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South Terminal Redevelopment Program Update
The South Terminal Redevelopment Program hit a major milestone in December, as work began on the airport hotel and the Public Transit Center, which encompasses at-terminal stations for the commuter railroad and public buses. This month, the Mortenson, Hunt, Saunders tri-venture started drilling the caissons for initial hotel foundations on the project's east side. The foundations for construction cranes, called tower cranes (due to arrive soon), will also be built, as well as the train platform foundations. Observers at the terminal's south window will notice a tower crane drilling caissons and workers installing temporary fencing around the site.
This milestone comes after months of excavation work by contractor Kiewit. Over the last year, over one million cubic yards of dirt, enough to fill the entire Sports Authority Field at Mile High twice, has been removed..
Work is proceeding on reconstructing the Level 5 ground transportation bridges (or elevated roadways) on both the east and west sides of the terminal. Reconstruction is underway on the Terminal West drop-off and pick-up roadway bridges south of the terminal. This month, crews began to form and pour the columns and caps that will support the bridge decks and structures. Additional site work includes boring a 66-foot tunnel to hold storm sewer pipes.
- Download FlySmart™, the mobile phone app that provides real-time flight data, plus airport concessions information and airport maps. Track all your flights and keep tabs on itinerary changes, such as delayed flights or gate reassignments. Follow this link: http://www.ionosplatform.com/mobile
- How does construction affect parking? Parking is not affected, but watch for the correct lane when you approach Terminal West parking. Garage parking spaces are usually more plentiful during holidays than those in economy or shuttle lots.
- Have passenger screening requirements changed? No, but always consult the TSA Web site before your flight for the most up-to-date information.
- Can I bring presents through passenger screening? Yes, but do not wrap them. Wrapped presents may be unwrapped and inspected by TSA. Remember, space is limited in aircraft carry-on compartments.
FasTracks' East Rail Line Update
Along with progress on the South Terminal Redevelopment Program, travelers along Peña Boulevard also can see significant changes along the new East Rail Line. The Regional Transportation District East Rail Line from downtown Denver has grown into full construction along the Peña Boulevard corridor. The structures for 11 bridges are rising between Interstate 70 and the terminal roadway crossover south of Jeppesen Terminal and the hotel/train station construction site. Additional bridges at 40th Avenue, Green Valley Ranch Boulevard, and Tower Road, which were not part of the originally approved project, will provide fully grade-separated travel for both the RTD commuter train and motorists headed to and from Denver International Airport.
Grading on the full alignment is underway, and the pathway for the tracks can be traced by observing dirt being moved and formed into new track embankments parallel to Peña Boulevard between I-70 and just east of E-470. East of E-470, the train will soar over the boulevard on a 1,950-foot bridge to carry the tracks over to the north side, between 78th Avenue and Runway 7/25.
At the terminal roadway crossover, RTD is building an underpass directly below the "X," completing the south side first (Terminal West inbound traffic will move over to the left onto the new structure when it's ready) and then excavating the other half of the underpass.
To track progress on RTD construction and its impacts, click http://www.rtd-fastracks.com/ec_26.
Mexican Carrier Volaris Launches Service between DIA and Mexico City
Denver International Airport welcomed Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock and his delegation as they arrived on Volaris' inaugural inbound flight from Mexico City on December 8. The inaugural flight marks the start of Volaris' nonstop service between DIA and Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City.
As the Volaris Airbus A319 taxied to its arrival gate, the Denver Fire Department created a water arch over the plane, giving passengers aboard a special welcome.
Mayor Hancock, Andrés Chao, Mexico's consul general in Denver, Aviation Manager Kim Day, and Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranena spoke at a reception in Jeppesen Terminal to celebrate Volaris' inaugural flight.
"With Volaris' new service, Denver is even more connected to Mexico City, giving travelers the benefit of low-cost, nonstop service, and both cities will benefit from increased tourism and trade opportunities," Mayor Hancock said. He indicated the city was committed to building an even stronger relationship with Mexico.
