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At Memphis International Airport, 2000 reckons to be a big year, not just for the airport and Northwest Airlines Inc., but for passengers as well.
The crystal ball looks hazy in terms of lower airfares here, but this year will see the completion of several projects that will enhance customer service, lead to more flights being offered and possibly wedge the door open for more direct international service from Memphis.
Northwest Airlines alone is spending $51.5 million in facility enhancements, which include improvements to ticket counter and gate areas.
And that's just part of the $450 million in improvements to take place at the airport over the next seven years, according to airport officials.
Next month, Northwest expects to complete the improvements to its ticket counter area. With new state-of-the-art technology, ticket check-in times should be reduced to 30 to 45 seconds from two to three minutes currently, said Suzanne Boda, Northwest's managing director-customer service, ground operations at Memphis International.
By May, passengers going from concourses B and C won't have to make a second trip through security. That's when the walkway between those two concourses should be complete.
By June 1, 15 new gates should be added to concourse A for regional jet and commuter service operated by Express Airlines I, the Memphis-based Northwest Airlink subsidiary.
By October, the highly anticipated "World Runway" should be in operation. The expanded, 11,000-foot runway will...