Lambert Airport
Lambert–St. Louis International Airport From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia "Lambert Field" redirects here. For the former baseball stadium at Purdue University, see Lambert Field (Purdue). Lambert–St. Louis International Airport Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Logo.svg Lambert field from the air.jpg IATA: STL – ICAO: KSTL – FAA LID: STL Summary Airport type Public Owner City of St. Louis Operator St. Louis Airport Authority Serves Greater St. Louis, Missouri Location Unincorporated St. Louis County 10 miles (16 km) NW of St. Louis Hub for Air Choice One Cape Air Focus city for Southwest Airlines Elevation AMSL 605 ft / 184.4 m Coordinates 38°44′50″N 090°21′41″WCoordinates: 38°44′50″N 090°21′41″W Website http://www.flystl.com/ Map STL is located in Missouri STL STL Location within Missouri Runways Direction Length Surface ft m 12R/30L 11,019 3,359 Concrete 12L/30R 9,003 2,744 Concrete 11/29 9,000 2,743 Concrete 6/24 7,602 2,317 Concrete Statistics (2012) Aircraft operations 190,942 Passenger volume 13,321,901 Cargo tonnage Area (acres) 2,800 Source: Federal Aviation Administration[1] and STL Airport[2] Lambert–St. Louis International Airport (IATA: STL, ICAO: KSTL, FAA LID: STL) is an international airport serving Greater St. Louis. It is about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of downtown St. Louis in unincorporated St. Louis County between Berkeley and Bridgeton. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state with 255 daily departures to about 90 domestic and international locations. In 2011, nearly 13 million passengers traveled through the airport.[3] The airport serves as a focus city for Southwest Airlines and was a former hub for Trans World Airlines and former focus-city for American Airlines and AmericanConnection
Named for Albert Bond Lambert, an Olympic medalist and prominent St. Louis aviator, the airport rose to international prominence in the 20th century, thanks to its association with Charles Lindbergh, its groundbreaking air traffic control, its status as the hub of Trans World Airlines, and its iconic terminal. Designed by Minoru Yamasaki, the building inspired terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport in France.
Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 After World War II - Airport expansion, Ozark Airlines 1945-1982 1.2 TWA era 1982–2001 1.3 American Airlines, Air National Guard, Southwest Airlines 2001-present 1.3.1 2011 St. Louis tornado 2 Facilities 2.1 Runways 2.2 Terminals 2.2.1 Terminal 1 2.2.2 Terminal 2 2.3 Public transportation 2.3.1 Mass transit/light rail/subway 2.3.2 MetroBus 2.4 Airline lounges 2.5 Black Americans in Flight mural 2.6 Aircraft on display 2.7 Aircraft production 2.8 Other facilities 3 Operations 3.1 China cargo hub and Aerotropolis 3.2 Passengers 3.3 Airlines and destinations 3.3.1 Scheduled commercial airlines 3.3.2 Charter airlines 3.3.3 Cargo 3.4 Top destinations 4 Expansion 4.1 Runway 11/29 4.2 21st-century renovation 4.2.1 Completed projects 4.2.2 Planned projects 5 Accidents 6 Lambert in fiction 6.1 Television 6.2 Film 7 See also 8 References 9 External links History[edit]
Aerial view of Naval Air Station St. Louis in the mid-1940s
Control tower and main terminal
131st Fighter Wing and American Airlines maintenance ramp at Lambert Airport
The airport grew from a balloon launching base, Kinloch Field, part of the 1890s Kinloch Park suburban development. The Wright brothers and their Exhibition Team visited the field while touring with their aircraft. During a visit to St. Louis, Theodore Roosevelt flew with pilot Arch Hoxsey on October 11, 1910, becoming the first U.S. president to fly. Later, Kinloch hosted the first experimental parachute jump.[4]
In June 1920, the Aero Club of St. Louis leased 170 acres of cornfield, the defunct Kinloch Racing Track[5] and the Kinloch Airfield in October 1923, during The International Air Races. The field was officially dedicated as Lambert–St. Louis Flying Field[6] in honor of Albert Bond Lambert, an Olympic silver medalist golfer in the 1904 Summer Games, president of Lambert Pharmaceutical Corporation (which made Listerine),[7] and the first person to receive a pilot's license in St. Louis. In February 1925, "Major" (his 'rank' was given by the Aero Club and not the military) Lambert bought the field and added hangars and a passenger terminal. Charles Lindbergh's first piloting job was flying airmail for Robertson Aircraft Corporation from Lambert Field; he left the airport for New York about a week before his record-breaking flight to Paris in 1927. Later that year, Lambert sold the airport to the City of St. Louis, making it the first municipally-owned airport in the United States.[8]
In the late 1920s, Lambert Field became the first airport with an air traffic control system—albeit one that communicated with pilots via waving flags. The first controller was Archie League.[9]
Robertson Airlines, Marquette Airlines, and Eastern Air Lines provided passenger service to St. Louis.
