Despite new look, procedures stay the same

Friday, June 12, 1998 | 3:37 a.m.

The public gets its first opportunity Saturday to see the new D gates at McCarran International Airport.

There's a world of difference between the appearance of the new gates and that of the rest of the airport. But for all the differences, many things will still be pretty much the same for passengers using the facility.

Arriving and departing passengers will still park in the same places they've grown accustomed to using -- the silver and gold lots. They'll use the same ticket counters to buy tickets and check baggage, regardless or whether their airline uses the D gates.

Arriving passengers will use the same baggage-claim areas and will arrange ground transportation in the same way they always have.

Most McCarran passengers, in fact, won't get to use the new concourse. The two airlines that transport the most passengers at McCarran, Southwest and America West, are staying put in the C and B concourses, respectively.

But most of the long-range air carriers are making the move to the new gates. Taking up residence there will be United, Delta, Northwest, American and TWA. American Eagle, American Airlines' commuter partner, will board at the D gates, and three carriers with a small number of long-range flights -- Hawaiian, Midwest Express and Canadian International -- will board there.

Passengers departing on flights leaving from the D gates will check in as they do now and clear a security check at the entrance to the C gates. They'll then take a 1 1/2-minute ride aboard a 3,500-foot people-mover system with a boarding area adjacent to a similar tram station taking passengers to the C gates.

The $100 million automated system will take travelers from the second story of Terminal 1 to an underground station at the D gates through a 1,800-foot tunnel.

Passengers leaving the tram will then enter the center of the D complex in a rotunda with a ceiling 95 feet above the floor. An escalator climbing 60 steps takes passengers to the Great Hall, the center of commerce for the new concourse.

The new concourse's architecture has an aviation flavor with sweeping curves and metallic finishes. The 684,000-square-foot facility contains 1,500 tons of steel -- about the weight of four Boeing 747s.

There's enough concrete in the D gates to build a sidewalk between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The 130,000 square feet of marble was imported from Italy.

The gates stretch out in a V shape with concessions strategically planted between gates. Some familiar retailers with a presence in the other concourses -- Burger King, Cinnabon, Pizza Hut, WH Smith News & Gifts -- mingle with some properties that are new to the airport -- Gordon Biersch, NFL Home Turf and the Museum Store.

The numbering of the new gates is indicative of expansion on the horizon. In fact, a second V could easily be attached to the existing building, creating an X with a total of 48 gates and building total airport capacity to nearly 60 million passengers a year. For now, the gates are numbered D-1 through D-14 and D-31 through D-43 (there's no Gate D-13). At full capacity, the existing D concourse should be able to raise total airport capacity to 45 million passengers.

Art, broad vistas, high technology and places for kids characterize the new facility. Murals depicting cityscapes, designed by elementary school pupils in the Clark County School District, have been reproduced on tile and erected at the tram station.

Glass is abundant. A 66,000-square-foot window offers a panoramic look at two of McCarran's runways, and restaurants dotting the Great Hall share the same view. The big window is 45 feet high; each double-paned section weighs 600 pounds.

Three computerized systems offer state-of-the-art information technology that will help airlines serve passengers more efficiently. Airport officials say the new Common Use Terminal Equipment will increase efficiency at the airport by 10 percent to 20 percent.

Computers will do everything from supporting baggage claim to displaying flight information with up-to-the-minute status reports straight from Federal Aviation Administration computers.

Child-friendly play areas have an airport theme and are located off the rotunda.

None of the D concourse occupants expanded when they moved to their new location. Chicago-based United Airlines, the third-largest carrier by passenger volume at McCarran is the biggest tenant of the D concourse, leasing five gates. Delta Air Lines will operate four gates in the new terminal, Northwest three, American two and TWA one.

The Common Use Terminal Equipment will allow airlines to operate from an unused gate on short notice. The computer screen will allow airlines to display flight information and the airline logo with a few keyboard strokes, giving the airport the flexibility to move flights to unused gates when necessary.

With only 16 of the 26 gates leased, there is plenty of room for existing carriers to expand or for new carriers to come in.