

AS is starting SAN-GEG service on Oct 1; it will be a daily EMJ with the following schedule:

#3462 DLY Begins 10/1
Dep SAN 5:40pm
Arr GEG 8:25pm

#3416 DLY Begins 10/2
Dep GEG 7:10am
Arr SAN 9:55am

One interesting item of note: there has been no announcement of this new route by the airline! Maybe there are more new routes that nobody has stumbled across yet? I'm not sure what is going on at AS these days. I'll be anxious to see if there will be an announcement of this route at some point in the future.

GEG has been served a few times before, by AS as well as WN & XE . AS left the market in April 2008, shortly before XE shut down their operation for good. WN served the market last year for 5 months but did not return this summer (or winter.) They can’t seem to make up their minds whether to be in the market or not. Last I saw, they recently added a Sunday-only flight for the month of September 2018… You tell me, are they in the market or not?

Anyway, I think the AAG EMJ is a much better suited airplane for the market than WN’s 737. The AS flight should stick around this time around. It's nice to get a new route from AS after we've lost 2 routes, MEX and MMH, in the last couple of months. This add gets AS up to 29 destinations from SAN!

bb

Seeing that PAE start date is being pushed back to probably sometime in early 2019 due to the FAA review. It could be idle aircraft time relocated to GEG instead.

Flyguy

wnflyguy wrote:

SANFan wrote:

Seeing that PAE start date is being pushed back to probably sometime in early 2019 due to the FAA review. It could be idle aircraft time relocated to GEG instead.

Flyguy

I suspected that PAE or GEG was coming -- to fill a gap in SAN's 8/26 turn sked -- and I remembered the rumor about PAE being delayed. (Has the delay been confirmed? Source? I have seen no discussion of this important development -- no thread on the topic.)

Assuming the PAE story is true, then AS should now have a bunch of EMJs available! (They were expected to be ultimately planning for 13 daily flights to PAE!) I have a list of other destinations that could be run from SAN with EMJs if AS would like any suggestions! I hope to see additional routes announced!

bb

SANFan wrote:

I suspected that PAE or GEG was coming -- to fill a gap in SAN's 8/26 turn sked -- and I remembered the rumor about PAE being delayed. (Has the delay been confirmed? Source? I have seen no discussion of this important development -- no thread on the topic.)

It's confirmed that there are supplemental environmental impact assessments happening but the amount of delay that'll create is unknown so far. The terminal developer seems pretty confident operations will start in January.

Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/fall-start-of-commercial-flights-from-paine-field-likely-to-slip-due-to-new-faa-review/

Thank you Amador. That's the first link I've seen concerning the issues at PAE.

This has got to be a pain for the cx; do they redeploy the a/c they were earmarking for the PAE service or let them sit idle on the chance that things go smoothly and quickly and they will need the planes for PAE after all? AS alone had 13 flights planned to 8 destinations so there must have been at least 5 EMJs set aside for the full schedule.

bb

About 2 weeks ago, in Reply #265 in this thread, I reported all the new routes for SAN in 2018 as of that date. The total at that time was 11 announced.

I'm happy to update that number: as of today, make that 17 new routes so far to start this year! We've added a whole slew of F9 routes: PIT, IND, MKE, RDU & CLE; plus, now, GEG on AS! Unfortunately, we may have lost a F9 route or 2 but who knows for sure? COS, OKC & TUL may be back next year, or not. I sure don't know but apparently F9 doesn't either.

On the horizon (notice the lower case 'h'), are about 4 new HI routes, service to PAE by at least one carrier hopefully, and I just don't think AS is done yet! All of these possibilities may be announced in 2018 or maybe not until 2019. And of course you never know what Mr. Hampton Brown might come up with out of the blue! I'm sure he's working very hard on any number of new int'l carriers/routes for our new FIS facilities opening in about 2 weeks!

As long as our pax counts thru SAN keep seeing double-digit growth rates, I would expect to see the number of added flights/routes keep growing!

