--- In BATN@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "11/11 SJ Business Journal" <batn@xxxx> wrote: Published Friday, November 11, 2005, in the San Jose Business Journal Split remains over scaled back plans for airport expansion By Andrew F. Hamm Two prominent business groups have endorsed plans to scale back expansion at Mineta San Jose International Airport, even as aviation enthusiasts lobby for a more elaborate design. The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau are backing a $1.5 billion modernization plan being pushed by Aviation Director William Sherry which would eliminate about $3 billion worth of improvements. The San Jose city council will be asked on Nov. 15 to endorse the modified design, which includes doing away with the Central Terminal once touted as an grand entranceway to San Jose as well as a second deck on the main airport thoroughfare. Mineta San Jose's 14 airlines favor the modified plan, calling the original design too costly and unnecessary. The airlines have agreed to raise their average per-passenger landing fee from an average of $4.33 to between $8 and $9 when the North Concourse opens in 2008 and no higher than $12 by 2017. Mr. Sherry figures fees would have to be increase to at least $17.63 per passenger and perhaps much more if the original plan is adopted. "That would make us one of the most expensive airports in the nation," Mr. Sherry says. But a group that includes at least four former chiefs of the San Jose Airport Commission say the city council needs to take a longer view. They claim without the Central Terminal, Mineta San Jose will just be a hodgepodge of designs with no unifying theme, a fate unbecoming San Jose's status as the 10th most populous city in the United States and self-proclaimed "Capitol of Silicon Valley." "We had the best possible brains come in and review the (original) plan and they all said it was the way to go," says former airport chairman Art Knopf. "The airlines may grumble, but in the end they will fall in line." The commissioners say the city should look into phasing in the original design over several years if money is not available to build all of it now. However, Mr. Sherry says the North Concourse, already under construction, would have to be redesigned immediately in order to make the modified plan work. "Time is of the essence," he says. To compensate for the loss of the Central Terminal, airport designers want to "flip" the North Concourse design, essentially moving the automated baggage-scanning system to its southern end. The northern half of Terminal C will be demolished "as soon as we can get rid of it," Mr. Sherry says. When the Southern Concourse is built, its baggage-scanning system will be built to coordinate with the existing system. The two buildings, once completed, will connect to form one Grand Terminal that will also include an expanded and modernized Terminal A. Mr. Sherry says there just isn't enough money to make the original plan work. When the airport's master plan was drawn up in 1997, San Jose airport was expecting 17.6 million passengers annually by 2010. Now, that number isn't expected until 2017 at the earliest. In fact, with an estimated 11.1 million passengers in 2005 the airport is still 15 percent below pre-Sept. 11, 2001, passenger numbers. As a result, San Jose expects to be able to only raise between $1.2 billion and $1.5 billion from bonds and federal grants for expansion, Mr. Sherry says. The original master plan has a $2.8 billion price tag in 2001 dollars that escalates to $4.5 billion in 2017 dollars. "As a business concern, we want this airport to remain competitive," says Pat Dando, president and CEO of the chamber of commerce. "It appears the modified airport plan can accomplish this with less money. We are all for it." Daniel Fenton, president and CEO of the convention bureau, says his organization wants the best design money can buy. "We have to have the airlines here for this to work. We can't afford to wait five years for the airlines to come around." Andrew F. Hamm covers transportation for the Business Journal. He can be reached at 408-299-1841. --- End forwarded message ---