History Albuquerque International Sunport

1 history

1.1 historical airline service
1.2 military facilities , operations
1.3 future developments

history

albuquerque first served 2 private airports. oxnard field opened in 1928, , west mesa airport, known twa airport, opened in 1930. first airlines serve airports transcontinental air transport (tat), western air express (wae), , mid continent air express, finaugurating service in 1929. @ first airlines operated oxnard field (which called albuquerque airport) moved west mesa airport of 1930s decade. tat , wae merged in 1930 form transcontinental , western air (twa). mid continent air express service replaced varney speed lines in 1934. 3 years later varney changed names continental airlines.

in 1935 suggested city build new public airport using works progress administration money. having secured us$520,500 in funding, governor clyde tingley broke ground project on february 28, 1937. albuquerque municipal airport opened in 1939 2 paved runways, pueblo style terminal building designed ernest blumenthal, , massive hangar designed accommodate new boeing 307 operated twa. twa became trans world airlines in 1946. monarch airlines came albuquerque in 1947 merged other carriers become frontier airlines in 1950. airport renamed albuquerque sunport on april 17, 1963.

the april 1957 official airline guide shows 31 weekday departures: 13 on continental airlines, 12 on twa , 6 on frontier airlines. trans-texas airways (later texas international airlines) came albuquerque in 1963 rounding out first 4 carriers serve airport prior airline deregulation act of 1978.

the present terminal designed william e. burk jr. s built east of original terminal, , opened on november 12, 1965. @ first terminal had 8 gates, 4 @ main building , 4 @ small satellite building south connected underground tunnel. none of gates had jetbridges.

the terminal has since been expanded several times, first in 1971 when west wing added large gate , jetbridge able handle new wide-body aircraft. twa used gate introduce lockheed l-1011 albuquerque in 1974 flights chicago. after airline deregulation passed in 1978, flood of new airlines came abq. west wing expanded in 1980 3 more gates, of had jetbridges , used extensively twa , many new carriers. southwest airlines started service on april 3, 1980 using old gates 1 , 2 @ main terminal , installed 3 ground level jetbridges @ these 2 gates.

from 1987 through 1989 terminal expanded , renovated advertising design phillip jacobson , bplw associates. satellite gate building replaced 2 concourses, , b, giving sunport 19 new gates, jetbridges. concourse further expanded in 1996 4 additional gates. new above-ground connector link concourses expanded in 2005 accommodate need additional security screening tsa after september 11 attacks in 2001. airport gained international status , renamed albuquerque international airport on september 27, 1971. name changed albuquerque international sunport in 1994.

the old terminal of 1939 has been restored , houses offices of transportation security administration. added national register of historic places in 1988.

historical airline service

the sunport served alaska, allegiant, american, delta, frontier, jetblue, southwest, , united airlines 1 commuter airline, boutique air. total weekday departures run between 78 , 85 flights per day sunport peaked 163 flights per day in december, 1995 , again in august, 2001. in past albuquerque has been served following commercial airlines:

twa, continental, frontier, texas international, eastern, western, northwest, america west, braniff, pan am, wein air alaska, psa, reno air, western pacific, aeromexico, , airways.

twa grandfather carrier since passenger flights commenced in 1929 albuquerque 1 of many stops on carrier s mainline route between los angeles , new york, tucked in between winslow, arizona , amarillo, texas. twa consistently expanded more flights , larger aircraft including first jets serve abq boeing 707 , convair 880 in 1961. in 1974, twa introduced first wide-body jet abq lockheed 1011. service peaked in 1979 21 daily departures 13 major cities including nonstops los angeles , new york. after airline deregulation in 1980s, twa downsized operation , 1985 offering flights primary hub @ st. louis. service continued until december 2, 2001 when carrier merged american airlines.

continental airlines second major player serving albuquerque since 1934 stop on mainline north-south route between denver , el paso. in 1940 continental added new service several smaller cities in southeastern new mexico service transferred frontier , trans texas airways in 1963. in latter half of 1960s continental expanded boeing 720, boeing 727, , douglas dc-9 jets offering nonstop service chicago, dallas, denver, el paso, lubbock, midland/odessa, san antonio, , san francisco. service peaked in summer of 1977 24 daily departures. continental began downsize operation after airline deregulation , 1994 offering flights houston hub although nonstop flight newark added period in mid-2000s. continental merged united airlines in 2012.

frontier airlines began service albuquerque in 1947 monarch airlines, , provided flights smaller cities throughout 4 corners states. service expanded in 1960s boeing 727 , boeing 737 jets denver, el paso, phoenix, tucson, dallas, , las vegas , in 1973 frontier operated 19 daily flights @ abq. direct flights several resort cities in mexico added in 1980s carrier closed down in 1986. (note: second frontier airlines serves abq denver).

in 1963 trans-texas airways (tta) came albuquerque taking on service smaller cities in new mexico continental had served. later expanded nonstop douglas dc-9 jets dallas , los angeles. tta became texas international airlines in 1969 , flew dc-9 s abq santa fe , roswell, new mexico. carrier peaked in 1975 15 daily departures , merged continental airlines in 1982.

southwest airlines began service sunport in 1980 , expanded creating hub @ abq. carrier took on number 1 spot 1980s , peaked 66 daily departures in october 2001. although southwest has cut since then, far has served 28 cities nonstop abq.

american airlines, delta airlines, , united airlines have had major roles @ airport providing service many of primary hubs since 1980s. @ least 34 commuter , regional airlines have served abq, largest of these far mesa airlines served sunport 1980 through 2007. mesa peaked 46 daily departures in 1990 , served 18 cities nonstop abq points throughout new mexico , colorado. mesa still serves abq regional airline providing feeder service american eagle , united express using regional jets.

other regional airlines serving airport on behalf of majors are; skywest, expressjet, republic, transstates, gojet, compass, envoy, , horizon air. sun country airlines, xtra airways, swift air, , elite airways serve abq regular public charter flights laughlin , wendover, nevada.

military facilities , operations

the sunport began new role in 1940 when designated albuquerque army air base, precursor today s kirtland air force base. airport continues share runways kirtland afb, handles rescue , firefighting operations. air force global strike command (afgsc) installation, host unit 377th air base wing (377 abw). flying units @ kirtland afb consist of 58th special operations wing (58 sow) of air education , training command (aetc) , 150th fighter wing (150 fw), air combat command (acc)-gained unit of new mexico air national guard.

future developments

the airport master plan drafted in 2002 lays out intermediate- , long-term projects @ sunport, including removal of runway 17/35 , construction of second terminal when traffic demands it. runway closure recommendation based on safety, noise abatement, , cost of upkeep. because 17/35 intersected 3 of other runways, ran highest risk of runway incursions. runway closed in summer 2012, , tarmac used taxiing aircraft, , firefighting training aircraft located on north end. configuration of other 3 runways, in conjunction typical wind patterns, enabled them handle departures , landings more efficiently.

in longer term, plan calls new terminal built northeast of existing terminal. people mover system connect terminal parking facilities , existing terminal.