Anybody heard about anything else I've missed?

bb

Just noticed on the AS SAN info page (link: https://www.alaskaair.com/content/airpo ... ernational ) the following notice:

Beginning June 30, 2018: International flights will arrive at Gates 48-51 in Terminal 2W. Please allow plenty of time for connecting to domestic flights, which operate out of Terminal 1W. Learn more

This is the first confirmation I've seen that the move date is finalized, and in fact, will be happening in less than 2 weeks - a week from this Saturday!

I'm surprised that SAN.org apparently has not yet started issuing pressers about this big deal yet. I'd have expected to see them spreading the word by now of this big happening at SDIA.

bb

This is pretty exciting. It'll be nice for AS passengers when they won't have to change terminals once AS moves into their T2E space next year. I assume the airport will have a big media day on the date of the opening. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a new international announcement too? Hopefully the new FIS and the expanded staffing hours help with Copa and anyone else who might have been on the fence about flying to SAN.

I wonder if BA will adjust their schedule now that the gates are all swing gates. Wasn't there a rumor that they wanted to move their departure to earlier in the day?

amadorE175 wrote:

This is pretty exciting. It'll be nice for AS passengers when they won't have to change terminals once AS moves into their T2E space next year. I assume the airport will have a big media day on the date of the opening. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a new international announcement too? Hopefully the new FIS and the expanded staffing hours help with Copa and anyone else who might have been on the fence about flying to SAN.

According to recent SDCRAA board meetings, there will be 4 buses purchased to use to shuttle int'l pax from the new FIS to T1 and I believe, even to T2E. It's nice that the airport is planning on making transferring as easy as possible.

What I'm hoping is that someone will produce a virtual tour of the new facilities, from disembarking the arriving aircraft, through to the exit from the FIS into the general public space! Maybe the airport will create something along those lines.

Yes, it sure would be great if some sort of new int'l service announcement could be made in conjunction with the opening of the FIS on or about the 30th!

amadorE175 wrote:

I wonder if BA will adjust their schedule now that the gates are all swing gates. Wasn't there a rumor that they wanted to move their departure to earlier in the day?

That possibility has been suggested. Apparently BA has sought earlier times for their turn in SAN for a while. (Along with the rumor that year-round 747 service could happen!) The new FIS set-up should be able to accommodate such changes. Perhaps the new W18/19 BA schedules will reflect some changes. If that's too soon, then how about next summer?!

bb

What I'm hoping is that someone will produce a virtual tour of the new facilities, from disembarking the arriving aircraft, through to the exit from the FIS into the general public space! Maybe the airport will create something along those lines.

That would be great. I will likely never fly out of SAN on a international flight so I'm curios about the improvement and experience. Back in the day, I used the old FIS facility in T1E, near gate 1 & 2 (there was no 1a at the time). There were no jet bridges and I had to wait on the tarmac for a min to get into the immigration area. It was extremely cramped. It was a big improvement to move it over to where it is now and allowed BA to serve SAN nonstop from 2001-2003. The facility did its job and now time to ring in the new.

Yes, it sure would be great if some sort of new int'l service announcement could be made in conjunction with the opening of the FIS on or about the 30th! actually

I was thinking the same thing thing actually. Keeping my fingers crossed for Philippines or Korean. I hear the Chinese carriers require an ammendent to the aviation agreement between US/China. EU carriers are off the table from what I deduced as the incentive program for Europe is not being offered to LH can get off to a succesfull start.

amadorE175 wrote:

I wonder if BA will adjust their schedule now that the gates are all swing gates. Wasn't there a rumor that they wanted to move their departure to earlier in the day?

That possibility has been suggested. Apparently BA has sought earlier times for their turn in SAN for a while. (Along with the rumor that year-round 747 service could happen!) The new FIS set-up should be able to accommodate such changes. Perhaps the new W18/19 BA schedules will reflect some changes. If that's too soon, then how about next summer?!

bb[/quote]

I just received my SAN Newsletter (June edition, the first of 2018) and it includes this notification:

The Airport Development Plan (ADP) is the next phase of master-planning intended to identify improvements that will enable the airport to meet regional travel demand through 2035 and beyond. The centerpiece of the plan is the replacement of Terminal 1 with a larger, more modern terminal. The Draft Environmental Impact Report for the ADP is scheduled to be released on June 29, 2018, followed by a 45-day public comment period.

