Now Arriving

That pain boiled over last year when the airline’s chief executive John Borghetti said the delays were costing the airline millions of dollars.

But that trauma was long forgotten when the T1 Domestic Pier was officially opened to VIPs and the media on November 13.

Borghetti told Australian Aviation that the new terminal, which was due to open for flights on November 22, will transform the customer experience in Perth.

“This terminal is the centrepiece of our commitment to Western Australia and will deliver an outstanding travel experience for all of our customers,” he said.

“It will provide access to twice the number of departure gates, with the ability to board up to 12 aircraft at one time, offering a world-class gateway for regional, domestic and international travel. ” A new terminal also means the opportunity for new technology.

“Our new check-in service willenable us to tailor the experience to the needs of different customers, combining cutting-edge technology with the personalised customer service for which Virgin Australia is renowned,” Borghetti continued.

Perth Airport’s chief executive officer Brad Geatches said the T1 domestic terminal is a world-class facility and the most significant project in Perth Airport’s current $1 billion redevelopment.

“The opening of the T1 Domestic terminal represents a major milestone in achieving our vision of having all commercial air services operating from one convenient location,” said Geatches.

“The new terminal offers customers a totally new experience, with high quality finishes, a range of food, beverage and retail outlets and a premium lounge for Virgin Australia guests.

“We are confident that the Virgin Australia T1 Domestic terminal sets a new standard in customer experience in Australia. The facilities are brand new, very spacious and designed with the customer at the forefront. ” In a bid to keep up with more modern airports worldwide, passengers would get special treatment, Geatches added.

“We have paid special attention to customer service and will introduce specially trained staff to assist passengers through the security process,” Geatches said.

“There will be a whole new level of services for passengers such as power to over half the seats in the terminal,” he said.

“We have done extensive studies into what passengers need, want and expect, and have looked at world’s best practice. ” It is estimated that more than 4,200 contractors and suppliers contributed to this very complex, state-of-the-art facility, working an estimated 1. 8 million man hours.

“The size and scale of this

A world-class gateway for regional, domestic and international travel. JOHN BORGHETTI

building is impressive. It is actually 1. 5 times the length of Subiaco’s Domain Stadium and has a perimeter measuring 1. 4km,” Geatches said.

Situated at the western end of T1, Australia’s newest domestic terminal will enable passengers to transfer seamlessly between regional, interstate and international services in one location.

The check-in process is a world first, according to Virgin Australia.

It has teamed with SITA to unveil a new hybrid technology that allows passengers to tailor their travel and check-in experience to their specific needs and enables the airline to easily change operations to meet customer demand.

It features 14 hybrid desks which can be switched from self-service bag drop to full-service traditional counters within five minutes, and the flexibility to determine how many self-service bag drop desks can be changed into full-service counters depending on demand in peak periods.

Along with the hybrid bag drop desks, the check-in hall also features: 28 self-service kiosks where passengers can check-in, print boarding passes, weigh their bags and print baggage tags; seven service pods where Virgin Australia ground staff can support any passengers in need of assistance with check-in, boarding passes and baggage tags; and service desks to assist with traditional check-in, boarding passes and general enquiries.

“This new technology is all about giving our customers the freedom to choose their airport experience. Customer service at Virgin Australia is what sets us apart and bringing our people out from behind a desk will further empower them to deliver a new standard in service excellence,” Borghetti said.

T1 Domestic has a total of 12 aerobridge-serviced departure gates including three A330-capable gates.

In the main terminal there is a retail and dining area offering passengers an extensive range of options, and just off to the side is the state-of-the-art Virgin Australia lounge featuring the airline’s signature Espresso and Wine Bar.

The lounge is the largest in the Virgin Australian network and the adjacent Club for its VIP guests will open in February.

The new T1 Domestic also includes innovative sustainable design features to reduce energy consumption, particularly the use of natural light and a facade providing shade during the summer months.

Perth Airport is also spending $45 million to upgrade and expand the T1 forecourt, including a 27m-wide plaza and new pick-up and drop-off lanes to ease congestion.

The upgrade is due to be finished this month along with the final elements of the $1 billion government-funded Gateway WA road infrastructure upgrade surrounding the airport.

The Gateway WA road project is the biggest ever undertaken in WA and it has been progressively opened since mid-year and is already making a dramatic difference to the journey to the airport.

Over the past five years Perth Airport has spent over $1 billion on the new T2 for regional flights, taxiways, aircraft and car parking, upgrade and extension of T1 International, upgrade and expansion of T3 and the build of T1 Domestic.

Complicating this effort has been the dramatic increase in passenger traffic (see graphic box) that has seen passenger traffic leap 110 per cent and aircraft movements 62 per cent in the past ten years. it will upgrade the ILS to CAT IIIb by 2018.

