Raleigh-Durham International Airport

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Raleigh-Durham International Airport

IATA: RDU – ICAO: KRDU – FAA: RDU
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority
Serves The Research Triangle Metropolitan Region of North Carolina, including Raleigh, Durham, Cary, Chapel Hill and the Research Triangle Park
Elevation AMSL 435 ft / 133 m
Coordinates 35°52′40″N 078°47′15″W / 35.87778, -78.7875
Website www.rdu.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
5L/23R 10,000 3,048 Concrete
5R/23L 7,500 2,286 Asphalt
14/32 3,570 1,088 Asphalt

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (IATA: RDU, ICAO: KRDU, FAA LID: RDU) is located nine miles (14.5 km) northwest of the town of Morrisville in suburban Wake County, North Carolina, midway between the cities of Raleigh and Durham. The airport covers 4,929 acres and operates three runways, providing direct service to more than 45 domestic and international destinations on more than 240 daily flights. Governance and oversight of the airport facilities and operations is shared by the RDU Airport Authority, the counties of Wake and Durham, and the cities of Raleigh and Durham.

Contents

The region's first airport opened in 1929 as Raleigh's municipal airport, located just south of what is now the city's downtown area. However the initial airfield's runways were limited and not well suited to commercial service. Consequently, in 1939 the North Carolina General Assembly chartered the Raleigh-Durham Aeronautical Authority to build and operate a larger, replacement airport convenient to both Raleigh and Durham. This effort also was strongly promoted by Eastern Air Lines, led by then Eastern chairman Eddie Rickenbacker who sought to make Raleigh/Durham a stopover on the airline's New York-Miami route.

The new Raleigh-Durham airport opened for commercial service on May 1, 1943 inuagurated with flights by Eastern Airlines. Following World War II, Capital Airlines and Piedmont Airlines joined Eastern at RDU. Delta Air Lines and Allegheny Airlines began service in the 1970s, and Trans World Airlines and American Airlines began service in the 1980s.

A Southwest Boeing 737 landing at Ralegh-Durham International Airport on runway 23R.
A Southwest Boeing 737 landing at Ralegh-Durham International Airport on runway 23R.

In 1987, RDU doubled in size when American Airlines launched a new east Coast north-south hub using the airport's newly completed Terminal C and served by a new apron and new second runway. The American hub brought the region its first international flights and operated until 1996 when the airline dismantled it.

In the mid 1980s, American Airlines aimed to gain market share in the lucrative Northeast-to-Florida travel market and the U.S. East Coast market generally. The airline had little presence in this market, especially as its primary hubs, Dallas/Fort Worth and Chicago, were too far west to compete with Delta Air Lines (Atlanta), Piedmont Airlines (Charlotte and Baltimore/Washington), and Eastern Air Lines (Atlanta and Miami).[1][2]

Two years after beginning service in April 1985, Raleigh-Durham (RDU) was selected as a new East Coast north-south hub connecting the two markets, the Northeast and Florida, that American was coveting. (Nashville was selected as its east-west counterpart.) On June 15, 1987, just two years after initiating service at RDU, American inaugurated its new hub at the 30-gate Terminal C, which the RDU Airport Authority had sanctioned American to build to suit the airline's own specifications. In 1988, American launched the first scheduled intercontinental flight from RDU, a daily roundtrip to Orly International Airport in Paris operated using a Boeing 767-200ER.

Then, in mid-December 1989, Eastern Air Lines' creditors and AMR Corporation agreed upon the sale of the former's Latin American routes from Miami. Miami subsequently became an American hub in 1989, which undercut the airline's hub at Raleigh-Durham, with most of the new Miami flights serving Northeastern cities directly, bypassing RDU. Miami's larger market size, coupled with its greater share of origin-and-destination (O&D) traffic than RDU, made operations more profitable for American to fly its Florida-Northeast routes non-stop, without the use of its Raleigh-Durham hub. Despite the presence of the Miami hub, however, traffic at RDU continued to grow, peaking in 1992 with 9.9 million passengers.

