Airport_Business_June-July_2019 - 16

BRIDGE MATTERS
AUTHOR Walker Jaroch

NOT YOUR PARENTS'

Boarding Bridge

Gone are the days of uncomfortable metal tubes as airports upgrade
the boarding bridge experience for air carrier and passenger alike
with new technology and great views.
TAKING A trip involves travel. Airport passengers
often have a lot of traveling to do before their
journey begins in earnest - from car or taxi to
terminal, terminal to gate and gate to plane - there's
a lot of movement happening leading up to a flight.

All those little leadup movements
leave room for headaches to creep in
and sully a passenger's experience before
they've left the ground. Airports aware
of that potential have taken measures
to improve the passenger experience
leading right up to the moment they
board - literally - with passenger boarding
bridges (PBB).
Brett Smith, CEO of Propeller
Airports, which operates the recently
opened Paine Field Passenger Terminal,
learned firsthand the impact a PBB can
have on a flyer.
"I got stuck in a boarding process for
15 minutes in a hot jet bridge looking at
an ad for a bank and I said: 'You know
what? We're not doing this,' Smith said.
The experience made Smith rethink
the kind of PBBs he wanted for Paine
Field and the f lyers passing through it,
leading him to adopt what is becoming
a growing trend for airports in the U.S. -
glass jet bridges.
"And so, I wanted the glass jet bridges
because I want the first impression of the
region and Paine Field in Everett, Wash.,
to be of the beautiful scenery. So, on
a clear day, you can see the Olympic
Mountain range, and you can always
see the cool stuff going on at Boeing.
That was why I did it," continued Smith.
"At one point, we were going to put a

traditional jet bridge in because it saved
a lot of money, but when I had that
experience, I said, 'forget it.' It was not
the aesthetic or passenger experience that
I was looking for."
"The standard jet bridges tend to be
somewhat claustrophobic. We've been
very fond of glass jet bridges that are
used throughout Europe and we felt it
just added to the overall look and feel
of the terminal. The way the building
is situated when you walk out onto the
glass jet bridges on a nice day, you're
looking at the Olympic Mountains and
you just don't feel closed in to get off the
airplane or come out of the building. It
just extends the comfortable feeling of
the building," elaborated Mark Reichin,
Propeller Airport's COO.
Installing Paine Field's bridges was
Aero BridgeWorks who along with
its partner company, Aero Systems
Engineering, form the Aero Group - a
team, specializing in the planning, design
and construction of terminal-based, fixed
ground support gate systems.
"We'll do all the engineering, all the
layouts, all the detailing, and then on the
construction side Aero BridgeWorks will
furnish, install and commission the bridge
and all associated equipment. There's lots
of options and different equipment that go
along with the bridge. The Aero Group

16 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / JUNE/JULY 2019

help clients design, procure, select it and
then we will do all the field work, all
the installation, and commissioning,"
described Russ Bramlett, president of
Aero Systems Engineering Inc.
And while glass PBBs have been
popular in Europe for some time, they've
only recently been growing in popularity
and prevalence in the U.S. thanks to
changes made to national fire safety laws
in the mid-2010s by the National Fire
Protection Association (NFPA).
"The code requirements in the U.S.
did not allow glass bridges because
the glass walls wouldn't meet the fire
protections ratings. NFPA changed
the code a couple years ago and glass
bridges are now allowed in the States,"
explained Jay Grantham, president at Aero
BridgeWorks Inc. "You're going to see a
lot more glass bridges as time moves on.
It's a slightly higher price point, but many
airports and agencies realize the benefits
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