"We would like to welcome the addition of Volaris to Denver International Airport's growing family of foreign flagship carriers," said Aviation Manager Day.
The airport initiated conversations with Volaris in 2009 after the carrier announced its partnership with Southwest Airlines. Mexico City was ranked as Denver's second-largest international market without year-round service, behind San José, Costa Rica. Volaris will operate the flight twice weekly, scheduled to arrive at gates A33 or A35 in Denver at 1:56 p.m. and depart to Mexico City at 3:25 p.m.
"Our main priority is to improve connectivity between areas of great potential, to benefit cultural and social exchange, as well as promote economic growth in the regions," said Enrique Beltranena, Volaris CEO.
The Volaris ticket counter is located on the west side of Jeppesen Terminal near door 602. Additional information about Volaris is available on the airline's Web site: www.volaris.mx.
DIA Collaborates to Develop New Navigation Procedures
Denver International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration, and Jeppesen (a unit of Boeing Flight Services) teamed to develop new navigation procedures to expedite the flow of aircraft arriving at DIA.
The procedures are based on what the FAA calls RNAV RNP (more about this later). Basically, these procedures will increase runway throughput, make approaches smoother, reduce noise and greenhouse gas emissions, and save fuel with shorter descents into the airport.
The procedures are part of an FAA initiative called Performance-Based Navigation (PBN)—the foundation of the FAA's NextGen modernization program, which will alleviate much of today's delays on the ground and in the air.
PBN is framework for defining performance requirements for specific navigation practices and can be applied to an air traffic route, instrument procedure, or defined airspace. RNAV (area navigation) is a component of PBN and differs from traditional navigation, where aircraft navigate from beacon to beacon or are given a course or compass heading by air traffic control, by enabling an aircraft to fly on any desired flight path within the coverage of ground- or spaced-based navigation aids or within the capability of aircraft self-contained navigation systems. RNAV reduces conversations between pilots and air traffic controllers and produces more efficient routes, which reduce flying miles.
RNP (an acronym for required navigation performance) is RNAV with the addition of an onboard performance monitoring and alerting capability. Under RNP operations, the aircraft must have the ability to monitor its navigation performance and inform the crew if a requirement is not met during a flight operation. This onboard monitoring and alerting capability enhances a pilot's situation awareness. For example, a pilot would be able to reduce the amount of clearance over an obstacle or fly with closer route spacing without intervention by air traffic control.
RNAV and RNP also make it easier for the air traffic system to handle and recover from weather and other problems, which today can cause massive, system-wide disruptions.
"Denver International Airport is one of the least delayed, most efficient airports in the national Airspace System, and these evolutionary flight procedures enable us to meet increased demand in the future, while minimizing aviation's environmental impacts," said Kim Day, DIA's aviation manager.
The new RNAV-RNP arrival procedures were fully implemented December 3. From initiation to completion, the project was completed in less than 24 months.
Santa Fe
Few places in the United States are distinct enough in look and culture to stand outside the homogenized world of chain discount stores, chain restaurants, big-box retailers, and the ubiquitous fast-food franchises that no urban community seems to do without.
Yes, you can find these establishments on the outskirts of Santa Fe, but venture into the town center, with remnants of Spanish heritage mingled with native Pueblo Indian culture and artwork, and you leave the ordinary.
Getting to Santa Fe quickly and easily is possible now that Great Lakes Airlines is resuming its nonstop daily flights between Denver and New Mexico's capital city.
It is a journey worth taking. New Mexico calls itself the "Land of Enchantment," and I can think of no better description for Santa Fe. Part of the enchantment comes from the intertwining of cultures. In addition to Spanish and American Indian culture, you can also throw into the mix the West, with all its history and way of life, plus the Anglos who established an artist's colony in Santa Fe.
My memories of the city begin with an April morning. A spring storm, having arrived the night before, had dropped a couple of inches of snow and frosted the town. But the snow did not freeze on the streets and sidewalks, so a stroll through central Santa Fe and its old plaza was delightful; not cold and miserable.