We all know the T1 replacement (et al) is going to take a long time to get built and opened but this is a start! I hope this document should reveal some of the early plans for T1 and will show the overall design of the project. I know that once I see some of the renderings giving us a good idea about some of the details, the whole thing will finally seem like a reality! Such things as the exact number of gates and the general layout of everything will be exciting to (hopefully) see.

With WN apparently getting more gates in T1 later this year, supposedly taking their total number -- by my count -- to 15, I'm wondering how many gates they are hoping to get in the New T1 The same? More? There have been preliminary statements of the total # of gates to be built in the T1 replacement but this (draft) EIR should confirm the most recent expectations of the airport planners.

So this EIR comes out on June 29 and the new FIS facilities open June 30! Looks like next week will be a pretty important one for our dynamic and exciting airport!

bb

The int'l air carrier I was thinking that is a possibility is COPA.remember just a few months ago COPA was interested in starting service here but couldn't due to that flack with the customs officers that would have to be paid overtime? It could be that COPA starts service here after the new FIS gates open. BTW, according to Hampton Brown, LH is pleased with the loads between SAN-FRA.

I hope BA gets their earlier schedule change once the new FIS gates open up! I would enjoy seeing the Queen of the skies here year-round! The 777s are "meh", but I guess I can't complain. I am hoping we can get a peek of what the inside of the new FIS terminal looks like.

SANMAN66 wrote:

The int'l air carrier I was thinking that is a possibility is COPA.remember just a few months ago COPA was interested in starting service here but couldn't due to that flack with the customs officers that would have to be paid overtime? It could be that COPA starts service here after the new FIS gates open. BTW, according to Hampton Brown, LH is pleased with the loads between SAN-FRA.

As presented at the March SDCRAA board meeting, apparently COPA was deep in negotiations with SAN but they hit a brick wall. I don't know how close it was to happening but hopefully it was near enough to approval that the change in CBP staffing compensation at SDIA will move the negotiations along to a quick finalization. AFAIK, Latin America remains the main goal of SAN's Route Planning department (and Mr. Brown!)

On a separate topic, the May pax traffic report is just out and the growth rate slipped just a touch, barely falling below the double-digit rate for the first time this year. It was 'only' 9.6%! Y-T-D growth rate now stands at just over 12% and int'l pax grew at over 17%! (Some of that I'm sure is due to our German friends.)

Things keep looking great at SDIA this year!

bb

Regarding the future of SAN, is there any likely possibility of a replacement or makeover (aside from the new redeveloping terminal)? Everything seems to point to just keeping SAN as it is. Would relocating all the parking elsewhere provide with more room for expansion? I figure the problem is terminal space more than it is runway availability (1), however there are still airports with far more aircraft movements with just a runway, right? (can't find the # of mvmts though).

Also I'm impressed by the amount of mainline on SAN-LAX recently (in general fascinated with mainline on very short routes); DL717s (they had 738s too) and UA 739s, dang!

There is a ribbon-cutting ceremony today for the new FIS gates/terminal (according to the local news), the FIS gates will officially open on Saturday.

SANMAN66 wrote:

There is a ribbon-cutting ceremony today for the new FIS gates/terminal (according to the local news), the FIS gates will officially open on Saturday.

Thanks for that report, L-Man. I've been looking and watching for any sign of publicity on the event -- as of last night, not a peep on SAN.org!

Sounds like everyone got the job done on the construction of the new FIS facilities -- a pretty major project done in record time (about 15 months.) It'll certainly be interesting to see if we get more int'l cx and routes as a result. Oil prices have apparently leveled off so hopefully the economics of new intercontinental flying remain positive.

On a different topic, I just went over the latest WN sked release (effective Jan 7, 2019) and SAN took a hit of sorts; the main cut was SAN-TPA, which is apparently now relegated to seasonal service. The daily (and permanent?!) routé started on Jan 8, 2018 and a year later, it's seasonal! I have no idea when (or if) it will return so it joins IND, MKE (and who knows about GEG?) as our part-time routes.

