Airlines in the A concourse, which is closest to the new runway, Continental, United, Delta and others have used the runway the most. The two top carriers at the airport, American (1) and Southwest (2) rarely use the new runway because of the extra costs associated with the extra long taxi times.
"It's all based on what provides the best service to each individual user. The commercial jets that fly for American, they also park on that end of the airport, so they tend not to use it," said Brad Rosenthal, an air traffic controller at the Lambert tower.
The runway was built to reduce congestion and weather-related delays. But in the last six months, the most expensive construction project in St. Louis history has mostly been used as a marketing tool. Lambert officials are banking on the hope that it will help lure new carriers and restore flights lost in late 2003, when American Airlines cut its St. Louis schedule by half.
Rosenthal said use of the new runway should pick up this winter. Snowy weather often reduces visibility. It's in those conditions that one of the two older runways sometimes closes.
Even so, closing one runway doesn't have the impact that it did in 2001, when its number of boardings made Lambert the 11th-busiest airport in the country, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. These days, Lambert ranks 31st.
So was the $1.1 billion worth it? The airline has lost a significant amount of their flights. They have lost so many passengers.
STLtoday.com
Comment Preview