BergerWorld: 4th Quarter 2006

New Jersey's renowned EWR opened to passengers on October 1, 1928. Located 15 miles from Midtown Manhattan, it was the first major airport to serve the New York metropolitan area. In 2006, EWR handled more than 34 million passengers, and is presently the fifth busiest international gateway to the United States. The Berger Group has been associated with EWR's ambitious development programs since 1988, including program management services for the $1.3 billion construction of a 1.9-mile-long monorail system, the construction of a new international facility at Terminal B, improvements to the Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT) and the development of additional parking facilities.

Continental Airlines, the largest provider of air transportation for the New York metropolitan area, proposed the $800 million Global Gateway Program at EWR, and PANYNJ retained the Berger Group to assist in planning and implementing the project. Berger experts evaluated air and landside facilities and operations to determine if sufficient capacity existed to accommodate Continental's growth plans. The analyses were based on data collected by PANYNJ staff, Berger and the FAA, and took into account the restrictions that the increasing fleet size at EWR imposed on the use of Runway 11-29. The Team also evaluated options to increase and improve the utilization of valuable airside property by relocating the Port Authority's administration, police and Aircraft Rescue & Fire Fighting (ARFF) building. It was determined that the relocation of the ARFF portion of the facility would meet both FAA and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) rescue response times.

The completed Continental facility includes a third concourse with 12 wide-body aircraft gates, a new baggage handling system, a 20,000-square-foot President's Club, and a new customs and immigration area. The airline has also added 600,000 square feet to the existing 1-million-square- foot terminal building and renovated more than 250,000 square feet of the existing terminal. The upgrades have resulted in improved traffic flow, easier check-in and arrival procedures and increased gate capacity.

The Berger Group was also commissioned by PANYNJ to analyze the current parking situation and develop a strategy to provide the airport with sufficient capacity to accommodate the increasing needs. The Team performed a parking rate and demand study to establish the constraints of the existing parking conditions and recommended the construction of a new 3,000-space, intermediate-term parking garage and a 3,200-space, short-term parking garage.

Additionally, current and future employee parking needs were assessed, and Berger experts identified potential locations adjacent to the airport to accommodate employee needs. Each site was evaluated based on size, development potential, existing usage, accessibility and environmental constraints. Simultaneously, a survey of airport employees was conducted to solicit information on their parking needs. The survey included an evaluation of the number of vehicles, average length of stay, shift periods, entry/exit and shuttle bus use. A follow-up study involved the feasibility of providing park-and-ride lots at off-airport locations.

Terminal A at EWR currently accommodates 11 carriers at 29 aircraft gates. To accommodate anticipated growth, PANYNJ selected the Berger Group to plan for the terminal's $1.5 billion expansion. A sophisticated, integrated capacity model is being developed to enable the Port Authority to simultaneously test and evaluate the physical and financial impacts of all proposed improvements. The effort entails evaluating terminal facilities, airfield and airspace, landside access and parking. All functional areas at and around the facility are being examined in detail to identify opportunities for improvement, including ticket counters, baggage handling systems, concessions, holdrooms, roadways, gates and ramps.

EWR's monorail system currently provides access to all three terminals, a rental car complex, long-term parking lots and Amtrak Northeast Corridor trains. In order to plan for the future of EWR's monorail system, PANYNJ retained the Berger Group to develop a forecast of ridership and criteria for the evaluation of current and future ridership services. Berger began the assignment by conducting origin and destination surveys to supplement and confirm existing data. On-site observations were also conducted to develop a Level of Service index to assess system capacity, operation efficiency and quality under varying service conditions. To develop a forecast model, the Team evaluated EWR's growth in air passengers, gate activity patterns and the availability of alternate connections between terminals. Berger also examined pending and proposed improvement projects, including the construction of a second on-site hotel, terminal upgrades, and increased employee and passenger parking improvements, and assessed their potential to alter the current patterns of monorail use.

