HIGHFILL — Virtually everything inside Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport is better than it was a year ago.
The airport’s new $21 million concourse opened in September, and the modern look and open feeling is so striking that it leaves some travelers and flight crews confused.
“I was taping the people who came off the first plane, and the crew would say things like, ‘Oh honey, they have sent us to the wrong airport,’” said Barb Busick, the airport’s construction project manager.
Prior to the opening of the new concourse, the majority of passengers flying into Northwest Arkansas weregreeted by an unheated concrete bunker decorated with a handful of banners.
Some flights still use the B terminal, but by year end, airport officials estimate 90 percent of passengers will fly out of the new A terminal.
It’s estimated that nearly 70 percent of the airport’s customers are traveling on business, and much of the new concourse design was done with that in mind.
There are several work stations where fliers can work on laptop computers and free wireless Internet.
There’s a sit-down restaurant, American Smokewood Grill, and more food options, two newsstands, a sizable gift shop and more restrooms.
In the center of the new terminal, passengers can relax on rocking chairs and couches.
Minneapolis-based Architectural Alliance International handled much of the design of the new concourse, which included transforming the former three-gate upstairs terminal into a lobby.
Eric Peterson, who is a native of Greenbrier, was the lead architect.
“The airport wanted to upgrade in more ways than just having better stores, meaning they wanted it to represent the region,” said Peterson, whose firm is currently part of the 2020 Vision Plan at Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport/ Adams Field in Little Rock. “To help that idea further, we created a heart or ‘town square’ in the center, to giveit a sense of place.”
SPACE AND SERVICES
The airport now has two CNBC newsstands, said Jill Nidiffer of Atlanta, director of marketing and communications for The Paradies Shops, the airport’s concessionaire.
There is a large CNBC store in the lobby, which is upstairs, immediately after security, and a smaller one is inside the new concourse.
Previously, there was a single small newsstand.
“CNBC is a national icon, and we selected them because of the heavy number of business travelers, and we knew customers would really identify with it,” Nidiffer explained. “[When planning concessions,] we look at demographics and try to marrya brand with customers, so that when they enter the airport, they see something they identify with, that they want to go in, and hopefully make a purchase.”
Planning for the new concourse began nearly a decade ago, and before it was built, the airport made several smaller improvements.
They included building a second baggage carousel, expanded ticket counter and administrative office spaces, and a better security process.
The No. 1 thing that passengers told airport administrators they wanted from a new terminal was space.
“This doubled the square footage, the public-use space of the building, but that includes all the ticket counters,” said the airport’s executive director, Scott Van Laningham. “If you think of where everybody waited after they cleared security, this is probably 10 times the space.”
TRAVELER FOCUSED
After gauging public opinion, airport administrators took their recommendations to the airport’sboard of directors.
In choosing seating for the new terminal’s lounge area, they got the board to OK more expensive and comfortable selections, Van Laningham said.
“I’ve talked to a number of people who have flown in and out of there, and they can’t believe what we have there now,” said Art Morris of Siloam Springs, chairman of the board. “We have so much more to offer travelers that some are coming early, now that they have space. ... I’ve been to some concourses built in the last couple years, and Ithink this one rivals any of them.”
The airport chose a wide array of seating.
The 12 rocking chairs, for example, have fabric that is made of recycled seat belts.
Spending more on furniture may actually lead to savings down the road, though, Peterson said
“Some directors are reticent to install higher-quality seating, because traditionally airport seating has been abused, but what we’ve found is that when you install that type of furniture, people tend to take care of it,” Peterson said. “They appreciate it.”
After clearing security, passengers enter the lobby.
On the left, down an escalator, is the old B terminal and to the right is the new A terminal.
A moving walkway greets visitors at the entrance, and along one wall is an exhibit area for local organizations.
Currently, the exhibit includes material from the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, theMuseum of Native American History in Bentonville and the University of Arkansas’ Special Collections in Fayetteville.
The displays, which Van Laningham said will rotate, are one of the local touches that was important to airport administrators.
The terrazzo floor has a pattern that is a swirl of blues, teals and whites, representing the water of the region, while the waves on part of the ceiling add to the calming effect.
“An airport’s not Disneyland - it can’t be all things to all people - but there was an attempt to take certain areas of it and emphasize different aspects [of the region],” Peterson said. “From a business standpoint, XNA has some of the most sophisticated travelers in the world. There’s a standard level that people come to expect at first-classfacilities. Part of it is having beautiful floors and proper accommodations.”
RUNWAY REPAIRS
The interior improvements are being followed bywork outside the airport.
The runway has deteriorated much faster than expected, and repairs to it are expected to cost between $30 million and $40 million.
A $10 million federal grant was secured in August to help pay for part of its construction, and Van Laningham said he is optimistic that future grants can pay for the remainder.
Service is not expected to be disrupted during the rebuilding of the 8,800-foot runway, as the airport’s alternate landing surface will be able to handle arrivals and departures.
The top layer of the runway, 15 inches of Portland cement, will have to be replaced, as will its concrete base, drainage system and electrical system.
The runway was expected to last about 25 years.
Airports that used the same Federal Aviation Administration-approved concrete mix also have found it deteriorated.
“I give the FAA a lot of credit,” Van Laningham said. “They have stood with us in this whole thing from the get-go. We’re not alone - Detroit, Colorado Springs - it’s a national problem with cement.”
Meanwhile, the airport achieved a long-standing goal in March when U.S. Airways announced it would offer flights between Northwest Arkansas and Washington, D.C.
The nation’s capital was one of the most-frequent destinations from the airport before service there ended in 2008.
Airport administrators also would like to restore daily service to Los Angeles, and with it easier connections to Asia for the business people who are the driving force behind Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.
“We’re just tickled to death, because that is probably the most-requested destination that we had and then lost,” Van Laningham said of the D.C. flight. “With all the government affairs and the university folks, we hope it’s going to be a good addition. But we’ve got to use it or lose it.”
Front Section, Pages 1 on 05/27/2012