During the walk, the smell of piñon drifted through the plaza and the surrounding streets. This sweet, unmistakable redolence came from piñon logs burning in household kiva fireplaces throughout the town.
On one side of the plaza was the Palace of the Governors, an adobe and wood structure that the Spanish built in the early 1600s. Under its portico, American Indian vendors—all artists and artisans—offered jewelry and other handcrafted wares to catch the eye of tourists. Opposite, across the park-like plaza, was a Woolworth's store, situated among shops, eateries, and art galleries on San Francisco Street—on the plaza's south side. The plaza's east and west sides proffered more retail and food choices for those inclined to shop or search for sustenance.
Santa Fe's enchantment is partly visceral, perhaps spiritual on some level. I know how the city makes me feel when I visit there, and it is different than other places. It starts with its location—the Southwest, with its arid climate, its sage, arroyos, mountains, canyons, and slickrock. I respond to the landscape's sparseness, its harsh temperament and minimalist beauty, which artist Georgia O'Keefe captured so well. Santa Fe, if not the epitome of the urban Southwest, is close enough.
The Sangre de Cristo Mountains look down on the city and its adobe dwellings. Some people may see the adobe neighborhoods as nothing more than a community of undistinguished mud houses.
But, most of the houses are no longer true adobe; they are made with contemporary building materials and follow the adobe style (known as the Santa Fe style). This architecture can be captivating—especially the interior spaces, most of which retain the traditional simplicity of tiled or wood floors; exposed viga beams that support the roof; latillas (long thin tree branches stripped of bark) placed side by side between the vigas to form a ceiling; insets or nooks in the walls for religious icons or artwork; decorative tile in the kitchen and bathrooms; and a rounded fireplace in a corner—a kiva fireplace (named after ceremonial circular pits found in Indian cliff dwellings). Walking among adobe residences, you may sense that you are going back in time, entering an unfamiliar world, but modernity never entirely disappears.
Then, there is the wonderment of American Indian culture. Santa Fe is a city of artists—and the preponderance of art comes from Native American talents, many of whom live in Pueblo, Jemez, Acoma, and other Indian nations. You can see their artwork in media both familiar and unexpected. Some of the museums that you can visit are:
Georgia O'Keefe Museum
Museum of International Folk Art
New Mexico Museum of Art
Museum of Spanish Colonial Art
Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian
Museum of Contemporary Native Arts
Museum of Indian Arts and Culture
Classic and modern Indian pottery is displayed in museums and galleries, as well as in retail shops. Some art enthusiasts collect the work of specific pottery masters, returning to Santa Fe frequently to add to their collection, sometimes able to meet the artist. Handmade jewelry, especially turquoise and silver pieces, and other items crafted by hand are easily found.
Inseparable from the amalgam that is Santa Fe are Spanish heritage and culture. From haciendas, missions, and the Fiesta de Santa Fe, to the Contemporary Spanish Market, tamale dinners on New Year's Eve, and luminarias and farolitos at Christmas, Santa Fe honors its past and continues the traditions of its ancestors and Latino residents.
Art and culture are not the only diversions to be found in Santa Fe, however. Skiing is nearby. Hiking, fishing, and river rafting and numerous other outdoor pursuits can be part of the Santa Fe experience.
I have not even mentioned the city's food—which could be an essay topic in itself.
Travelers at Denver International Airport Receives Free Global Calling Service
Travelers at Denver International Airport now have the ability to make domestic and international phone calls free of charge. The free, ad-supported calling service, called RMT Free Phone, is accessible at more than 200 landline phones located throughout Jeppesen Terminal and all three concourses. The airport's advertising concessionaire, Clear Channel Airports, partnered with RMES Communications to launch this world-class customer amenity in November. Denver International Airport is the first airport in the world to offer free global calling, and its more than 50 million passengers a year now have access to unlimited local and national calls free of any charges. In addition, all international calls will be free for the first 10 minutes; calls lasting longer than 10 minutes will be charged at the rate of 25 cents per minute and 15-percent tax.
