Miami International Airport

[kevinkagy]

Originally Posted by Hurricanes2010

Hey do you know if there are any non-stop flights from Miami to any Asian cities such as Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, New Delhi, Istanbul, etc? Where is the farthest place that you can take a flight to from M.I.A.?

I know there are direct flights to Tel Aviv by El Al. I think that's the furthest destination from MIA. There are many cargo flights by different Asians airlines to Asia however.

Here's a map of passenger destinations from MIA, this doesn't include cargo destinations which is much bigger. MIA is the 10th-busiest cargo airport in the world:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...airportmap.png

[Endeavor305]

I don't know about the farthest flight, but the shortest has to be to the Bahamas. I took that flight once, it was like 20 minutes; good thing too because those prop planes aren't the smoothest ride lol.

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by Endeavor305

I don't know about the farthest flight, but the shortest has to be to the Bahamas. I took that flight once, it was like 20 minutes; good thing too because those prop planes aren't the smoothest ride lol.

Did any of you fellas ever get to fly on the old Chalk's seaplanes over to the Bahamas? That was FUN---just barely skimming above the ocean a few hundred feet up---a real "puddle jumper." They are definitely missed.

As far as the longest flight, I'm not sure. Obviously we're talking about nonstop here as "direct" would apply to innumerable scenarios via someplace else.

Longest I ever took from there was Miami/Amsterdam (about 10 hours) but there's others that exceed that, obviously. Wasn't there a Miami/Johannesburg nonstop at some point? Maybe my memory is faulty on that.

Interesting question. What IS the longest nonstop currently?

[spellbound]

Just to clarify here---a "direct" flight means one that stops somewhere else before arriving at its final destination, such as a trip from, say, Miami to Cairo routed through New York or London. I'm guessing the question here is what the longest nonstop is, with no "inbetween."

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by kevinkagy

I know there are direct flights to Tel Aviv by El Al. I think that's the furthest destination from MIA. There are many cargo flights by different Asians airlines to Asia however.

I think you're right, kevin. They run a couple of nonstops between MIA and Tel Aviv each week ("direct" has a different meaning in airline lingo) and far as I can tell that would be the furthest anyone can hop on a plane in Miami and wind up somewhere else without changing planes or sitting on the ground inbetween. Good work!

[AddictedToSpace]

Originally Posted by Endeavor305

I don't know about the farthest flight, but the shortest has to be to the Bahamas. I took that flight once, it was like 20 minutes; good thing too because those prop planes aren't the smoothest ride lol.

Shortest flight is to Bimini, it is around 15 to 17 minutes long.

[MAH45462]

Originally Posted by Hurricanes2010

Hey do you know if there are any non-stop flights from Miami to any Asian cities such as Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow, New Delhi, Istanbul, etc? Where is the farthest place that you can take a flight to from M.I.A.?

Tel Aviv has non-stop flights to Miami.

Though there are cargo flights to Seoul and Taipei and, starting in September, Hong Kong.

Also, to note, neither Moscow nor Istanbul are in Asia. Both are in Europe.

[spellbound]

Istanbul would technically be in both Europe and Asia because it straddles the Bosphorous, which divides the two. Always wanted to visit there.

[thetallerthebetter]

Originally Posted by spellbound

Istanbul would technically be in both Europe and Asia because it straddles the Bosphorous, which divides the two. Always wanted to visit there.

It's nobody's business but the turks

[mileageman]

..

[kevinkagy]

October 2009?! Isn't that a bit late?

[Aceventura]

Originally Posted by thetallerthebetter

It's nobody's business but the turks

tttb listening to TMBG

[mileageman]

..

[spellbound]

Originally Posted by Aceventura

tttb listening to TMBG

[mileageman]

..

[kevinkagy]

Originally Posted by mileageman

Asiana airlines (S. Korea) plans to fly to MIA:

http://atwonline.com/magazine/articl...articleID=2349

Non-stop passenger service, or cargo?

[FTL Beach Bum]

Originally Posted by kevinkagy

Non-stop passenger service, or cargo?

