Window Seat (IAD) Mobile Lounge Midfield Terminal D

Terminal D at Washington Dulles International Airport (iAD) was built in 1985-1986 by Presidential Airways. It was the airport's first midfield terminal and helped solve a design issue that had prevented IAD from becoming a major hub for US airlines. in the early days of deregulation, airlines discovered it was far more economical to operate a hub-and spoke model versus trying to only accommodate nonstops. IAD however, was designed around a concept that had large mobile lounges that would drive passengers from a central main terminal directly to their plane parked out in the airport field. The lounges would dock directly to the planes, reducing excessive walking, protecting passengers from weather, and eliminating the need for air=stairs. The approach was innovative but the complete dependency on the Mobile Lounges made it difficult for passengers and airlines to manage fast and efficient connecting flights through IAD. The construction of midfeild terminals changed that and allowed Dulles to grow and expand to one of the worlds biggest and most important airports.

But Presidential Airways wasn't alone in seeing opportunity at Dulles. New York Air (in partnership with Continental), United, and Pan Am also pursued establishing hub at IAD. New York Air and Continental operated our of 7 gates at the based of the Main Terminal; United built the second midfield terminal (Terminal C), and Pan Am ultimately struggled to make Dulles work for them. They weren't alone. Due to the intense competition, Presidential was forced to sell their gates to Continential following their merger with New York Air and PeoplExpress in 1987. Continental abruptly adandoned their IAD hub in favor of Newark and Cleveland a year or so later. United subsequently connected the C and D terminals which mostly remain the same today as they were in the 80s/90s.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Terminal C and D were designed as fast, temporary solutions to the infrastructure needs of the airport. Yet, almost 40 years later, these terminals still serve passengers and remain relatively unchanged. Had Eero Saarinen designed Dulles with midfield terminals, I what what that would have looked like?

ABOUT THE VIDEO
This special edition of "Window Seat" contains the following content:
(A) Window view of the Mobile Lounge as it goes from the Main Terminal to the D Gates.
(B) Highlight of some of the enduring characteristics from when Presidential Airways first built the midfield terminal. These include:

(1) Phase 2/current Shuttle Gates in the D Terminal,
(2) The Rotunda,
(3) A view down Terminal D's Phase 2 & 3,
(4) former entrances to Presidential's VIP Lounges (aka "The Oval Office"),
(5) the former Phase 1 Shuttle Gates, and (6) a few other gates details.

I've tried to be as accurate and organized as possible but welcome any feedback on how to improve the entertainment and historical aspects of this video. Enjoy! -Hangar XV