In the Air and on the Sea, Port of Seattle Marks Milestones

The Port of Seattle will celebrate by air and by sea this week as it marks two major milestones in regional transportation and tourism - the first-ever christening of a cruise ship in Seattle and the opening of the all-new Arrivals Hall and Concourse A at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

"This is a big week for the Port and the entire region," said Port of Seattle Commission President Paige Miller. "Princess Cruise Lines could have christened the magnificent Sapphire Princess anywhere in the world, but they chose the Port of Seattle. It shows we've become a major cruise port. And at Sea-Tac this weekend, we're opening our first new passenger facility in 30 years, a spectacular and exciting public space."

The cruise ship christening event is scheduled for the evening of Thursday, June 10 at the Port's Terminal 30 cruise facility. More than two thousand local travelers will board the ship the next day for a special, two-night cruise from Seattle to Victoria, British Columbia and back.

On Sunday, the 2,670-passenger Sapphire will join its sister ship, the Diamond Princess, for a summer season of seven-day round trip cruises to Alaska via the Inside Passage.

Also this week, another cruise line, Celebrity Cruises, will launch its own new, Seattle- Alaska service. Celebrity's 1,870-passenger Mercury will offer seven-day round trip voyages departing on Fridays

The other cruise ships homeported in Seattle this summer are: Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Spirit and Norwegian Star; Holland America Line's Amsterdam and Oosterdam; and American West Steamboat's Empress of the North.

The Port will see a total of 149 homeport cruise ship calls and more than half-a-million passengers this year. Cruise ship activity will generate more than 1,700 jobs, $59 million in payroll, $208 million in business revenue and $5.9 million in state and local taxes throughout our region.

"The cruise industry is a welcome addition the Seattle's rich maritime economy," said Port of Seattle CEO M. R. Dinsmore. "From Puget Sound pilots and longshore workers to vessel agents, marine fuel suppliers and ship provisioners, the cruise ships bolster our thriving maritime sector."

"It's truly a banner week for the Port with the Sapphire Christening and the public Open House for the new airport," Dinsmore said.

"We're very excited to open our new airport facilities," said Gina Marie Lindsey, managing director of aviation for the Port. "It has been a long time in the making and the events of September 11, 2001 changed the security parameters for the project. But we successfully responded to those changes and completed it on time."

Opening June 15, the new concourse has 14 gates - double the number of the old concourse. It also features a dozen new restaurants and shops, the airport's first moving sidewalks, and a grand Arrivals Hall, which features a 70-foot-tall steel ceiling with natural light along a 300-foot-long window wall. A unique rock and water feature, designed by famed landscape architect Robert Murase, flows from the outside in "through" the window wall. A full-size replica of the aircraft Voyager, on loan from the Museum of Flight, hangs from the ceiling.

A public Open House at the new facility is set for Saturday, June 12, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The family friendly event will feature art tours; live entertainment; jugglers and clowns; refreshments; fabulous views of the airfield and Port Police, Fire Department, and Wildlife staff with interactive displays about the work they do at the airport.

Airlines with gates on the new 2,102-foot-long concourse are American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, Sun Country, ATA and Sea-Tac's newest international carrier China Airlines, which begins service on June 22.

One of the most distinctive features in Concourse A is the public art visible to travelers. Nearly $2 million worth of commissioned art is included in the project. Among the works:

A visual and sound "Contraption" by the artist Trimpin;

An amber glass wall with photos of the northwest's logging heritage by Linda Beaumont;

Mosaic coverings for nine structural columns from nine different artists, all fabricated by Stephen J. Miotto;

53 large panes of brightly painted and fired glass by Cappy Thompson.

Most of the shops and stores in Concourse A will be operated by locally-owned small businesses. The Port has established a goal of generating 25 percent of concessions revenue from Disadvantaged Business Enterprises. New restaurants include Africa Lounge, Great American Bagel Bakery, La Pisa Café, Manchu Wok, Mountain Room, Starbucks Coffee, The Grove Natural Snacks, Tully's Coffee, four Hudson News & Gift shops and a bookstore.

What you don't see on Concourse A is just as important as what you do. The new baggage handling system installed as part of the project will handle one-third of all luggage at Sea-Tac. That's about 52,000 bags per day, all of which will be screened with in-line explosive detection equipment. Arriving bags will appear in the Arrivals Hall at one of four new carousel baggage-claim devices.