Official Statement Airport Commission City and County of San ...

Current Airport Facilities
General
The Airport occupies approximately 5,171 acres, of which approximately 2,383 acres have been developed
for Airport use. Approximately 2,788 acres are tidelands, and have not been developed.
Airfield
General. The runway and taxiway system occupies approximately 1,700 acres and includes four
intersecting runways, three of which are equipped with instrument landing systems (an “ILS”) for arrivals. Each of
the four runways is 200 feet wide and is paved with asphaltic concrete. The east-west runways are 11,870 and
10,600 feet long, respectively. The north-south runways are 8,648 and 7,500 feet long, respectively. The current
runway system can accommodate the arrival and departure at maximum loads of all commercial aircraft currently in
service and those in development, including the new large aircraft such as the Airbus A-380 and the Boeing 787
Dreamliner. The current runways at the Airport are built on bay tidelands that were filled during and after World
War II. As a result, the runways continue to settle at various rates, and require periodic repair and maintenance
work.
On-Time Performance. On-time flights are defined by the U.S. DOT as any flight that arrives or departs
within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival or departure time. During calendar year 2008, 69.1% of the arrivals at the
Airport were on time, down from approximately 69.8% for calendar year 2007, according to the U.S. DOT statistics.
The Airport, which operates four runways, was behind the other Bay Area airports in on-time arrivals in calendar
year 2008, with 80.3% of on-time arrivals at Oakland, which operates one runway, and 80.4% of on-time arrivals at
San Jose, which operates two runways. Arrival on-time performance is lower at the Airport than that of the two
other Bay Area airports due primarily to the prevalence of low clouds and fog around the Airport during various
times of the year. During calendar year 2008, 75.2% of the Airport’s departures were on time, down from 75.7% for
calendar year 2007, according to the U.S. DOT On-Time Departure Performance Statistics. This compares to 81.2%
of on-time departures for Oakland and 84.2% of on-time departures for San Jose.
The Commission has acquired and installed an FAA Precision Runway Monitoring System (a “PRM”) for
its primary arrival runways (28R and 28L). In good weather conditions (cloud ceiling of at least 3,600 feet) 60
planes per hour land at the Airport. In adverse weather conditions (cloud ceiling of between 1,600 feet and
3,600 feet) 30 planes per hour were previously permitted to land at the Airport. The PRM, combined with the
implementation of a Simultaneous Offset Instrument Approach flight procedure, now allows as many as 38 planes
per hour to land during adverse weather conditions.
Improvements to Accommodate New Large Aircraft. The introduction of new large aircraft (“NLAs”) will
significantly affect airport design at most airports in the United States where NLAs are expected to operate.
Generally, existing facilities are designed for aircraft having a maximum wingspan of 213 feet. It is anticipated that
the NLAs, with a wingspan of 262 feet, could require, among other things, reinforced pavement and aprons, and
more clearance and separation on the taxiways, at the gates, and for the aircraft parking positions.
The Airport currently operates three gates in the International Terminal Complex with sufficient clearance
to accept NLAs, and is considering making modifications to three additional gates in the ITC to accept NLAs. In
October 2007, the Airport completed taxiway modifications to accommodate the NLAs, and was the first airport on
the West Coast to do so. As a result, the runways and most of the taxiways do not require relocation or realignment
to accommodate NLAs. A foreign air carrier is expected to commence the first regularly scheduled NLA flights to
the Airport in April 2010.
Terminals
International Terminal. The International Terminal Complex (the “ITC”) is a 2.5 million square foot
state-of-the-art facility located directly above an entry roadway network, and houses ticketing, Federal Inspection
Service, baggage facilities, concessions, and airline offices. The approximately 1.7 million square foot terminal
connects to the new Boarding Areas A and G, which have a combined space of approximately 850,000 square feet
and 24 gates. The ITC (with total floor area covering almost 44 football fields), completed in 2000, is the largest
common use airport terminal in the United States. The Airport owns and maintains a common use baggage system
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