Cheapflights.ca Features Extreme Airport Makeovers

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - Sep 30, 2015) -  Big changes are coming to some of the biggest airports in the world. The updates are changing the face of travel, and the travel experts at Cheapflights.ca, the champions of simple travel search, have the details on the new looks with their Extreme Makeover: 13 Airport Facelifts around the World. These 13 airport makeovers range from enhancements to improve security and passenger flow all the way to fun, new retail, dining and entertainment venues. Even cats and dogs will soon be getting the VIP treatment with one major airport building a luxury terminal exclusively for animals.

Below are six airports popular with Canadian travellers where renovation and expansion are making their mark:

• John F. Kennedy International Airport - JFK plans to open a $48 million luxury terminal in 2016 - but not just any terminal. This one won't actually cater to humans. No, really. The new luxury terminal will be just for animals and the first of its kind in the world. The 16,536-square-metre quarantine and boarding facility will be dubbed "The ARK" and will have hay-lined stalls for up to 70 horses and 180 head of cattle as well as an aviary and holding pens for goats, pigs and sheep. There will also be a 1,858-square-metre area for dogs complete with a bone-shaped pool, flat-screen TVs and puppy massages. Oh, and cats will have their own trees to climb.
  
  
• Toronto Pearson International Airport - Both Terminal 1 and Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson are getting a facelift. Why? Well, it's estimated that by 2030, 60 million passengers per year will travel through the airport -- that's a lot of people passing through, which means a need for more streamlined service. With that in mind, these improvements are being put into place to improve passenger flow and introduce new and refreshed facilities and retail offerings. Upgrades to Terminal 1 started in 2014 and are expected to be complete by 2019. The Terminal 3 Enhancement Project is expected to be complete in 2017. Expect to see new and refreshed facilities, more retail offerings and new Automatic Passport Clearance kiosks and Global Entry Kiosks.
  
  
• Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport - Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) unveiled a $2 billion new airport terminal, T2, in 2014. The design of the new four-level terminal combines international and domestic passenger services under one roof and was built to efficiently accommodate up to 40 million passengers per year. The terminal's new retail space is four times the size of the original shopping concourse and, if you don't feel like shopping, you can always look at art. T2 is home to India's largest art museum with more than 7,000 pieces of artwork and artifacts from every region of India.
  
  
• Vancouver International Airport - Vancouver International recently unveiled a 27,500-square-metre, $213-million expansion of the Domestic Terminal, the A-B Connector. This expansion provides improved passenger flow, increased gate capacity, new security and safety enhancements, 10 new retail offerings and the 665-square-metre Plaza Premium Lounge, the largest pay-per-use lounge in North America. In addition, the newly opened McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Centre is located just two train stops away from YVR's main terminal. Opened in July, the centre offers 50 (and counting) stores. It's also less than 30 minutes by train from downtown Vancouver.
  
  
• San Francisco International Airport - SFO is currently nearing completion of the Terminal 3 East project. The airport is set to open the concourse on November 18. Described as an "evolution from inside and out" the project means the concourse will soon have soaring skylights and stylish seating as well as hundreds of USB ports and power outlets. The new Terminal 3 East Concourse will also feature several works of art created specifically for the new space, including Amy Ellingson's "Floating World", photography from Bay Area Photographers Sanaz Mazinani and Vanessa Marsh and a ceramic translation showcasing the work of Louisiana Bendoff of the Gee's Bend Quilters.
  
  
• Los Angeles International Airport - Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at LAX (opened to the public in 2013) includes a 13,935-square-metre Great Hall and 18 new aircraft boarding gates, half of which can accommodate the largest airplanes in the world. TBT is also home to nearly 70 new dining and retail shopping outlets and public art commissions. The design of the terminal was inspired by the undulating waves of the Pacific Ocean.
  
  

The airports where renovations are reshaping the travel experience that round out our list are: Tokyo Narita Airport; London Gatwick; Honolulu Airport; Amsterdam Schiphol Airport; Newark Liberty International Airport; and LaGuardia International Airport. To read more on these Extreme Makeovers: 13 Airport Facelifts around the World, visit www.cheapflights.ca/news/extreme-makeover-13-airport-facelifts-around-the-world.

About Cheapflights.ca, part of the Momondo Group
Momondo Group is an online travel media and technology company that is driven by the belief that an open world is a better world. The group now serves travel search and inspiration to over 17.5 million visitors a month -- plus 8 million travel newsletter subscribers -- via its Cheapflights (www.cheapflights.ca) and momondo (www.momondo.com) brands. Skygate began the sourcing of complex air-travel data in 1992, while Cheapflights pioneered the online comparison of flight deals for users in 1996 and momondo launched meta-search in the Nordic countries in 2006. The Group has offices in London, Copenhagen and Boston with a consumer base across more than 30 core international markets but users all over the world.

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