Nonetheless, American began downsizing its operations at RDU in September of 1993, initiating a three-year period of reductions before shuttering the hub entirely in 1996. Mainline daily departures were reduced to 113 during the period. Service was pared further in May 1994 to 105 daily departures. In January and May of 1994, a total of 284 American employees were laid off at RDU; many more were transferred to Dallas/Forth Worth, Miami and other stations.

Presently, American Boeing 777s fly between Raleigh-Durham and London (Gatwick). At times, the 767-323ER, shown in this picture, is used.
Presently, American Boeing 777s fly between Raleigh-Durham and London (Gatwick). At times, the 767-323ER, shown in this picture, is used.

American discontinued 16 additional daily flights in June 1994, and further pared its mainline daily departures to 70 that August. International service to Paris ceased in September 1994, following the busy summer travel season. However RDU saw a progressive switch from AA to its regional subsidiary American Eagle during the year, and American Eagle flights increased to 112 per day, somewhat offsetting the loss in service, at least temporarily. Ultimately, the regional subsidiary completely pulled out of RDU in January 1995, reducing the hub's daily departures to just 50 per day.

With 45 daily departures remaining, the American Airlines hub at RDU was officially closed on May 1, 1996, one year after the closing of American's Nashville hub and shortly before the airline's termination of its San Jose hub.

Boeing 727s and McDonnell Douglas MD-80s built the backbone of American's RDU operations; Boeing 767s were used for the trans-Atlantic routes, and DC-10s operated on the LGA/BOS-RDU-MCO/MIA trunk routes for some time. Closer to the termination of the hub, American also operated Fokker F100s there.

After an abortive attempt at New York-Chicago service, startup carrier Midway Airlines relocated its headquarters from Chicago to Morrisville, North Carolina in 1993 and set up its base hub of operations at RDU. Midway's arrival at the airport coincided with the departure of the American Airlines hub that same year, and Midway inherited American's former and terminal facilities and gates. At the outset, Midway operated Fokker F100 aircraft that were familiar to American's passenger base.

At the height of its operations, Midway offered almost 200 daily flights from RDU and served 25 destinations along the East Coast. The airline primarily served passengers traveling between cities in the Northeast and Southeast markets. Outside RDU, Midway was particularly dominant at Washington National Airport.

The high-tech slump of 2000-01 negatively impacted Midway, especially given the airline's reliance on corporate origin-and-destination traffic from its high-tech Reaserch Triangle hub location. In 2001, Midway laid off 700 employees, about half of its work force, eliminating service to 9 cities and cutting flights to 18 others. The airline also pared its fleet by 17 aircraft. The carrier abruptly filed for bankruptcy on the evening of August 13, 2001; suddenly laying off thousands of employees and disrupting the travel plans of its ticket holders. [3]

After bankruptcy, Midway liquidated its aircraft fleet except for six regional jets. The airline then ceased operations under its own livery and became a US Airways Express affiliate carrier, focusing on regional flights within North and South Carolina. The company ceased operations completely in 2003 after it was unable to secure the capital to stay afloat in the industry downturn following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

RDU's post-hub years have brought the addition of several new carriers (most notably Southwest Airlines), as well as new destinations and the recovery and steady growth of passenger traffic.

American Airlines launched new daily transatlantic service to London (Gatwick) in May, 1994, using a Boeing 767-200ER. (This flight now uses 777-200, and sometimes 767-300ER, equipment.) Growth on the route continues today, partly due to the needs of the region's corporate travelers, particularly those of GlaxoSmithKline which has major bases of operation in west London and the Research Triangle region. On July 5, 2007, American announced it would upgrade its London flight, beginning March 2008, to serve the larger and more centrally located Heathrow airport. This change will offer the airline and the airport increased connection capabilities, competitive opportunities and potentially greater passenger loads for the successful route.

The airport is currently implementing the most ambitious expansion in its history, begun in 2006 and slated for completion in 2010.

