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Mr Moss said the planned improvements to Terminal 1, one of the two international terminals, would "turn the thing into a global shopping center". But he said that it was the trend established in airports around the world, where a "captive audience" of travelers waiting to board aircraft are incentivized to spend money in elegant shops and restaurants. "J.F.K. was very slow to recognize that there was more money to be won on the ground than in the airplanes, "he said.
Mr Cotton said that a consortium of four foreign carriers – Lufthansa, Air France, Japan Airlines and Korean Airlines – was committed to spending $ 7 billion to replace Terminals 1 and 2 by a giant terminal. containing 23 doors and 230,000 square feet of shops and restaurants. He said the complex would be operated by the Munich International Airport and would be connected to Terminal 4, integrating the south side of the airport.
On the north side, JetBlue proposed to demolish Terminal 7 and build a $ 3 billion international terminal that would be connected to the hub of the airline located at Terminal 5. One of JetBlue's development partners is RXR Realty, a Long Island-based company Scott Rechler, former vice president of the port authority and major campaign contributor to Mr. Cuomo.
The proposals for the new terminals still have to be approved by the port authority commissioners, half of whom are appointed by the governor of New Jersey. But this group has been exceptionally cooperative since Philip D. Murphy, a Democrat like Mr. Cuomo, has succeeded Chris Christie, a Republican, in Trenton.
Some transport experts have asked the port authority to increase the capacity of J.F.K. by adding at least one track. The Regional Plan Association called for two additional tracks in its overall vision of the region's transportation network last year.
But adding a runway is politically thorny, because it would take properties adjacent to the airport or encroach on Jamaica Bay, which runs along the southern border of J.F.K. Mr. Cotton said the airport could cope with the projected growth of passenger traffic by placing it in larger aircraft and, taking advantage of advances in air traffic technology, bringing planes closer together to allow to more flights to arrive and leave every hour. He pointed out that London-Heathrow airport handled 80 million passengers a year with only two runways.
"What we need are passenger facilities and roads," Cotton said. "We are trying to build an airport where the experience of passengers inside the terminals is significantly improved compared to what it is today at J.F.K. The measuring stick is the other airports.
Travelers visit other airports around the world and ask, "How is it that J.F.K. can not be like these airports, "said Mr. Cotton." This is not impossible. "
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