New terminal opens doors to fliers By BILL HENSEL JR. Houston Chronicle Terminal E, the first phase of the largest expansion of facilities at Houston's Intercontinental Airport in 30 years, opened with a flourish Tuesday. Passengers boarded an inaugural flight amid confetti and a celebration in the building where workers had toiled around the clock to get it in shape for opening day. One traveler, New Yorker Rich Cohen, took in the surroundings and nodded appreciatively before boarding Terminal E's inaugural flight. "It's nice to walk into an environment like this," said Cohen, a software company vice president who said he travels 250,000 miles per year. Cohen and 168 other passengers aboard Continental Flight 210 to Newark, N.J., taxied under two plumes of water shot high in the air to mark the significance of the event. The opening of the $225 million terminal, which will house flights for Houston-based Continental Airlines, comes amid the worst slump to hit the nation's airline industry. Continental Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune said that although the timing may be unfortunate, the 600,000-square-foot terminal and other improvements will prove their worth. Bethune noted that the planning and construction of the terminal began before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 knocked the airline industry into the slump. "It may not be the optimum timing, but it is still the right decision," Bethune said. Houston Mayor Lee Brown agreed, saying Houston has always planned for the future. "That is why we are a global city," Brown said. On the west concourse of Terminal E, seven gates began operating Tuesday; the central building and east concourse are scheduled to be completed by December, when 23 gates will be operating. Eventually, the terminal will handle just international flights for Continental. That transition will happen when the city of Houston finishes building a federal inspection station nearby, which is expected to open in early 2005. The facility will allow Continental to handle all international arrivals at Terminal E. And George Bush Intercontinental Airport is getting more parking. Bethune lauded the design and functionality of the new terminal, which features restaurants like Pappasito's and a full-service Pappadeaux restaurant. He also cited Famous Familglia, which is a New York-style pizzeria. The Pappadeaux restaurant was crowded Tuesday afternoon. The new terminal also has numerous retail outlets that have opened, ranging from a Space-Trader NASA store to an In Celebration of Golf outlet. The Houston terminal is designed along the lines of the newly opened terminal in Newark. That terminal was winner of the Airport Council International's best retail/speciality program award. *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@xxxxxxxxx Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Mas Site: www.tntisland.com/tntrecords/mas2003/ Site of the Week: http://www.natalielaughlin.com/ TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************