The upgrade reduces the forward visibility needed for pilots in fog from the current 800m to just 50m, while the decision height visibility is reduced from 60m to 15m.

Fog is relatively uncommon at Perth Airport but about a dozen events a year cause significant disruption to operations, particularly during morning and evening peak periods.

International flights have to divert to Adelaide because it is the nearest city with Customs.

Many shorter-ranged international aircraft such as A320s and 737s cannot operate to Perth if fog is forecast because they do not have the range to divert to Adelaide.

Fog, however, is forecast more than 50 times a year, requiring pilots operating international flights to take on extra fuel, often off-loading cargo and passengers’ bags.

Geatches told Australian Aviation that the airport was “working closely with Airservices on the instrument landing system upgrade for the main runway to support full Category III delivery, and are progressing with procurement and commissioning. ” The works required for the CAT III autoland have been split into three phases to realise benefits at the earliest possible opportunity for airlines and thus passengers.

Transmissometers, which accurately measure distances in fog, have already been installed and will be commissioned soon.

These instruments electronically measure visibility and will enable approved arriving aircraft to make an approach with a visibility of 550m, 250m less than the current 800m visibility capability.

The final phases will be the electrical cabling upgrade followed by the enhanced lighting, navigation aids and supporting infrastructure.

When all the elements of the infrastructure are in place Perth Airport will move from being the poor relation to the trendsetter of Australian airports.

T1 – The verdict

There is no doubt Perth Airport’s new showpiece, T1 Domestic for Virgin Australia, is a wonderful gateway to Western Australia and the airline.

Yes it is more than a year late, and that is disappointing, but that is forgotten as travellers enjoy what is the best terminal in Australia.

First impression? Stunning.

A big call indeed, but this terminal ticks all the boxes.

It is big, bright and bold and passengers will get a great connection with the travel experience.

T1 Domestic is industry best practice and, for the first time in decades, Perth Airport has built a major terminal from the ground up rather than modify existing and seriously flawed designs.

The international terminal (T1), the former Ansett terminal (T3) and the original Perth Airport terminal built for the Commonwealth Games in 1962 are all a nightmare for the airport, with designs that are difficult to alter and expand to meet demands.

There is clearly a new energy at Perth Airport.

It is actively managing the phenomenal passenger growth of recent years, although this has abated over the past 18 months, and now the traumas of catching up are a thing of the past.

However, there is no time to relax and that is not lost on airport chief executive Brad Geatches.

He notes that though passenger growth has flattened, the long-term trend is skywards.

In fact, Perth Airport is one of the world’s fastest growing, with an average of nine per cent growth a year since jets were introduced domestically in 1964.

It has a clear expansion strategy and is well advanced with planning for the next phase of the airport’s development.

Next on the radar is a third runway.

Perth Airport

This has slowed in the past 18 months as the mining boom has moved from construction to production and the price of commodities has slumped.

However, international traffic continues to climb which has meant that while domestic traffic is sluggish compared to the peak in 2007/08 of 13. 47 per cent growth, the trend is still positive.

However, while aircraft movements have reduced the airport is still at capacity during three daily peaks three days a week, fuelling demand for a third runway.

But WA has experienced five booms and busts over the past 50 years and Geatches says it is just “a matter of time” before the growth picks up again.

In a major step forward in future-proofing WA’s aviation infrastructure, the airport awarded a $45 million contract to design the third runway and gain environmental approvals in September. The winning team is a joint venture partnership between Australia and South Africabased Aurecon and US company AECOM, which are world leaders in engineering and airport design.

At the time Geatches said that while demand for intrastate flights was subdued, being ready for a change in demand was critical to future success.

“Demand has proved volatile and difficult to forecast,” he said at the time.

“For this reason, it is necessary to get infrastructure design and approvals progressed, despite the current softening in demand so that we can invest in future capacity in a timely manner. ” Geatches said that consistent with the Perth Airport masterplan, the third runway was due to be finished within the decade, subject to demand during the period.

The $45 million investment includes the airspace design and public consultation.

The new runway will be 2,700m-long and 45m wide, running parallel to the existing main runway and between Terminal 1 and Abernethy Road.

Geatches said the project included about 9km of taxiways, which would integrate the runway with the existing airfield.

State Transport Minister Dean Nalder commended Perth Airport on its investment decision, telling Australian Aviation that “there is no doubt this infrastructure will be needed for business and leisure travel in the future, to support the state’s continued prosperity. ” The cost of the third runway project is estimated at $480 million.

And ahead of that additional runway Perth Airport has moved to eliminate irritating and costly fog diversions with a $36 million upgrade to the facility’s ILS.

In November Perth Airport announced that with Airservices,