In 1925, the airport became home to Naval Air Station St. Louis, a Naval Air Reserve facility that became an active-duty installation during World War II.[10]
During the war, the airport became a manufacturing base for McDonnell Aircraft and Curtiss-Wright.
After World War II - Airport expansion, Ozark Airlines 1945-1982[edit] After the war, NAS St. Louis reverted to a reserve installation, supporting carrier-based fighters and land-based patrol aircraft. When it closed in 1958, most of its facilities were acquired by the Missouri Air National Guard and became Lambert Field Air National Guard Base. Some other facilities were retained by non-flying activities of the Naval Reserve and Marine Corps Reserve, while the rest was redeveloped to expand commercial airline operations at the airport.[10]
To handle the increasing passenger traffic, Minoru Yamasaki was commissioned to design a new terminal at Lambert. Completed in 1956, the four-domed design inspired terminals at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.[8]
The April 1957 Official Airline Guide shows TWA with 44 weekday departures; American, 24; Delta, 16; Ozark, 14; Eastern, 13; Braniff, six, and Central, two. The first jets were TWA 707s in July 1959.
In the 1970s St. Louis city officials proposed to replace the airport with a new one in suburban Illinois. After Missouri residents objected in 1977, Lambert received a $290-million expansion that lengthened the runways, increased the number of gates to 81, and boosted its capacity by 50 percent. (A proposed Illinois airport was later built anyway, though not near the originally proposed site; MidAmerica St. Louis Airport opened in 1997 in Mascoutah, Illinois. As of 2013 the only scheduled passenger service is nonstop flights to Orlando's Sanford Airport, operated by Allegiant Air.[11]) Concourse A and Concourse C were rebuilt into bi-level structures equipped with jet bridges as part of a $25 million project in the mid-1970s designed by Sverdrup. The other concourses were demolished. Construction began in the spring of 1976 and was completed in September 1977.[12] A $20 million, 120,000 sq ft extension of Concourse C for TWA and a $46 million, 210,000 sq ft Concourse D for Ozark Airlines also designed by Sverdrup were completed in December 1982.[13][14]
Ozark Airlines established its only hub at Lambert in the late 1950s. The airline grew rapidly, going from 36 million revenue passenger miles in 1955, to 229 million revenue passenger miles in 1965. The jet age came to Ozark in 1966 with the Douglas DC-9-10 and its network expanded to Denver, Indianapolis, Louisville, Washington, D.C., New York City, Miami, Tampa and Orlando. With the addition of jets, Ozark began its fastest period of growth, jumping to 653 million revenue passenger miles by 1970, and 936 million revenue passenger miles by 1975,[15] however Ozark soon faced heavy competition in TWA's new hub at Lambert.
TWA era 1982–2001[edit]
A TWA aircraft designated for Airmail
In 1982, Trans World Airlines (TWA) moved its hub from Kansas City International Airport. The move made TWA the dominant carrier at Lambert, and turned the St. Louis airport into one of the busiest in the country. The hub was based in Concourse B and the newly expanded Concourse C.
In 1985, Southwest Airlines began service, an event that would lead to major changes at the airport in the coming years.
