A new seven-level parking structure and the valet service open directly across from the terminal the same day.
The airport is owned and operated by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, a joint-powers agency. Each of the three cities appoints three of its nine commissioners. Its president is Pasadena Councilmember Tyron Hampton.
“We want people to come here. We want people to see this experience,” Hampton said during an Oct. 5 preview.
One central building replaces the old A and B arrangement. Inside the entrance, ticketing is to the right and the eight-lane security checkpoint is straight ahead. Baggage claim, with three carousels, is to the left. Passengers still board planes outdoors; there are no jet bridges.
Airlines serving the airport include Southwest, Alaska, American, Delta, United, JetBlue, Breeze, Allegiant and Frontier.
“The two big things were: number one, keep it convenient. Number two, keep airfield boarding — no jet bridges,” airport spokesman Mike Christensen told SFGATE.
Other features include:
- wider corridors and larger waiting areas
- more seating, with wireless charging at gate seating tables
- larger restrooms
- an open-air bar just past security
- animated and LED information displays
- interlocking doors at the secure-side exit, designed to prevent backtracking
- natural light and floor-to-ceiling windows
- terrazzo floors in the ticketing hall, where ceilings rise to 48 feet
- current accessibility requirements built into the design
“This terminal has everything. It’s got enough seating. It’s got the power ports,” Rep. Laura Friedman said at the ribbon-cutting.
Corgan and CannonDesign were the architecture and design team. The architectural concept, called “The Icon,” uses a canopy that evokes a movie screen, columns inspired by searchlights and star-like ceiling lights. Two 16-foot illuminated “Electra” sculptures honor the Lockheed Electra aircraft and Amelia Earhart. Artist Glenn Kaino’s installation “When We Reflect” refers to camouflage that incarcerated Japanese Americans made at Santa Anita during World War II.
“You can see just exactly that, that they didn’t want to lose that sort of nostalgic feeling from the other terminal,” California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said at the ribbon-cutting.
“This terminal is a reflection of this community,” said Ernesto Medrano, executive secretary of the Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, at the ribbon-cutting.
The building is all-electric and is pursuing LEED Gold certification. It has a 750-kilowatt rooftop solar system, uses reclaimed water for irrigation, uses electric ground equipment and is landscaped with native and adaptive plants.
The terminal keeps the 14 gates that Burbank voters approved in Measure B in 2016. It replaces a complex whose original facilities date to 1930 and which sits too close to the runways under current Federal Aviation Administration standards. Passenger service there is scheduled to end Monday, Oct. 12. The old terminal also falls short of current seismic, building code and accessibility requirements. The new building is about 53% larger.
The new gates are standardized for modern aircraft. “Airlines no longer have to ask, ‘Do I have an aircraft that will fit in Burbank?'” airport Executive Director John Hatanaka told SFGATE.
The announced food and retail lineup includes Pasadena’s Jones Coffee, a Pasadena-oriented shop featuring Octavia’s Bookshelf, Poquito Mas and Flavortown by Guy Fieri. Crews were still finishing several concession spaces at the Oct. 5 ribbon-cutting, so not every restaurant and shop may be open the first morning.
The lineup also includes West Coast Customs’ SmashBurger, Massis Kabob, Perry’s Joint and the chef-driven concepts Farmtable Bistro, Socalo, Osteria Fiorella/Pizzeria Salvy and Slanted Door. Metropolitan Culinary Services, a Burbank company, has served the airport since 1992.
The parking structure has about 2,000 spaces, 400 of them for valet. Parking is open 24 hours a day, with a maximum stay of 30 days. Self-park entry is ticketless, so drivers must use the same credit card to enter and exit. Advance parking reservations were unavailable in September during a change of parking operators, while drive-up parking remained available. Electric-vehicle charging in the self-park area costs $0.50 per kilowatt-hour, and the airport has about 310 charging ports. Valet customers can request charging for a handling fee.
Rental cars remain at the Regional Intermodal Transportation Center, with a shuttle to the terminal. A new rideshare pickup lot is near the terminal. The Burbank Airport–North Metrolink station connects to the terminal by a pedestrian path and an on-demand shuttle. Drivers picking up passengers may not wait at the curb.
Parking questions can be directed to askparking@bur.org or 818-840-8838.
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