Dawn Gilbertson

The Republic | azcentral.com

PHX Sky Train travelers on Monday afternoon heard a new recorded message as the airport shuttle pulled away from the East Economy parking lot and headed west: "This train is departing to all terminals."

Monday was the first day the automated train went beyond Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport's mammoth Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 and, via a new quarter-mile covered walkway, to tiny Terminal 2 nearby.

The new leg is just under a mile long. It makes Sky Train, which carries people to and from the East Economy lots and the 44th Street/Washington Metro light-rail station, a viable option for more travelers.

Airlines serving Terminal 3 include Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Spirit and Sun Country. Terminal 2, which eventually will close after Terminal 3 is modernized, is home to United, Alaska and Great Lakes. More than 450,000 travelers passed through Terminals 2 and 3 in the first nine months of the year.

Until now, passengers on those airlines who wanted to use Sky Train had to get off at Terminal 4 and take a shuttle bus to their terminal. The airport expects a 20 percent increase in Sky Train passengers from the expanded route.

"This milestone is great for our customers," said Tamie Fisher, acting aviation director.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, who took the inaugural Sky Train ride from the 44th Street Sky Train station to Terminal 3 with Fisher and other officials, said the longer route means there is "no longer a need to drive all the way into the airport." Their ride on Monday took seven minutes.

"One short ride for city leaders, one giant leap for Sky Harbor Airport and the traveling public," Stanton said.

He said the goal was to expand the Sky Train to Terminal 3 before the Super Bowl comes to town in February.

"You didn't make it close," he said to airport officials. "This is weeks and weeks before the Super Bowl."

The expanded Sky Train route caught Phoenix traveler Anna Johnson off guard when she arrived Monday from Portland, Ore. She boarded the train in Terminal 4, as she always does to reach the 44th Street station, and quickly found out it was heading the other way, to Terminal 3.

"I was wondering why people were standing on both sides (of the platform)," Johnson said, laughing. "I'm so used to it, I just got on."

Sun City resident Theresa Anderson rode Sky Train for the first time Monday, and she wasn't even traveling. Anderson parked at Terminal 3 to meet a friend arriving on Frontier Airlines from Chicago. The two, who hadn't seen each other in 22 years, had lunch at the new Smashburger restaurant in Terminal 4. They rode a shuttle bus there before the Sky Train opened, then Anderson rode the train back to Terminal 3. "It was really nice," she said. "It's a great way to go."

The $1.6 billion automated train, funded through airport revenue and passenger fees, debuted in April 2013 with a 1.7-mile route linking Terminal 4, the airport's busiest terminal and home to US Airways and Southwest Airlines, with the East Economy parking lots and the 44th Street/Washington station. The airport says the train averages 10,000 riders per day.

The opening of the Terminal 3 Sky Train station, on Level 2 between a security checkpoint and Bowtie Bar & Grill, will prompt changes in airport parking and shuttle-bus services after the busy holiday travel season. On Jan. 13, the West Economy parking lot, west of Terminal 2, will be renamed West Economy Park & Walk, and shuttle-bus service will be discontinued.

Travelers who use the West Economy Park & Walk lot will have to walk to Terminals 2 and 3 and take Sky Train from Terminal 3 if they are going to Terminal 4. The airport will reduce the price of parking in the lot from $9 to $7 a day, making it the cheapest lot at the airport.

Those who want to park in the airport lot but don't want to walk will have five options: new economy parking spots on the roof of the closer Terminal 2 garage ($9 a day); economy spots in the Terminal 2 garage ($11 a day); regular parking in the Terminal 2, 3 and 4 garages at $25 a day; and the East Economy lots and garages ($9-$11 a day). Sky Harbor's website — skyharbor.com — has a handy parking guide based on which airline you're on.

Several airlines — including US Airways, American, Southwest and United — offer early baggage check at the East Economy and 44th/Washington Sky Train stations. Travelers must check their bags at least 90 minutes before their flight. The service is free, but regular airline baggage fees apply. The service is not available for international flights.

The interterminal buses, which carry about 1,700 passengers a day, will continue to run until Jan. 13 so passengers have enough notice. Sky Harbor offered a similar transition period last year when Sky Train service began at the East Economy lot and shuttle-bus services from there ended.

"We ran buses for a little while until people got used to using the train, and they actually got used to it pretty quickly," airport spokeswoman Julie Rodriguez said.

The move does not affect Sky Harbor Rental Car Center buses.

Sky Train's next leg will be a big one, the 21/2-mile route to the Rental Car Center. No timetable has been set for that phase of the project.

"We cannot stay stagnant when it comes to investing in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport," Stanton said, calling it an economic engine for the city.

A 'short, short walk'?

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and airport officials like to say PHX Sky Train now goes to all terminals at the airport. That's not exactly true.

The shuttle does not stop at Terminal 2, slated for closure at some undetermined date. Passengers using Terminal 2 take a new covered walkway between Terminal 3 and Terminal 2.

Stanton called it a "short, short walk." We clocked it, walking without stopping or riding the electric carts that travel the route.

11:47 a.m.: Left Terminal 3 Sky Train station platform. Took elevator to the ground-level walkway. Started walking.

11:53 a.m.: Arrived at the United Airlines ticket counter inside Terminal 2.

Distance traveled: 0.3 mile.

Verdict: Not exactly a short, short walk, but doable unless it's 120 degrees and you're lugging heavy suitcases. The return trip was more arduous because the elevator was slow and the Sky Train station is several flights up.

PHX Sky Train

Route: A 2.4-mile route linking the station at 44th and Washington streets (near the Metro light-rail stop), the East Economy parking lots and Terminals 4 and 3. Terminal 2 is reached via a covered walkway.

Price: Free.

Hours: 24 hours a day.

Daily passengers: 10,000 on average.

More details: skyharbor.com/PHXSkyTrain.