Goodbye to A: Memories from the concourse we’ll (kinda) miss
Published September 11, 2019
Quick update: We said goodbye to Concourse A in fall 2019. See what’s next for PDX.
You’ve probably heard the news already: We’re demolishing Concourse A to make room for more of what you love about PDX.
Known for its dim lights, low ceilings and crowded seating areas, A is overdue for a farewell party. You deserve comfier spaces, tastier food and faster Wi-Fi. And you’re getting it. Starting in November 2019, all Alaska Airlines flights will depart from Concourse C, where you’ll find more local restaurants and spacious spots to recharge before takeoff.
But saying goodbye to Concourse A is bittersweet. We’ve had plenty of memorable times here, and we’re sure you have some stories to share, too.
Surprise wedding proposals, stranded kitty cats, lost fanny packs — a lot of action has unfolded over the years at A’s 14 gates. We’ve rounded up six #GoodbyeA stories from travelers and employees to mark this key milestone in PDX’s history.
Share your story and you could win a free flight: Use the #GoodbyeA hashtag to share your best — or worst — memory on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter before November 14, 2019 then follow PDX and Alaska Airlines. You’ll automatically be entered to win two round-trip tickets. (Tip: Make sure your post is public.)
Late night fun on the mic
Who knew Concourse A was one of the most happening late-night comedy clubs in Portland? Frequent Alaska Airlines flyers, that’s who. It’s a little-known tradition that A gate agents working the evening shift have some fun when they make announcements on the microphones. Take Kate’s word for it. She logged onto Twitter to praise the performances as “stand-up comedy hour for all the @AlaskaAir ticket counter agents,” who try to outdo each other with wit and sass. “It definitely made the whole atmosphere lighter,” another traveler named Fran wrote in with a compliment, saying “everyone in the boarding area was laughing.” When you think about it, the concourse's dark and crowded spaces do sort of resemble a 1980s-era bar that regularly hosts open-mic events. But thankfully, the show won’t stop when A shuts down. The bar is getting an upgrade, as we make room for a bigger and brighter Concourse B, where you’ll have comfier seats and more food and drink options to enjoy during the impromptu shows.
The old carpet feels like home
“When people say A is dingy, I understand where they’re coming from, but I never think about it that way,” says Mark Mohammadpour, who describes himself as “not quite a million-mile flyer.” As a former PR executive turned wellness entrepreneur, Mark has spent much of his career traveling in and out of PDX for work, with many of his flights departing from A. He’s grown to adore the airport’s most dated corner. “It just feels like home,” he reminisces, specifically recalling a stretch of old carpet in Concourse A near the escalators, where he’s taken a few shoe selfies. “Though, of course, it’s not just the carpet; it’s the surroundings, the local brands, the local art,” he says. The good news? More of that neighborhood character is coming. “Screen Door [opening in Concourse B in 2021] is a great representation of that,” Mark adds. “Whether visitors are flying in from another state or country, they can see in a few minutes what Portland is like just by walking around the airport.”
Kitty needs litter now
Nick Lisac gets a lot of questions. As a ground service team captain at PDX, he organizes agents to keep the A gates running smoothly, orchestrating anything from loading and unloading suitcases to stocking snacks on airplanes between flights. But one night, a call from baggage claim surprised him: Do you have any cat litter? “At first I’m like, cat litter? Holy smokes,” Nick says. “It’s one of those odd questions, not about airplanes, bags or people. But cat litter.” You see, a family of six was relocating with their pet from Texas to Seattle, and they were delayed till the next day at PDX due to a gnarly winter storm. Nick understood the implications: This tired cat needed some litter or it wouldn’t be a pleasant stay for the family at the nearby hotel. “I called baggage claim back and said I’d get some litter,” he recalls. “I never did meet the family. They were probably out walking their cat.” Still, he’s pretty certain that kitty purred.