TWA's hub grew again in 1986 when the airline bought Ozark Airlines, which had its hub at Lambert's Concourse D. In 1985, TWA had accounted for 56.6% of boardings at STL while Ozark accounted for 26.3%, so the merged carriers now controlled over 80% of the traffic.[16] As of 1986, TWA served STL with nonstop service to 84 cities, an increase from 80 cities served by TWA and/or Ozark in 1985, before the merger.
Despite the entry of Southwest Airlines in the market, the TWA buyout of Ozark and subsequent increase in the number of nonstop cities served, the total number of passengers using Lambert held steady from 1985 through 1993, ranging between 19 million and 20 million passengers per year throughout the period.
Lambert again grew in importance for TWA after the airline declared bankruptcy in 1993 and moved its headquarters to St. Louis from Mount Kisco, NY. TWA increased the number of cities served, and started routing more connecting passengers through its hub at Lambert. Total number of passengers using Lambert rose from 19.9 million passengers enplaned in 1993, jumping almost 20% in one year to 23.4 million in 1994. Growth continued, with total enplaned jumping to 27.3 million by 1997, and 30.6 million in 2000, the highest ever in its history.[17] By the late 1990s, Lambert was TWA's dominant hub, with 515 daily flights to 104 cities as of September 1999. Of those 515 flights, 352 were on TWA mainline aircraft, and 163 were Trans World Connection flights operated by its commuter airline partners.
However, TWA faced increasing problems as overall airline demand softened in response to a softening overall economy. As TWA entered the new millennium, its financial condition proved too precarious to continue alone, and in January 2001 American Airlines (AA) announced it was buying TWA.
American Airlines, Air National Guard, Southwest Airlines 2001-present[edit] American Airline's merger closed in April 2001, and the last TWA flight was flown on December 1, 2001. AA felt that TWA's Lambert hub was a key asset. Its plan for Lambert was to become a reliever hub for AA's existing hubs at Chicago O'Hare and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. American had been looking for a way to relieve its overcrowded hub at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, where nearly 40 percent of American’s flights had arrived at least 15 minutes late in June, July and August 2000. American was looking at something strategic with its new St. Louis hub to potentially offload some of the pressure on O’Hare to restore its operations to respectable levels. American Airlines shifted some flights from mainline aircraft to commuter aircraft because of softening overall airline demand, however, overall flight levels remained strong. In July 2001, TWA, now a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines, and its regional carrier Trans World Express averaged 522 daily departures.[4]
The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were a huge demand shock to air service nationwide, with total airline industry domestic revenue passenger miles dropping 20% in October 2001 and 17% in November 2001.[18] Overnight, AA no longer had the same need for a hub that bypasses its hubs at Chicago and Dallas, which suddenly became less congested.[19] AA cut flights out of St. Louis from 522 daily flights as of July 2001, to approximately 450 flights as of December 2001. Flights to Paris, France went to seasonal service in December 2001, and transatlantic service was soon discontinued altogether when it stopped flying nonstop from St. Louis to London Gatwick airport. AA transferred many mainline routes to American Connection, a group of affiliated regional carriers. By June 2002, AA had further reduced service to 439 daily flights to 109 cities, however, only 276 of those flights were on AA mainline aircraft, and 163 were flown on commuter aircraft operated as American Connection. At the time, Lambert was AA's 3rd largest hub ranked by number of daily departures, and its 2nd largest hub ranked by number of destinations served. AA's largest hub at the time was DFW, with 757 daily flights to 145 destinations. AA's Chicago O'Hare hub had 489 daily flights to 102 destinations, STL had 439 flights to 109 destinations, while its Miami hub had just 236 flights to 79 destinations. Much of the reduction in overall service could be blamed on the 9/11 terrorist attacks, however, Lambert was affected disproportionately due to flight cuts and shifts of flights from mainline to commuter aircraft, because of Lambert's lessened need as a reliever hub since O'Hare was suddenly less congested.