We also lost 5 frequencies on 4 other routes so our daily departure count to start off next year will be 108 flights. Not terrible. And rumors continue that Hawaii will prolly be announced sometime! (And SAN will be involved at some level!)

bb

If people didn't get a chance to see, there are some photos on the airport Flickr website:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/sandiegointernationalairport/albums/72157697950529524

And some additional interior shots of the other corridors and escalators on the local news (in video):

http://www.cbs8.com/story/38532319/new-international-arrivals-facility-to-open-at-san-diego-international-airport

And here's the PR that SAN finally released on the topic the other day: http://www.san.org/News/Article-Detail/ ... l-Airport-

The airport folks did not fact check everything; they list NK as using the new int'l facilities but that should read "SY" -- Spirit hasn't offered service to Mexico since last year while Sun Country will be arriving at the new FIS tomorrow (and every Fri and Sun thru ~ mid-August.)

The new state-of-the-art facilities sound and look fantastic and should make int'l arrivals at SDIA not only quick but pleasurable but a totally different experience than the old facilities!

Congratulations to SDIA on a job well done! Now Hampton can really start working on filling the new facilities with lots and lots of new airlines and routes!

bb

So I've flown out of San Diego about 5 times in the last month, and all those times I've seen a southwest plane parking at T1 East, does anyone know if this is now the permanent new gate for southwest

itripreport wrote:

So I've flown out of San Diego about 5 times in the last month, and all those times I've seen a southwest plane parking at T1 East, does anyone know if this is now the permanent new gate for southwest

Did you mean T2 East? Southwest has been in the T1 East rotunda for a long time. If you saw WN at T2 it was probably for their Mexico arrivals. They would be at T2E for the FIS facilities.

amadorE175 wrote:

itripreport wrote:

So I've flown out of San Diego about 5 times in the last month, and all those times I've seen a southwest plane parking at T1 East, does anyone know if this is now the permanent new gate for southwest

Did you mean T2 East? Southwest has been in the T1 East rotunda for a long time. If you saw WN at T2 it was probably for their Mexico arrivals. They would be at T2E for the FIS facilities.

And WN is now showing up at T1West as well; so far, they share gate 11 with AS. Rumors say that WN will gradually be getting up to 4 gates in T1W later this year.

But yes, Amador' is right on. WN has a daily Cabo arrival and a 2x weekly (weekend) arrival from PVR, both of which will of course now be using the new FIS at T2W along with everyone else!

So itrip', you should not be seeing WN anymore at T2E, just T1 and T2W-West. (However, there will prolly be more and more AS a/c showing up at and using T2E as the summer progresses, depending on how much and what kind of remodeling they will do there. Remember, gates 20-22 are now empty!)

bb

They are finally beginning the task of replacing Terminal 1..
http://san.org/Portals/0/Documents/Envi ... _2018a.pdf

The airport just released its draft EIR for a $3B effort to redevelop and address the limitations of the 50+ year old terminal. The plan calls for opening 22 gates in 2023 with eight more added three years later.

The centerpiece of what will be the next phase of Lindbergh Field’s redevelopment is the remaking of Terminal 1, which would eventually grow from its existing 19 gates to 30.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/bus ... t06a-10la1

Tugg

Hi Guys,

Can anyone tell me why T2E is getting bulldozed? I know it is old, but it seems to me like it provides more gates than the alternative to remove it. Plus in all honesty, I think pier configurations are more interesting that long "pier less" terminals like the newly proposed T1.

spoonman1 wrote:

Hi Guys,

Can anyone tell me why T2E is getting bulldozed? I know it is old, but it seems to me like it provides more gates than the alternative to remove it. Plus in all honesty, I think pier configurations are more interesting that long "pier less" terminals like the newly proposed T1.

Yeah, it's old and is a mix of original structures and additions. It'll likely be near the end of its useful and economic life once construction starts. Replacing it would also provide for a more consistent experience across all airport facilities. The T2W stinger concourse will make up for the gates lost in the T2E demolition.

Apart from the building itself, there are airfield-related reasons to getting rid of the T2E pier. It would eliminate two alleyways and clean up aircraft traffic.

Here's a little bit of info from some SAN spotters on FB, the "Lindy hop" is now a thing of the past. Apparently the antenna array next to the runway is now gone which was the main obstacle. The heavies are now taxiing all the way down for takeoff, no more crossing the runway!

