New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York State Governor David A. Paterson and Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson unveiled plans for the redevelopment and expansion of the Delta Air Lines Terminal 4 (mockup pictured) at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Work on the $1.2 billion project, which was approved by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey last week, will begin this September and create a state-of-the-art space for the airline and more than 10,000 jobs over the next three years. The announcement coincides with news that New York City is on track to hit record tourism numbers in 2010.
"Ensuring reliable air transportation to and from New York City is crucial to strengthening our economy," said Mayor Bloomberg. "And the decision by Delta Air Lines to expand its international terminal at Kennedy Airport will make it easier for even more people to travel to this City in the coming years. Not only will this $1.2 billion project cement New York City's status as the nation's top travel destination, it will also create an additional ten-thousand jobs over the next three years."
"The newly expanded and enhanced Terminal 4, one of many substantial investments we're making in New York, will provide significant benefits to our customers, employees and the city of New York for decades to come," said Delta's Anderson. "Following a multi-year effort, we are very pleased to have reached a decision with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, JFKIAT and Schiphol USA. This plan allows us to move forward with the enhancement of our terminal hub, one that will showcase modern, welcoming facilities and meet the needs of the world's most competitive and largest aviation market."
Delta Air Lines is a key source of inbound air traffic to New York City for both leisure and business travel. Currently at JFK, Delta operates predominantly out of Terminal 2 for its domestic flights and Terminal 3, internationally. The expansion of Terminal 4 -- which has been successfully managed by JFKIAT for over a decade -- will replace outdated facilities and enhance the customer experience for the 11 million passengers Delta serves at JFK annually. The $1.2 billion project will generate an additional 10,000 on-airport and construction-related jobs by 2014, bring $500 million additional personal income into the region, and create $1.6 billion of economic output from the purchases of goods and services.
The expansion of Terminal 4's Concourse B includes the addition of nine new international gates sized to accommodate larger aircraft; the construction of a connector between Terminal 2 and Terminal 4; an expanded baggage claim area; Customs and Border Protection; and ultimately, the demolition of Terminal 3, which will be paved for aircraft parking beginning in July 2015. Construction is scheduled to begin on Terminal 4 in September 2010, with anticipated completion of phase one of development and full relocation of Delta's Terminal 3 operations in May 2013. In addition, new, dual taxiways will result in reduced taxi times and better on-time performance. When completed in 2015, the total economic impact of Delta's New York operation will contribute over $19 billion annually.
As the leading international carrier in New York, Delta currently offers non-stop service to 98 global destinations from JFK and offers more than 1,000 weekly JFK departures. International service includes non-stop service to Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, with new service being offered to Tokyo and Tel Aviv, among other destinations.
Separately, New York City's tourism industry continues to rebound across all sectors. From January through June 2010, average hotel occupancy rate in the city was 6.8 percent above the same period in 2009, and the expansion of room demand has balanced the increased room inventory across the city. An additional one million more hotel room nights were sold compared to the same time period in 2009, outperforming 2008, which was also a record year. In addition, hotel tax revenues contributed $178 million to the city, up 25 percent over 2009.The first half of 2010 also saw a 9.4 percent increase in the number of Amtrak non-commuter passengers arriving at Penn Station to more than 1.8 million non-commuter arrivals. Similarly, the total volume of in-bound passenger traffic at the city's three major airports rose 1.2 percent during the January-May period while international arrivals rose 4.8 percent.
Other indicators of the rebounding health of the industry include employment in the leisure and hospitality sector, which show continued increases since the beginning of the year, and by June 2010, more than 320,000 people were employed in the leisure and hospitality sector. In addition, Broadway theatres sold more than 6 million tickets an increase of 3.7 percent over the same period in 2009.
The preliminary visitor volume results show that New York City received approximately 23.5 million visitors in the first half of 2010, a 8.75 percent increase over the same period in 2009. The city remains on course to host approximately 47.5 million visitors by the end of 2010 - a 4.2 percent increase over 2009. The tourism industry remains New York City's fifth largest industry contributing to more than 300,000 jobs and nearly $30 billion in direct spending across the city's five boroughs.
"The first half of 2010 has been particularly strong and our early projections show a return to record-breaking visitation levels," said NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta. "Under the leadership of Mayor Bloomberg we have created the city's first global marketing campaign and developed strategic public-private partnerships that have built and promoted the brand of New York City around the world in a way that has ensures this $30 billion industry remain vibrant and engages to both visitors and New Yorkers alike. We remain on track to meet our goal of 50 million visitors annually by 2012; I applaud Delta Air Lines for their efforts to improve the New York City travel experience." For more information, visit www.delta.com and www.nycgo.com.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