At present time, EWR has one on-site hotel, the 10-story, 590-room Newark Airport Marriott, which opened in January 1985. In an effort to accommodate future demand, the Berger Group was selected by PANYNJ to analyze the viability of a second on-site hotel. Berger began the study by contacting select hotel operators, aviation experts and economic development officials to determine the opportunities and constraints of constructing an additional hotel. The Team then identified a small group of hotels in the vicinity that would be considered direct competitors to the proposed facility. Data from the competitor hotels was collected and compared to recent regional trends in occupancy, average daily rate and revenue per room. The Team then developed projections based on past growth rates and the historic correlation between room demand and the number of airport passengers. Berger also conducted an analysis of domestic and international airport hotel markets and found that on-site hotels exhibited a distinct competitive advantage over airport-proximate hotels. Berger was also retained by PANYNJ to conduct surveys and evaluations for over 35 hangars, buildings and terminals at JFK, EWR and LGA. The Team assessed mechanical, electrical, architectural and environmental aspects at the airports; recommended necessary repairs and replacements to the facilities; and provided cost estimates for the recommended improvements and upgrades. Overall, the Team evaluated more than five million square feet of facilities, including two hangars, seven terminals and 23 buildings at the three airports. The survey at LGA also included passenger loading bridges and U.S. Airways' cargo facilities. At the conclusion of the surveys, comprehensive engineering reports were prepared for each airport, outlining Berger's findings.

LGA is located in Queens, New York, and borders both the Flushing and Bowery Bays. Although smaller than JFK and EWR, the airport remains popular because of its close proximity to Midtown Manhattan. For a number of years, LGA has been subjected to congestion constraints, but in 2006, the facility still managed to accommodate 26 million passengers. To address the airport's flight delays, PANYNJ commissioned the Berger Group to evaluate the capacity and overall utilization of key airport terminal facilities. The Team reviewed existing data and performed a number of analyses to determine how LGA could reduce congestion and eliminate delays by modifying current terminal and facility utilization. Berger began by reviewing LGA's terminal gates, holdrooms, ticket counters and inbound baggage claim systems to identify under- or over-utilized facilities. The Team then used the NAPA Airport Management software to analyze potential gate allocation constraints. Berger recommended a number of improvements to the operations and procedures at LGA to improve efficiency and meet current and anticipated demand.

To further reduce delays at LGA, the Berger Group was selected by the Port Authority to conduct a comprehensive analysis of delay reduction measures that could be instituted at the airport, as well as strategies to decrease delays at nearby JFK. Potential improvements included new airside pavements, improved navigational aids (NAVAIDS), modified flight procedures, taxiway expansions and operational improvements. In order to ensure a comprehensive analysis, Berger assembled a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of PANYNJ staff, FAA, Air Transport Association and airline officials. The TAC was instrumental in developing alternatives and providing overall guidance and policy input during the study.

The effectiveness of each alternative was evaluated through the use of the Total Airspace and Airport Modeller (TAAM), sophisticated software that presents four-dimensional models of airspace and airports, or through other qualitative and quantitative analyses. A total of 139 TAAM evaluations were conducted, analyzing the benefits of 26 potential delay reduction measures for both LGA and JFK. Utilizing baseline activity data, the model produced estimates of delay reduction which were then used to calculate the annual savings to airlines and passengers. Order of magnitude costs were developed for each alternative and benefit-cost analyses were performed for each proposed improvement. Results were then reviewed and analyzed by the TAC prior to recommending the appropriate strategies to best serve each facility.

Teterboro Airport, located in Bergen County, New Jersey, is the oldest operating airport in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. For more than 15 years, the Berger Group has worked at Teterboro, providing engineering design, construction management and environmental services. To assist AIG and Jet Aviation, Berger recently provided planning, environmental permitting, engineering and construction support services for the design-build project of the 40,000-square-foot Hangar 122; a 250,000-square-foot expansion of the asphalt parking aprons; a new taxiway east of Hangar 122; the upgrading of oil water separators and underground storage tanks; and the extension/upgrading of stormwater and sewer lines. Berger also provided planning, design and construction management services for the addition of a 1,700-square-foot lean-to and door pockets to Hangar 107 as well as a lean-to addition to Hangar 113. Under a separate FAA-financed project, the Berger team designed and supervised the repair and rehabilitation of the secondary Runway 1-19; skid resistance improvements for primary and secondary runways; the rehabilitation of Taxiways B, D, E and F; and the upgrading of the runway lighting system.