"This is another example of how Denver International Airport continuously looks for ways to enhance the customer experience and provide world-class service," said Chief Commercial Officer John Ackerman. "This new service offers travelers the ability to call most areas of the world for free, connecting customers with loved ones and business partners around the globe."
To support this free telecommunication service, the telephones have LCD screens, which are used for 15-second digital advertising.
Aeromexico Returns to DEN with Daily Service
¡Bienvenidos a Aeromexico! Latin America's global airline —Aeromexico—will offer daily nonstop service between Denver International Airport and Mexico City International Airport Dec. 14, 2012 through Jan. 7, 2013. Beginning Jan. 8, 2013, the carrier's nonstop service between Denver and Mexico City will be reduced to four days a week through April 2013.
Aeromexico's flight from Denver to Mexico City joins flights offered by Frontier, United, and Volaris—carriers with existing service from Denver International Airport to various locations in Mexico, including Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Cozumel, Mazatlan, and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo.
DEN Conversations
Denver International Airport has started a series of video-recorded discussions about airport-related topics called DEN Conversations. The first program in the series, "Imagine a New Airport," captures a lively dialogue among some of the people who were instrumental in getting DIA approved, designed, and built. The participants were former U.S. Transportation Secretary Federico Peña and former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb, plus Stephanie Foote, a former Denver City Council member, Tom Gougeon, an aide to Peña when he was mayor, and Steve Kaplan, who was the city attorney. They discuss the birth of DIA, telling behind-the-scenes stories that are compelling and sometimes humorous.
The second DEN Conversations program, called "Tent Roof Weight Transfer," is a conversation among the South Terminal Redevelopment Program managers and a structural engineer about the current hotel, plaza, and train station projects and the temporary transfer of the terminal roof load from original cable installations, which were in the way of construction, to weight-bearing towers. Follow this link to YouTube to see the discussions:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNcsd-14t8KvRYsJyOiHRpVEvr1yhMDbm
If you have any suggestions for DEN Conversation topics, please e-mail them to:
Marketing@flydenver.com.
Winter HoliDIA 2012
As you travel through Denver International Airport this holiday season, take a minute to listen to some of Denver's best emerging musicians. In conjunction with Arts and Venues Denver and the Denver Theatre District, DIA is proud to feature four live performance areas showcasing a variety of musical genres. From Rubedo, which aims to be the first band to have a residency at DIA during the holidays, to young jazz stars Joshua Trinidad and Armando Lopez, multiple acts will perform daily throughout the airport from December 17 to 24, and December 26 to 30. Colorado is increasingly known for folk music, and rising acts Poet's Row and Glowing House represent this genre, providing cheery ambiance as travelers arrive and depart from DIA.
Name: "Winter HoliDIA 2012"
What: Live musical performances
Dates: December 17-24 and 26-30
Times: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Locations: Jeppesen Terminal atrium and before security screening checkpoint entrances (North, South, and before the bridge to A Gates)
Producer: Denver International Airport, Arts & Venues Denver, and Denver Theatre District
Air Service News
Frontier Adds Cleveland and Extends Service to Jackson Hole
Frontier recently announced new service to Cleveland, Ohio (CLE), with daily flights four times a week beginning Jan. 9, 2013. The airline also said it will expand its existing annual summer seasonal nonstop service between Denver and Jackson Hole, Wyo. (JAC), with the addition of winter season flying beginning Feb. 13, 2013. Frontier will operate two weekly flights to Jackson Hole through April 7, 2013, then its summer season service will resume May 2013.
Spirit Heading to Detroit
Beginning Feb. 14, 2013, Spirit Airlines will be operating new service to Detroit (DTW). Initially the carrier will fly between Denver and Detroit five days a week. On March 1, 2013, Spirit will expand the service and fly daily.
Contributors
Kevin Andrews – Photographer
Laura Coale – Writer
Kevin Flynn – Writer
Amy Ford – Writer
Douglas Howard – Design
Steve Klodt – Chief Editor
Mikhail Vafeades – Writer
City & County of Denver Department of Aviation
8500 Peña Boulevard | Denver, Colorado U.S.A. | 80249-6340
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