Since September 11, 2001, passenger traffic at RDU has rebounded to near pre-9/11 levels:

  • 1985 = 2.7 Million
  • 1986 = 3.1 Million
  • 1987 = 4.8 Million
  • 1988 = 7.3 Million
  • 1989 = 8.5 Million
  • 1990 = 9.2 Million
  • 1991 = 9.3 Million
  • 1992 = 9.9 Million
  • 1993 = 9.6 Million
  • 1994 = 8.9 Million
  • 1995 = 5.9 Million
  • 1996 = 6.4 Million
  • 1997 = 6.7 Million
  • 1998 = 7.2 Million
  • 1999 = 8.9 Million
  • 2000 = 10.5 Million
  • 2001 = 9.6 Million
  • 2002 = 8.2 Million
  • 2003 = 7.9 Million
  • 2004 = 8.6 Million
  • 2005 = 9.4 Million
  • 2006 = 9.4 Million

Early photo of Raleigh Durham Airport
Early photo of Raleigh Durham Airport
Southwest docked at the upper gates of Terminal A.
Southwest docked at the upper gates of Terminal A.

The first terminal facility at RDU opened in 1955. Expanded in the 1970s, the building was named Terminal B in 1981 when then-new Terminal A opened, and both buildings were connected by a landside interior walkway. Terminal C opened in 1987 to house an American Airlines hub. Connecting passengers reached the new C gates from terminals A and B by an outdoor walkway or via shuttle bus transportation.

Terminal B subsequently lost its identity when it was renovated into an extension of Terminal A, and an airside walkway currently links the original Terminal A gates with the former terminal B gates. Terminal C closed in 2005 for extensive renovations and a significant expansion to triple its size. The terminal is slated for reopening in 2010.

To accommodate the increasing demand from low-cost carriers (most notably Southwest Airlines), the airport added five new gates in 2001 to the south concourse of Terminal A, where Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines recently had relocated their operations.

Then, in December 2003, the Airport Authority announced plans to expand and renovate the originally 300,000-square-foot (28,000 m²) Terminal C, transforming it into a new 900,000 ft² (84,000 m²) facility. Construction began in 2006 and will be complete by 2010. The authority also announced long-term plans to link the airport to the proposed Triangle Transit Authority commuter rail system (on hold as of 2007).

In January 2006, however, the airport authority decided instead to essentially rebuild the entire Terminal C (the terminal remains partially operational during the reconstruction) rather than renovating and expanding the current facility. With the demise of the American and Midway hubs, a graeter number passengers using Terminal C were originating or ending their trips at RDU, rather than merely making a connection there, requiring a complete reconfiguration of the bilding's land-side facilities. The terminal's south concourse is currently under renovation in order that the entire rebuilt facility will be complete by early 2010.

The new terminal, which will be renamed Terminal 2 upon reopening, will have 32 gates, of which three will be configured for international flights. All the gates will feature adjustable jetbridges that will accommodate aircraft from regional jets to Boeing 747s. The federal inspection facility for international flights, currently consisting of four immigration stations, will be increased to 16 immigration stations that should reduce processing times for passengers from the current average wait of 90 minutes or longer to less than 45 minutes. The proposed occupants of the rebuilt terminal are Air Canada, American, Continental, Delta, Midwest, Northwest, United, and US Airways.

To monitor the construction progress of the new Termial 2, check the Construction Photo Page of the RDU website. Terminal C Redevelopment was designed by Fentress Bradburn Architects [4] to invoke the flowing hills and culture of North Carolina's Piedmont region.

Nearing the completion of Terminal 2, the current Terminal A (which also encompasses the former Terminal B gates) will be renamed Terminal 1 and renovated/refurbished for conversion to a facility to house gates for so-called low-cost carriers. The proposed occupants for the new Terminal 1 are AirTran, JetBlue, ExpressJet and Southwest.

RDU's General Aviation Terminal serves as a pilot's resource center, a private-event facility, offices for local aviation-related companies and as a place of embarkation and debarkation for a variety of private and chartered flights (sports, military and leisure). The terminal also houses the Cross-Winds Cafe and one of the airport's two observation decks, that overlooks runway 5R/23L. it should also be noted that the Raleigh-Wake squadron from the North Carolina wing of the Civil Air Patrol uses it for their meetings on tuesdays which last from 6pm-10pm.

A rental car facility is located in the terminal for general-aviation customers, military personnel and charter flight passengers.

In addition to standard hourly and daily parking garages, RDU operates four park-and-ride lots served by shuttle bus: Lot 1 is a "cellphone waiting" lot, while lots 3 and 4 are traditional park-and-ride facilities. Lots 2 and 5 are used primarily for seasonal overflow and holiday traffic.