Not lost in translation
It’s always frustrating when you miss a flight, especially if you make it to your gate minutes after the last boarding call. But a few unlucky factors meant one elderly man stranded at Concourse A had a more stressful experience than most travelers do: He was stuck at the airport alone. It was late in the evening. And language barriers made it difficult for him to communicate with the airport staff. That’s when the multilingual Horizon Air employee Frankie Torres entered the scene. He gracefully stepped in to serve as the traveler’s translator. Frankie delivered the bad news that the flight had already departed, rebooked him for the next morning and even called the traveler’s family to explain the situation. But Frankie didn’t stop there. Knowing that the man was still feeling lost, he reserved a room at a nearby hotel, chauffeured him to the lobby and served as the interpreter for the front-desk staff. Rumor is that older man did a little happy dance when he boarded his flight the next day.
Fannypack: lost and found
One of the great mysteries of our era is the resurgence of the fanny pack. Yes, it’s 2019 and the fashion-forward travelers at PDX seem to have forgotten the long-ago days of 2010 when it was a little embarrassing to wear a fanny pack in public. But our pals Karen and Jim remember June 2010 all too well. That’s when they lost their prized pack at the Concourse A Travel Mart. This, of course, wasn’t a novelty accessory that Karen had purchased at a hip vintage store on Hawthorne; no, she had crammed it full of cash, credit cards and her driver’s license. (We’re omitting Karen’s last name to protect the earnest.) It’s no wonder that panic struck her when she was waiting for her ride and noticed her pack was missing. Thankfully, airport employees found and returned it to airport security, with the valuables intact. “I seriously doubted I would be that lucky,” Karen says. “I can't say thank you enough to those employees and the Port for their care and concern.” So sport that fanny pack with pride, Karen. It’s fashionable now.
Happily ever after
You may not think of Concourse A as an especially romantic corner of PDX. But you’re not Sami Petricka, an airport employee whose partner, semi-professional soccer player Cameron La Fleur, proposed to her while she was on break. “I had just gotten done with a flight and was charging inside to grab some quick food. I thought it was weird that I was calling him and he wasn’t answering,” Sami laughs. “I sent him a message: ‘Answer your phone, you jerk, I’ve only got 10 minutes.’” That’s when Sami heard Cameron announce her name on the speaker system. “My heart started pumping — that’s probably all you could hear throughout the whole concourse,” recalls Cameron, who had wanted to make a grand romantic gesture when he asked her to marry him. He purchased a flight so he could pass through security and meet her on her break. “We’re all about surprises,” Sami says, “so when I heard his voice, I knew he got me good.” Cameron knelt down. The entire concourse applauded. Sami blushed and, of course, she said yes.
The flexible interior spaces were designed with the future of travel in mind — and to give you plenty of comfortable spots to recharge before your next flight.
Two permanent installations from acclaimed contemporary artist Jacob Hashimoto hang like clouds above the concourse’s common areas.
Shops and restaurants are clustered together like city blocks, with a pedestrian-friendly scale and lots of room to spread out.
Artist Jacob Hashimoto’s canopy of kite-like discs reflects the atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest, with locally inspired graphics incorporated throughout.
Sky-high windows fill the interior with daylight while maximizing the concourse extension’s energy efficiency.
At the east end of the concourse, a wall of windows opens up this epic view of Mt. Hood, where you’ll definitely want to pose for a photo before takeoff.
The Concourse E extension project is the dedicated home for Southwest Airlines at PDX, with six new gates.
Remember the view of Mt. Hood on Concourse E? It’s coming back, brighter than ever.
Tillamook’s menu includes the best of the classics with fried cheese curds and a signature grilled cheese.
Calliope takes its name from one of Oregon’s native hummingbirds and showcases creative and playful keepsakes.
Grab your favorite book, magazine or newspaper at Your Northwest Travel Mart.
Remember the feeling of walking through an Oregon forest for the first time?
That feeling inspired the design of the new Concourse B.
An early movement flow study for the new Concourse B.
The new Concourse B has great exposure to southern light.
Interior rendering for the new Concourse B.
The new Concourse B has Pacific Northwest touches like warm wood panels and indoor greenery.
Exterior rendering of the new Concourse B.
The six new ground loading gates for Alaska Airlines are bigger and brighter.
Our new rental car center opens in 2021.
Movable plants and furniture make the space flexible.