Removing T2E actually reduces the number of gates possible by 6. I'm no expert, but spending money to reduce the number of gates doesn't seem like a great idea, especially for an airport whose long term future in it's location is uncertain. However, I could understand that desire to free up more taxiway space assuming that is the goal of removing T2E.

I wonder how long it will be before the A220s (aka C-series) begin showing up at SAN?

spoonman1 wrote:

Removing T2E actually reduces the number of gates possible by 6. I'm no expert, but spending money to reduce the number of gates doesn't seem like a great idea.

I'm thinking that those 6 gates will be included in the new T-1 terminal instead of T-2. The report said the new T-1 would have 30 gates instead of the 19 that it currently has.

Anyone have new insight into any of the following items....

1) New international service under consideration?
2) Thoughts on terminal construction projects and future of SAN
3) Any news/updates/new service related to the CBX/Cross Border Terminal?
4) Any known happenings at CLD related to scheduled service, etc?

Trying to get some dialogue going here...

spoonman1 wrote:

Trying to get some dialogue going here...

I have been wondering where everyone is too? I had posted earlier that the widebodies are no longer doing the "Lindy hops" before takeoff (which should be big news). I was looking at another thread that reported that Air China was dropping their SJC-PVG route. I was hoping they would simply shift that flight down to SAN instead. I don't know how the Chinese govt. works, but that was my thinking. From what I've seen from the new T-1 plans it looks good so far. T-1 should have been replaced yesterday!

SANMAN66 wrote:

Here's a little bit of info from some SAN spotters on FB, the "Lindy hop" is now a thing of the past. Apparently the antenna array next to the runway is now gone which was the main obstacle. The heavies are now taxiing all the way down for takeoff, no more crossing the runway!

Cool! Last time I flew from SAN about 2 years ago I was on a 767-400 and I was curious if we'd do the lindy hop but we just went the norma route. At the time I figured we were the largest plane allowed to do that... any idea on what the previous rules were?

Kno wrote:

Cool! Last time I flew from SAN about 2 years ago I was on a 767-400 and I was curious if we'd do the lindy hop but we just went the norma route.

767s are able to use the normal taxi route. Back in the day, I rode on DC-10s and L-10-11s that were able to use the normal taxi route. Also, whenever a 747 visited back in the day, it "Lindy hopped" twice before takeoff.

What the Lindy Hop?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

ibthebigd wrote:

What the Lindy Hop?

The "Lindy hop" is when the widebodies have to cross the runway and taxi on the other side for takeoff. The widebodies couldn't taxi on the same taxiway as the other planes because there was an antenna array too close to the taxiway, and the larger planes would have been unable to clear it with their wings. From what I've heard, the antenna has been removed and the larger planes no longer have to cross the runway.

Quickly wondering if anyone has any photos of the new swing gates in action or the larger aircraft not having to do the Lindy Hop. I haven't been able to make it down to the airport to check it out yet.

According to a post on FlyerTalk, the Hawaiian SAN-OGG flight goes back to A321neo on August 16: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30039884-post19.html

In related San Diego news. Aerodynamics Inc. will re-brand as California Pacific on Sept.1. CPAir will take over all EAS flying from Aerodynamics Inc. They are also hiring pilots. CPAir will reveal the first flights out of CLD in the next week or so, with the first flights from CLD targeted for November. Technically CPAir is already flying!

There is a current thread going about COPA's next destination and SAN kept popping up quite frequently. That's encouraging news!

SANMAN66 wrote:

There is a current thread going about COPA's next destination and SAN kept popping up quite frequently. That's encouraging news!

Yes. (Of course some of those posts about SAN & COPA on that thread were by me! I reported on recent indications that SAN and the carrier were in serious negotiations perhaps as recently as earlier this year or in 2017.)

There were quotes in that thread that a new US destination could still be announced in 2018 or certainly in 2019 -- as new aircraft join COPA's fleet. Maybe the next announcement by COPA will include SAN!

Speaking of int'l flights, I'm assuming everything at the new FIS facilities is working well. I've still not seen any pictures or videos about what things look like or how they work.

