Passengers traveling via AirTran and Southwest Airlines now have a new place to wait for their flights. The Club at RDU opened in the former U.S. Airways space in Terminal 1 near Gate A21 on Sunday, May 1.
The facility provides the amenities passengers have come to enjoy in a standard airline club. However, The Club at RDU is operated by a contractor for the Airport Authority and is open to travelers from any airline through daily fees and without an annual membership.
Both AirTran and JetBlue are moving from the central portion of Terminal 1 in advance of a modernization project in the building.
JetBlue moved to Terminal 2 the night of May 10 and began operations in that building on Wednesday, May 11. AirTran will move to the north end of Terminal 1 on May 23.
John Brantley, the airport director at Raleigh-Durham International Airport for 29 years, recently announced that he will retire effective July 31. Brantley made the announcement at the March 24 meeting of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority Board.
Following the announcement, the board formed a committee of the whole to lead the search for Brantley's successor.
It's a special honor to be a part of one of the most successful regional partnerships in North Carolina and perhaps, the country. By State of North Carolina legislation in 1939, the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority (initially called the Raleigh-Durham Aeronautical Authority) was created as a partnership of Durham County, the city of Durham, the city of Raleigh and Wake County.
It is an excellent example of the great things that can be achieved by working together, collaborating with shared vision and goals. This wonderful regional partnership has resulted in one of the finest Airports in the world — RDU International Airport.
This Spring, nearly 300 World War II veterans took trips of a lifetime from RDU to Washington D.C. thanks to the local non-profit, Triangle Flight of Honor.
RDU is proud to have hosted three Triangle Flights of Honor. Throughout April and May, the flights took WWII veterans to see the memorial built in their honor in Washington, D.C. along with other important sites such as the Korean and Vietnam memorials, the U.S. Capitol, White House and Smithsonian Museums.
Now that Terminal 2 is fully operational, the thought in some quarters is “I guess they're finally finished building things at RDU.” Not so fast there. There aren't many infrastructure components whose development or redevelopment is ever finished, and airports, especially the larger ones, are near the head of the line in continuous building.
RDU Update rduupdate@rdu.com
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