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\u201cThe dreaded Gate 35X is no more! American\u2019s new regional\nconcourse at Reagan National Airport is fantastic news for our customers,\u201d said\nRobert Isom, president of American Airlines. \u201cWhen fully complete, the\ninvestments made in partnership with MWAA will finally enable American to\ndeliver a convenient, accessible, world-class product befitting the gateway to\nour nation\u2019s capital.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A major milestone in the airport\u2019s Project Journey capital\nimprovement program, the new concourse will serve as the home of American\nAirlines\u2019 regional operations at DCA and provides direct, enclosed access to\naircraft via jet bridges, as well as spacious waiting areas. This summer, when\nconstruction is complete, the concourse also will feature new shopping and\ndining options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Terminal B\/C opened in 1997, Gate 35X has served as\nthe primary gateway for millions of customers traveling to and from the\nnation\u2019s capital on flights operated by American\u2019s regional partners. At its\npeak, more than 6,000 customers a day passed through its cramped corridors and\nonto buses before boarding a flight parked at one of 14 remote hardstand gates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, operations from\nGate 35X accounted for 16% of all customer traffic and 30% of all departures\nfrom DCA. But due to schedule reductions driven by COVID-19, Gate 35X was\ntemporarily closed for most of 2020. As a result, airport partners were able to\naccelerate portions of construction \u2014 completing key components of the new\nconcourse early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Gate 35X was reactivated to support an increase in flight\nactivity earlier this year. To commemorate the last of more than 250,000\ndepartures from Gate 35X, American, Piedmont and PSA Airlines team members\njoined together Monday evening to send off flight 5482 as it departed for\nAlbany, New York (ALB).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Designed to enhance passenger convenience and comfort, the\nnew facility was built to complement the architectural features of DCA\u2019s current\nTerminal B\/C. The concourse, which includes Gates 46-59, features exposed steel\narches and columns, expansive glass walls and skylights that complement the\nJeffersonian domes in the existing terminal, giving travelers large, open,\nbrightly lit gate areas with panoramic views of the iconic Washington, D.C.,\nskyline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe opening of the new concourse is the culmination of\nyears of work by thousands of employees who overcame numerous challenges and\nthe seismic changes of a global pandemic to deliver a world-class passenger\nexperience at Washington, D.C.\u2019s airports,\u201d said John E. Potter, president and\nchief executive officer of the Airports Authority. \u201cThe airport\u2019s $1 billion\ninvestment to transform the traveler experience inside the terminals at the\ngates and along the roadways will bring a new era of travel to American\nAirlines\u2019 customers, who can now board regional jet aircraft from jet bridges\ninstead of through Gate 35X.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Included in the new concourse is various types of seating,\nmany with electrical outlets, for 850 passengers, as well as 14,000 square feet\nof concession space, four public restrooms, four moving walkways, two mother\u2019s\ncare rooms, an indoor pet relief area, new airline office space and a new\nbaggage-handling system. When complete, the new concourse will also include\nmore than 10 new shopping and dining options and a new 14,000 square-foot\nAdmirals Club \u2014 currently scheduled to open in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Behind the scenes, more than 20,000 square-feet of space on\nthe ramp level will serve as home to American\u2019s wholly-owned regional\nsubsidiaries Piedmont and PSA Airlines \u2014 providing team members new break\nareas, workspaces and locker rooms. A new baggage handling system will help\nexpedite the luggage off-load and transfer process, further enhancing the\noverall customer experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to increasing demand, American plans to operate\nup to 180 peak day departures from DCA this summer \u2014 restoring service to more\nthan 15 markets served before the pandemic, including Hilton Head, South\nCarolina (HHH); Traverse City, Michigan (TVC); and Asheville, North Carolina\n(AVL). To accommodate regional flights, up to 85 daily departures are scheduled\nto operate from the new concourse this summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As demand for air travel returns, American plans to provide\nservice on larger regional aircraft operating to and from DCA \u2014 adding seat\ncapacity without increasing the number of scheduled flights. Long-term,\nAmerican intends to operate regional flights with the 65-seat Bombardier\nCRJ-700, the 76-seat CRJ-900 and the Embraer E175, offering customers a premium\ntwo-cabin experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Until the construction process is completed this summer,\nlimited concessions will be available in the new concourse during the soft\nopening, including Peet\u2019s Coffee and Capitol File newsstand. Additionally,\npassengers will be able to access post-security concessions near Gates 35-45. A\ncomplete list of shops and restaurants that are currently open at the airport\ncan be found on the COVID-19 shopping and dining information webpage. Featured\nconcessionaires slated to open permanent locations later in 2021 in the new\nconcourse include Wolfgang Puck Bar & Bites, Mezeh Mediterranean Grill,\nPeet\u2019s Coffee, Capitol File News and InMotion Entertainment, with several\nothers to follow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Last Tuesday morning, American Airlines began welcoming customers to a new, state-of-the-art 14-gate regional concourse at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), designed to replace Gate 35X. The new concourse, constructed by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) as part of a $1 billion initiative to transform the customer experience at DCA, provides customers a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18238,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-district-of-columbia"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/pj_opening_landing_page_header_1920x570_1.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18237"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18249,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18237\/revisions\/18249"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}