By September 2002, Lambert's passenger traffic had declined by 16.9% from before the terrorist attacks a year earlier, which was the 8th biggest percentage drop of the major US airports. Total passengers enplaned for the year fell to 25.6 million. AA's other hubs suffered from reduced traffic, but to a lesser degree with the exception of Miami, which suffered from a 16.0% decline. New York JFK's traffic dropped 12.6%, DFW traffic dropped 6.7%, O'Hare traffic dropped 6.5%.[20] Even though O'Hare's drop in traffic was the lowest, the 6.5% reduction at O'Hare was enough to virtually eliminate its previous problems with congestion-related delays that suffered from prior to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, removing a main purpose for AA's St. Louis hub. As a result of the reduced congestion at O'Hare, Congress eliminated all slot restrictions at O'Hare in July 2002.[21]
On July 16, 2003, AA announced it was significantly reducing its Lambert hub effective November 1, 2003, cutting it from 417 daily flights to 207, effective November 1, 2003.[22] Total Lambert passengers enplaned dropped to 20.4 million in 2003, then to 13.4 million in 2004. AA introduced American Eagle service at its St. Louis hub in May 2005. Unlike American Connection, American Eagle operated by Envoy Air is wholly owned by American Airlines Group, the parent company of American Airlines and Envoy Air.
In 2006, the United States Air Force announced plans to turn the 131st Fighter Wing of the Missouri Air National Guard into the 131st Bomb Wing. The wing's 20 F-15C and F-15D aircraft were moved to the Montana Air National Guard's 120th Fighter Wing at Great Falls International Airport/Air National Guard Base, Montana and the Hawaii Air National Guard's 154th Wing at Hickam AFB, Hawaii. The pilots and maintainers moved to Whiteman AFB, Missouri to fly and maintain the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber as the first Air National Guard wing to fly the aircraft. Lambert Field Air National Guard Base formally shut down in June 2009, when the final two F-15C Eagles did a low approach over the field, then flew away. The event was attended by more than 2,200 people who said goodbye to a part of airport history for over 85 years.
Lambert's passenger traffic slowly rebounded from American Airlines' cuts of November 2003, increasing from a low of 13.4 million passengers enplaned in 2004, to 15.4 million by 2007, and increase of almost 15 percent.
During 2008, Lambert's position as an American Airlines hub faced further pressure due to increased fuel costs and softened demand because of a depressed economy. AA cut its overall system capacity by 5% during 2008. At Lambert, AA shifted even more flights from its mainline jets to commuter airplanes.[23] Total passengers enplaned fell 6% to 14.4 million in 2008, then fell another 11% to 12.8 million passengers in 2009.
In September 2009, American Airlines announced that, as a part of the airline's restructuring, it would eliminate its St. Louis hub by reducing its operations from approximately 200 daily flights to 36 daily flights to nine destinations in the summer of 2010.[24] These cuts ended the remaining hub operation.[25] AA's only remaining nonstop flights out of St Louis were limited to the five focus cities (four hubs plus LAX) as well as Boston, New York/LaGuardia, Seattle, and Washington/National. American's announcement that its St. Louis hub would close was part of its new "Cornerstone" plan whereby the airline would be concentrating on its 4 primary hubs in major markets: Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Miami, and New York, with a focus city in Los Angeles. While it cut approximately 165 daily flights from St. Louis, AA increased flights at O'Hare by 57 daily flights and by 15 new destinations, to a new total of 487 daily flights to 114 destinations. Ironically, due to soft overall airline demand, the O'Hare hub actually lost a net 11 daily mainline flights, offset by 68 new regional jet flights. At its DFW hub, AA increased flights by 19 daily flight and one additional destination, for a new total of 780 daily flights to 160 destinations. At its Miami hub, AA increased flights 23 daily flights and one additional destination, to a new total of 294 daily flights to 108 destinations.[26] AA also cut flights out of several other non-hub cities, especially in Boston and Raleigh-Durham. In particular, AA's move to increase flights at O'Hare was a strategic move to catch up to United Airlines, which had its largest hub there but was cutting its flights at the time,[27]