RDU's North Cargo Terminal
RDU's North Cargo Terminal

The airport incorporates two cargo areas, North Cargo and South Cargo.

  • North Carolina National Guard AH-64: A/D Apache Attack Helicopter Unit
  • USO (United Service Organizations): Located on the second level of Terminal A, North Carolina's first airport-based USO opened for military families in 2004. The facility operates 24 hours every day, staffed entirely by volunteers.

Terminal A opened in 1981 and was expanded to incorporate the former Terminal B gates in the late 1990s.

  • US Airways Club operated by US Airways: Terminal A, near Gate 20
  • Crown Room operated by Delta Air Lines: Terminal A, near Gate 15
  • USO (United Service Organizations): Terminal A, second level; North Carolina's first USO airport facility opened for military families in 2004. The facility operates 24 hours every day, staffed entirely by volunteers.

Terminal C opened in 1987 and currently is undergoing open reconstruction and expansion.

Occasionally flights bound for Terminal A, such as this one from Northwest Airlines, must land on the Terminal C runway (5L-23R) during the airport's peak traffic hours.
Occasionally flights bound for Terminal A, such as this one from Northwest Airlines, must land on the Terminal C runway (5L-23R) during the airport's peak traffic hours.

  • Admirals Club operated by American Airlines Terminal C, near Gate 18 (temporary location during terminal reconstruction)

  • Fixed Base: Landmark Aviation, TAC Air
  • Executive Jet: NetJets

  • Atlas Air for UPS (Louisville)
  • Business Airfreight (New Bern (NC), Edenton (NC))
  • Capital Cargo (Toledo, Fort Lauderdale)
  • DHL/Airborne Express (Wilmington (OH))
  • FedEx Express (Indianapolis, Memphis, Newark)
  • Martinair (UPS) (Jacksonville (NC), New Bern (NC), Wilmington (NC))
  • Ram Air Freight (Asheville (NC), Charleston (WV), Charlotte, Concord (NC), Edenton (NC), Elizabeth City (NC), Greenville (NC), Greenville (SC), New Bern (NC), North Wilkesboro (NC), Richmond, Wilmington (NC))
  • UPS (Columbus (SC), Louisville, Philadelphia)
  • US Check/Air Now (Charlotte)

Public transportation to and from RDU is provided by the Triangle Transit Authority (TTA), which offers scheduled, fixed-route regional and commuter bus service between the airport and the principal cities of Raleigh, Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill (where TTA connects with the respective local urban transit systems), as well as to and from Research Triangle Park and several of the region's larger suburban communities. Amtrak and intercity rail connections are available via TTA service to Raleigh, Durham or Cary.

  • Taxicab service at RDU is currently operated by Dulles Taxi Service. Starting January 1, 2008 the taxi cab service has been awarded to RDU Taxi Inc. This contract runs through December 31, 2012.
  • Shuttle services: As in most regions, numerous hotels throughout the area offer guest shuttles to and from the airport. Service varies by location, however most are available from approximately 6 a.m. daily through the final arrival/departure of the evening.
  • Major rental car providers operating from the airport include Avis, Alamo, Budget, Dollar, Enterprise, Hertz, National, and Thrifty

  • RDU maintains two public observation decks. One deck overlooks runway 5L/23R near the air traffic control tower and park-and-ride lot 2; the second deck is located at the General Aviation Terminal.
  • Prior to September 11, 2001, The RDU Airport Authority and Federal Aviation Administration planned a fourth runway at the airport, but with the demise of the Midway Airlines hub and the airline industry downturn following 9/11 terrorist attacks, this plan was placed on hold.
  • In The Simpsons episode Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming, Sideshow Bob wistfully remembers "the days when aviation was a gentleman's pursuit---back before every Joe Sweatsock could wedge himself behind a lunch tray and jet off to Raleigh-Durham."
  • In June 2007, Midwest Airlines, as Midwest Connect, will be the first airline to return to RDU after closing its station. The airline previously served the airport from 1998 to 2003 with service to Kansas City and Milwaukee, flying as Midwest Express and Midwest Express Connect.

  1. ^ [1]
  2. ^ [2]

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh-Durham_International_Airport"
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