HIGHFILL — Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport officials hope its new $21 million concourse will provide a more pleasant experience for travelers and lead to more airline choices.
Gary Anderson, an executive with J.B. Hunt, is a frequent business flyer looking forward to the changes at the expanded airport. Anderson said he wants better food, more comfortable waiting areas and a more travelerfriendly facility.
“You’ve got so many of those airlines that are on top of each other, and there’s no seating when you have multiple flights at heavy times. And if you have any kind of delays at all, that just compounds the whole issue,” Anderson said. “The food situation is definitely an issue, then being more user-friendly, especially if you’re going to be a business traveler airport as opposed to a vacation destination.”
The 54,000-square-foot concourse opens to travelers Sept. 1.
“Number one, you’re struck by the size of it,” said Scott Van Laningham, executive director and CEO at the airport. “It’s going to allow us to spread out, and I think it will make for a much more pleasant experience for our passengers.”
The concourse isn’t likely to have an immediate impact on fares but could open the door to negotiations with new, low-cost carriers in the future, Van Laningham said. Before the concourse expansion, there were no more places to park airplanes to accommodate another airline.
“I don’t think it will have any effect whatsoever on the fares,” said Frances Mayo, owner of Around the World Travel in Springdale. “I think the main benefits to the new concourse are that it’s going to make it much morecomfortable for travelers and being able to close that long concourse they’ve got going now. And, maybe it’ll attract a new carrier.”
Mike Malone, executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Council, said adding eight gates will be significant.
“Longer term, having the additional gates, I think, gives the airport the opportunity to have some conversations with low-cost carriers they just couldn’t even start discussions with until they had dedicated gates,” Malone said.
Mayo said Northwest Arkansas airfares are a product of the region’s business success.
“I think a lot of it is based on the percentage of corporate travelers we have, which is due to your large companies: Walmart, George’s, Tyson’s,” Mayo said. “And, because a lot of it is corporate travel, they’re able to keep their fares higher because those guys have got to come and they pay whatever they have to pay. And, the unfortunate thing is your leisure travelers pay the price.”
The Paradies Shops, which specializes in airport amenities, took over food service and concessions at the airport in June. The company will open a sit-down restaurant and lounge in the new concourse and beef up the menu at the sandwich shop.There will also be a new gift shop offering regional souvenirs and convenience items and newsstands. All the new amenities are beyond the security checkpoint.
Paradies will also continue to operate the coffee and smoothie bar just inside the terminal entrance, before the security checkpoint.
John Cugasi, senior vice president for planning and development for Paradies, said the restaurant and pub will focus on local foods and cooking styles. The menu is being developed by a chef.
The concourse was designed with an eye toward sense of place to project a regional identity to visitors.
“Top-notch,” said Malone. “The airport for many, many visitors is their first experience in Northwest Arkansas and/or their last glimpse of our area so to have such a high-quality, beautiful facility, it’s going to really make and leave a great impression with our visitors.”
The decor uses blues, copper and earth tones, and textures to remind visitors of the area’s rivers, lakes and rugged natural beauty, Van Laningham said. There’s an area that’s going to be a parklike setting with special seating and lighting and rocking chairs.
But, there’s also a sleek, modern atmosphere created by the use of flowing metal panels and arched ceilings. All the natural light adds an airy openness that was missing from the old concourse, said Kelly Johnson, airport director.
“It’s more of an elegant feeling,” Johnson said.
For the first time, large displays and flat-screen video panels will focus on the historical and cultural development that grew from the area’s natural beauty.
“This is our first foray into the attempt at establishing a sense of place,” Van Laningham said. “We have nothing in the building that says welcome to Northwest Arkansas, home of Beaver Lake, the University of Arkansas, world-class companies like Walmart, Tyson, J.B. Hunt.”
The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale,the Museum of Native American Artifacts in Bentonville and the University of Arkansas Special Collections will have the initial historical displays, Van Laningham said. The idea is to rotate displays among various communities and organizations about every six months.
Other amenities in the new concourse will include four sets of workstations, lots of places to plug in electronic devices, family restrooms, a high-quality sound system, free Wi-Fi and the state’s first moving walkway.
The new concourse is set to open just before the Labor Day weekend. American Eagle and Delta, which generate about 68 percent of the airport’s traffic, will be in the new area on day one, Johnson said. Other airlines are expected to move to the new concourse in coming months, but Allegiant has said they’ll stay put and continue to use the old facilities.
Officials expect 80 percent to 90 percent of the airport’s passenger traffic will go through the new concourse within a year.
Officials also want to see access to the airport improved. A new access road is planned when construction is done on a segment of U.S. 412 from Interstate 540 to Arkansas 112.
“That’s important," Malone said. “The airport is a visitor’s first glimpse of the region and we’re giving them a real high-quality, beautiful look at Northwest Arkansas, but the route in also needs to look a little better so that their first impression of the place is a good one.”
News, Pages 11 on 08/24/2011