Southwest has been doing special state-themed liveries for quite some time now, and the latest one is for the state of Louisiana. A bit of explanation might be in order: the Louisiana state bird is the Brown Pelican. This B737 is painted similar to the Louisiana state flag, which features a white pelican with a nest of three chicks. Union, Justice, Confidence is the Louisiana state motto and also appears on the state flag and seal.
Here's a bonus shot for Filip, who asked recently about the blast fence at the west end of Runway 24 Left. This is how that end of the north complex appears from the tower. As a double bonus, you can also see the current state of the construction on the Midfield Satellite Concourse:
Thank you, Captainvector!
ReplyDeleteThe midfield coucourse looks more than halfway done allready!
Is the construction to the side of the TBIT related to the tunnel connection with the mid-field concourse? Or are they building a connector building, like with T4 on the other side? If the former, when they dig up taxiway Sierra, your field control problems will get even worse!
I still think it strange they left one small part of the original concourse of the Original TBIT in place ( visible just at the right). I believe this is related to earlier plans for a TWY between the north runways, especially since they were denied moving the northernmost rwy 24R/09L northward, even though all land there is already public.
-- Filip
Yes, there will be a couple of tunnels connecting the TBIT with the MFC. Those are currently under construction, which is why TBIT Gates 131 and 132 are closed. In late May, a portion of Taxiway S will close for that as well. The northern extension of Taxiway T will open at the same time, so traffic will run up Tango instead of Sierra.
DeleteI can't speak to the remaining portion of the old TBIT concourse, other than to say that it is very much in use at the moment, with three narrow-body gates (137, 139, 141) and one wide-body gate (135). There was a plan to relocate Runway 24 Right (the northern-most runway) a bit north of its present location to allow for the construction of a center taxiway, but the current mayor killed that project shortly after he took office. The land there may already be owned by the city/airport, but the houses adjacent to it are not cheap, and those people vote.
CV
I see that the project is called MFC North, will they be also building a southern extension as well? Would be fun to see new carries fly in as a result!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I heard that Ontario was making a push to become a larger international airport. Will there be a JFK/EWR type of situation in the LA area in the foreseeable future?
I think the long-term plan is for there to be a southern portion as well. The problem at the moment is that that area is currently occupied by the American maintenance hangar, and American's lease hasn't run out yet. I don't know if we're getting new carriers, but I have been told that the MFC is already full.
DeleteOntario has been an international airport for some time, and is actually the nearest airport that can handle an A380 if LAX is unavailable. Ontario airport has been under the control of the city of Los Angeles, and LA has favored LAX as its trophy airport. Now that the city of Los Angeles has recently turned Ontario airport over to the city of Ontario, that airport is being managed and marketed independently. All of the commercial airports around LA that aren't LAX have been marketing themselves as the "LAX alternative" with easier assess and less traffic and congestion. Ontario is probably in the best position to make something of that, as the others (Burbank, Long Beach, and Orange County) are all experiencing limitations of space, capacity, and/or noise.
CV