In early October 2009, Southwest Airlines announced the addition of 6 daily flights to several cities it already served from St. Louis, as an immediate response to the cutbacks announced by American Airlines. Then on October 21, 2009, Southwest announced that the airline will increase service with a "major expansion" in St. Louis by May 2010. The airline announced it would begin flying nonstop from St. Louis to 6 new cities, for a new total of 31 destinations, increasing the total number of daily departures from 74 to 83, also replacing American as the carrier with the most daily flights after American's service cuts scheduled for Summer 2010.[28] Total passengers enplaned fell to 12.3 million in 2010, the lowest passenger total in decades. Passenger traffic rebounded in 2011, increasing 1.6% to 12.5 million enplaned, and increased another 1.1% in 2012, to 12.7 million. Through May 2013, total passengers enplaned increased by 1.3% versus the same period in 2012.[29]
American Airlines is now the airport's second-busiest operating airline.[30] With the merger with US Airways, American Airlines will solidify its #2 position. Based on the summer 2013 schedule, American had 28 daily departures from Lambert, and US Airways had 17, for a total of 45 daily flights as of July 2013, and 48 flights as of fall 2013 There is no overlap between these airlines on cities served from St. Louis. American flies between St. Louis and three of its primary hubs, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Miami, as well as Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. Reagan National Airport, and New York’s LaGuardia. US Airways serves Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and Phoenix from Lambert, for a total 10 combined cities served nonstop. Combined, the two carriers comprised about 24 percent of the market share at Lambert–St. Louis International Airport in 2012,. Southwest Airlines is the dominant carrier at Lambert, accounting for 47 percent of total passengers, as of 2012.[31]
As of May 2012, the airport is on a significant upswing, with traffic up by about 14%. Southwest Airlines has also announced that over the next few years, they will add several new routes out of Lambert International. Lambert has said they are in talks with Delta Air Lines and American Airlines to try and land a route to London. St. Louis is the largest market in the United States that does not have a flight to Europe.[32] Lambert–St. Louis International Airport was the 31st busiest airport in the U.S. as ranked by Airports Council International-North America. Lambert served nearly 13 million passengers in 2012.
On October 22, 2012, a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340 landed at Lambert carrying VA Executives, including Richard Branson to discuss and explore the likelihood of a St Louis Route.[citation needed]
By 2013, flights at the airport had continued their steady growth, with 64 non-stop cities served, including 6 international destinations, St. Louis had grown to one of Southwest Airlines' top 10 cities, ranked #10, with 95 daily departures to 35 non-stop destinations, per its March 2013 schedule update. The airline currently operates out of 10 gates.[33]
In May 2013, Moody’s raised its rating on Lambert Airport's bonds to A3-stable outlook from Baa1 with a stable outlook. Standard & Poor’s raised its rating to A- with a stable outlook from A- with a negative outlook. This is the first time in more than a decade that both Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s ratings for the Airport have both been in the single “A” category. Earlier in the month, Fitch Ratings upgraded outstanding airport revenue bonds to 'BBB+' from 'BBB' with a stable outlook. The rating agencies attributed the upgrades to strong fiscal management and positive passenger traffic.[34]
2011 St. Louis tornado[edit] Main article: 2011 St. Louis tornado
Terminal 1 windows boarded up after the tornado
About 8:10 p.m. on April 22, 2011, an EF4[35] tornado struck the airport's Terminal 1, destroying jetways and breaking more than half of the windows.[36][36][37][38] One plane from Southwest Airlines was damaged when the wind pushed a baggage conveyor belt into it. Four American Airlines planes were damaged, including one that was buffeted by 80 mph crosswinds while taxiing after landing.[39] One aircraft, with passengers still aboard, was moved away from its jetway by the storm.[40] The FAA closed the airport on April 22 at 08:54 pm CDT, then reopened it the following day at temporarily lower capacity.[41] The C concourse underwent renovations and repairs, and they were completed and reopened on April 2, 2012.[42]
The damage to Concourse C forced several airlines to use vacant gates in the B and D concourses, including AirTran, American, Cape Air, and Frontier.[42] Frontier Airlines moved to B, while American and Cape Air went to D. Airtran was moved to Terminal 2 with Southwest Airlines.
Kwame Building Group assisted with the reconstruction, and the Airport Experience Program commenced immediately.[43]
Later in the year, the TSA declared Lambert Airport its "Airport of the Year" for "exceptional courtesy, high-quality security" and the excellent response by airport officials during and after the tornado.[44]