Also, there have been lots of airline relocations with all the int'l flags already relocated at ticket counters in T2W; we still have the second round of relos to occur early next year involving T1W.

bb

Took a trip though SAN. Spirit has some departures out of the old FIS 20-22 gates but there are lots of barriers in the gate area. I'm assuming the barriers are for the the modifications we've previously discussed. As scheduled, 46 and 47 are closed off for swing gate modification. I took some shots around 48 and 49. The swing gates works via glass corridors linked to new escalators and elevators that take arriving passengers over the concourse. They then descend to ground level via escalators/elevators visible from the concourse holdrooms. My schedule didn't line up with the arrivals so I didn't see people actually traverse the new arrangement. The NRT flight arrived late so JL and LH were at 48 and 51 simultaneously. The postage stamp has come a long way!

Wasn't in a widebody but did the Lindyhop today to cut to the front of the takeoff queue. It's probably the fastest I've ever taxied to the runway at SAN.

amadorE175 wrote:

Took a trip though SAN. Spirit has some departures out of the old FIS 20-22 gates but there are lots of barriers in the gate area. I'm assuming the barriers are for the the modifications we've previously discussed. As scheduled, 46 and 47 are closed off for swing gate modification. I took some shots around 48 and 49. The swing gates works via glass corridors linked to new escalators and elevators that take arriving passengers over the concourse. They then descend to ground level via escalators/elevators visible from the concourse holdrooms. My schedule didn't line up with the arrivals so I didn't see people actually traverse the new arrangement. The NRT flight arrived late so JL and LH were at 48 and 51 simultaneously. The postage stamp has come a long way!

Wasn't in a widebody but did the Lindyhop today to cut to the front of the takeoff queue. It's probably the fastest I've ever taxied to the runway at SAN.

Thanks for the update. Its been rather quiet on this thread so hopefully we can get some more chatter going. I hope am hoping amadorE175 you were able to get some shots of the LH and JL birds parked near each other. If so, there are a few SAN spotting FB sites you can upload them to.

Speaking of SAN spotting FB sites, the SAN FB page had a posting recently on the just opened FIS facility. Someone commented that it would be great if there was service to the Philipines. The response from the airport was the following "We're doing all we can to bring service to/from the Philippines, Hector! Stay tuned! Has there been any other buzz or chatter on this or other new potential overseas flights?

amadorE175 wrote:

Took a trip though SAN. Spirit has some departures out of the old FIS 20-22 gates but there are lots of barriers in the gate area. I'm assuming the barriers are for the the modifications we've previously discussed. As scheduled, 46 and 47 are closed off for swing gate modification. I took some shots around 48 and 49. The swing gates works via glass corridors linked to new escalators and elevators that take arriving passengers over the concourse. They then descend to ground level via escalators/elevators visible from the concourse holdrooms. My schedule didn't line up with the arrivals so I didn't see people actually traverse the new arrangement. The NRT flight arrived late so JL and LH were at 48 and 51 simultaneously. The postage stamp has come a long way!

Wasn't in a widebody but did the Lindyhop today to cut to the front of the takeoff queue. It's probably the fastest I've ever taxied to the runway at SAN.

PLEASE post those pix amador’! Pretty please! Several of us have been hoping for some sort of representation of how the new FIS gates/overhead concourse look and work. So far, nothing has shown up anywhere that I’m aware of. It would be very much appreciated if you could share your photos with us when you get a chance.

Interesting story about the Lindy Hop still around once in a while for different reasons than previously.

Samfam1000 wrote:

Its been rather quiet on this thread so hopefully we can get some more chatter going.

Good luck!

Samfam1000 wrote:

Someone commented that it would be great if there was service to the Philipines. The response from the airport was the following "We're doing all we can to bring service to/from the Philippines, Hector! Stay tuned!

SAN-MNL service has been discussed for years, service was actually approved by the DOT in 2007, and there has been more recent chatter in the last several months regarding SAN. I have seen nor heard anything concrete lately but it could certainly happen at some point...

Samfam1000 wrote:

Has there been any other buzz or chatter on this or other new potential overseas flights?