When the new rental car center opens in 2021, you won’t need a shuttle to pick up your car.
Interior acoustical materials help reduce noise.
The new facility also provides more long-term parking, new office spaces, and a new and relocated parking toll plaza building.
A new exit plaza opened in November 2019.
Every design decision we make is about keeping the heart and soul of PDX intact. You’ll see homages to all the things you love about our city and region in the new airport designs.
The new terminal’s wooden roof (as seen in this close-up rendering, right) might remind you of daylight filtering through forest canopies.
You’ll notice subtle nods to Pacific Northwest elements throughout the new space. The ripples and currents of our pristine rivers, for example, are inspiring the undulating flow of the wooden roof, as depicted in this architectural model (right).
We’re filling the new main terminal with a lot of Portland love — both in terms of regionally sourced materials and, well, doughnuts. (C’mon, what would PDX be without doughnuts?)
You’ll see a scene something like this when you enter the more spacious ticket lobby at PDX. This early architectural rendering previews the vision for the iconic wooden roof — inspired by Pacific Northwest nature, craft and our partly sunny skies.
Natural light, living trees and native Oregon foliage might give you the feeling of walking through a park, as this early architectural rendering shows.
Expanding the heart of the airport creates more spaces for the local shops and restaurants you love. Architects are thoughtfully planning these public spaces to resemble the human-friendly scale of your favorite Portland neighborhoods.
Tom Strong - Chief Executive Officer, Skokomish Indian Tribe, Skokomish Washington
"We're foresters in that we're stewards," says Tom Strong, Chief Executive Officer of the Skokomish Indian Tribe, which manages 200 acres of Washington forests for its 800 tribal members. "We're not cutting and planting, seeking to develop our lands into a commodity. Instead, we're doing it to restore the forest."
Over the past 100 years, the two dams on the North Fork River have had a major impact on the entire ecosystem of Skokomish land. "We want to restore the entire Hood Canal watershed," Tom says. The forests are just one part.
Selling wood from Douglas fir trees the tribe selectively thinned will help fund this restoration. "We don't have an endless amount of money," Tom says. "But we would like to think we've got an endless amount of time."
Ben Hayes - Co-owner, Hyla Woods, Cherry Grove, Oregon
Ben Hayes is a sixth-generation forester who manages Hyla Woods, outside Cherry Grove, Oregon, with his father, Peter. He is also a sustainable-forestry consultant. At Hyla Woods, the Hayes experiment with selective thinning and patch cutting, instead of clear-cutting, to foster diversity of tree species, ages, and sizes.
"When you look 100 years out, having greater complexity in terms of species and the structure of the forest, you can increase the forest's resilience in the face of extreme weather and drought," he says.
"We're working toward a model of forestry that you could practice for the perpetual future,” Ben says. “It's a model that lifts up both rural and urban communities and the ecosystems we rely on."
Richard and Ann Hanschu - Owners, Doneen, Forest Grove, Oregon
Ann Hanschu's father first bought land outside Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1956. Ann grew up trailing her father around the forest, learning from him. The Hanschus now have three children, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Richard says, "We're planting trees that our grandchildren will see the profits from — not even our children. It's long-range thinking."
"A lot of the timber is older,” Ann adds. “We're laddering it with trees of different age groups — some 30-40 years old, some 10-20 years old — so the land can continue to produce a sustainable amount of wood."
Herman Flamenco - Central Cascades Conservation Forester, The Nature Conservancy, Cle Elum, Washington
"We know historically that the stands we're working on were overstocked," says Herman Flamenco, Central Cascades conservation forester for the Nature Conservancy, of the 50,000 acres outside Cle Elum, Washington, the organization manages. Thinning the trees welcomes in light and biodiversity.
Some loggers in the region worry that this low-impact approach to forestry yields less lumber, and less profit, than clear-cutting. One local outfit took on this labor-intensive challenge, selectively harvesting Doug fir trees from steep slopes.
"Western Washington is wetter. In our dry climate, there's less moisture and increased fire risk," Herman says. "As we look at climate change, it's just going to get dryer. We want to make sure we can keep our forests around."