Where Miami was mentioned in the article, the context was passenger service:

In the longer term, it plans services to Warsaw, Budapest, Milan, Vancouver, Washington, Atlanta, Miami and Dubai. Part of the growth strategy is built around more codesharing, which it expects to lift from the current 14 airlines to 32 by 2012. In some cases those codeshares are with oneworld alliance members such as Qantas, which buys seats on Asiana's daily 777 Seoul-Sydney service. Its passengers also use the Qantas lounge in Sydney.

But it doesn't give any time frame. "In the longer term" could mean three years... five years... ten years... ?

[mileageman]

..

[kevinkagy]

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miam...ry/568437.html

MIA construction costs could rise by $100M

Miami International Airport's construction costs could jump another $100 million -- exceeding the facility's existing $6.2 billion budget, Miami-Dade Aviation Director José Abreu told commissioners Thursday.

Unforeseen delays, costly insurance and scheduling issues on the North Terminal, plus claims related to the South Terminal are among the potential ''exposures'' facing the airport, Abreu told Miami-Dade Airport and Tourism Committee members during a meeting held at Miami International Airport to update commissioners.

''The key is to bring it out in the open,'' said Commissioner José ''Pepe'' Diaz, chairman of the committee. ``It has always been out in the open, but to make sure everybody understands it.'

North Terminal's construction is progressing: the automated people mover trains have arrived, and the new ramp control tower -- which suffered fire damage in July 2007 -- is in use, as MIA focuses on completing what it says is the largest reconstruction of any operating airport in the world.

Some commissioners and their staff members toured the construction area before the meeting, where 1,100 workers are building the mile-long terminal, at a cost of $40 million a month.

After years of delays and cost overruns, the $2.894 billion North Terminal is set for completion in 2011.

Used primarily by American Airlines, it will have 50 gates, 123 ticket counters and 119 self-service counters, and a federal inspection station the size of two football fields, capable of handling 3,600 passengers per hour. It will also have a baggage handling system with 9.5 miles of conveyor belts, Abreu said.

Peter Dolara, American's senior vice president for Miami, the Caribbean and Latin America, made a presentation to commissioners, emphasizing the airline's commitment to its Miami hub and expectations for growth.

American and American Eagle now have 260 daily flights, and expect to reach 300 a day when the North Terminal is completed.

And despite American reducing its domestic capacity by about 11 percent in the fourth quarter, Dolara said he expects to have more capacity at MIA this winter than last.

Even during the first 10 days of June, American's MIA passengers were up 1.4 percent on 4.4 percent more seats compared to last year, while systemwide, American's passenger traffic dropped 4.5 percent, on 1.7 percent fewer seats, he said.

In fact, MIA now ranks as American's second-largest hub in passenger volume, after Dallas-Fort Worth -- exceeding Chicago, Dolara said.

''The reason we are doing better than other hubs is the strength of the Latin American market,'' he said.

During another presentation, commissioners learned that the new South Terminal has contractor claims from Parsons-Odebrecht Joint Venture that could top $20 million or more.

There are also about 10,000 punch list items still to resolve, down from 24,000, said Miami-Dade Aviation Deputy Director Max Fajardo.

The majority of the issues are cosmetic, he said, and he hopes to have them resolved by July if the contractors cooperate.

Meanwhile, of a total of $166.2 million in contingency funds for the capital improvement program, only $42.2 million are uncommitted -- representing just 2 percent of construction, Abreu said. As a result, if additional unforeseen costs rise, the contingency funds could be exhausted, and the budget may need to increase by up to $100 million, he said.

Also at the meeting, commissioners passed an ordinance allowing the county mayor and airport director to approve change orders, extend contract time and modify terms for existing North Terminal contracts, without seeking commission approval, based on certain conditions.

''This ordinance is going to expedite finalizing once and for all, the construction at the airport,'' said Commissioner Rebeca Sosa.

The item passed four to one, with Commissioner Dorrin Rolle voting no. Commissioner Sally Heyman was absent.

''At the end of the day, this is about saving,'' Commissioner Diaz said. ``The faster we move sometimes, the more savings we get.''

[Hia-leah JDM]

Oh my gosh, Im so surprised.