Nothing serious that I’m aware of, other than, of course, COPA and PTY, discussed up-thread.

bb

SANFan wrote:

Nothing serious that I’m aware of, other than, of course, COPA and PTY, discussed up-thread.bb

AF to CDG must be in the works. Looking forward to the couple of flights they are bringing in later this fall. Also, KE to SEL would be a nice addition.
PAL to MNL? I guess San Diego is just not prestigious to them. Besides, they seem to have a "let 'em drive to L.A." mentality.

I wonder why SAN is so weak to CUN. We must be the largest metro area in North America to have no flights there. Even with the CBX, there is only one weekend non-stop flight between TIJ and CUN. Seems to me WN would be in that market (from SAN) along with re-establishing MEX.

Finally, I noticed FX is now serving TIJ with a 757. The odd thing is that the flights often stops in ICT on the outbound from MEM. Now there is an odd route...ICT-TIJ!

Coronado990 wrote:

AF to CDG must be in the works. Looking forward to the couple of flights they are bringing in later this fall. Also, KE to SEL would be a nice addition.
PAL to MNL? I guess San Diego is just not prestigious to them. Besides, they seem to have a "let 'em drive to L.A." mentality.

I wonder why SAN is so weak to CUN. We must be the largest metro area in North America to have no flights there. Even with the CBX, there is only one weekend non-stop flight between TIJ and CUN. Seems to me WN would be in that market (from SAN) along with re-establishing MEX.

Hey Bonanza-Guy (aka D), great to hear from you!

Oh sure, there are lots of routes and cx that Hampton and his team are pursuing for SAN. There's way too little leakage from them so It's really impossible to know any specifics.

I wonder if there's a bit of additional motivation to sign up some new int'l flags for new SAN-service because in early 2017 there was an urgency before the SDCRAA board to get the new FIS facilities opened a.s.a.p. (as in "yesterday") primarily due to impending new cx seeking to start service here. The new facilities were approved, designed, built and opened in a bit over a year and for a project of that magnitude (over $225M) to be completed that quickly, there had to be extra cost involved. (And of course the project actually continues with the 2 additional gates (#s 46 & 47) now being converted to swing gates and connected to the FIS complex.)

That's a lot of money for the airport to spend to have 6 gates capable of int'l arrivals up and running by summer of 2019. I'm sure this would not all be happening if there weren't strong belief that it's all very much needed -- and soon! (Read: cx are waiting to some to SAN with exciting new routes?)

And we need to remember that it's more than just lots more gates capable of FIS handling; the new facilities are far superior to the old ones in every way. New facilities were definitely needed and it's wonderful that we have them. The question of urgency, however, seemed to be due to more cx interested in serving SAN.

My personal belief is that we will (hopefully) have a third European int'l flag with a world-class hub -- such as AMS or PAR -- by Summer of 2020, we will get our connection to Latin America sooner rather than later (read: PTY?), and another Asian carrier in the next couple of years as well. That may not be all, but I expect those are the core of new service being worked on very deliberately as we speak.

bb

This is out of pure speculation. I was thinking possibly the reason Norwegian hasn't shown up is that maybe BA is keeping them out? BA dominates SAN, but BA threw in the towel at OAK because Norwegian dominates OAK? Just speculating. It will be interesting to see. BA's "Queen of the skies" use the same taxiway as all the other planes for takeoff instead of the infamous "Lindy hop"

I don’t have any photos, but I flew out of T2 in early July and can share what I saw.

Gates 48-49 and 50-51 are the pairs for the glass enclosures. Each has an escalator and elevator that take arriving passengers to the 3rd floor. There’s a new skybridge that crosses over the concourse between gates 48 & 49. A new downward escalator goes from the 3rd floor to the 2nd floor and connects to the original escalator that previously was the exit to “Delta’s” former baggage claim area across from gate 49. That former exit is now walled off with glass. If you happen to be around Gate 49 when an international flight arrives, you could see those passengers descending toward the FIS.

On a sort of related note, the western facing windows at Gate 51 have been fogged in. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought when the Green Build opened those windows were transparent and you could see Gate 51’s extra long jetbridge and the aircraft. You essentially can no longer see Gate 51’s jetbridge or aircraft from the waiting area any more