No Gate at ATL for QR A380 on DOH-ATL Inaugural Flight

Atlanta has only one A380-capable gate, and the gate happened to be occupied by DL A320 when QR A380 DOH-ATL inaugural flight arrived. Welcome to the land of the free and the home of the brave! Talk about super user in super action lol. 

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/02/aviation/delta-air-lines-qatar-airways-atlanta-airport/index.html

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/6710416

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source: http://www.globalatlanta.com/wp-content/uploads/a0062.jpg

Why got the largest Airport in the world just one gate big enough for a380?

And why is it occupied by an a320?

Why got the largest Airport in the world just one gate big enough for a380?

And why is it occupied by an a320?

I) Atlanta might be the largest airport in the world by pax but it's O/D traffic is rather low compared to the likes of NYC airports. Only transit passengers (which yields are lower than O/Ds in general) don't work for the A380.

II) If it's not needed by a bigger plane, why not? If QR made everything right (contract etc) then ATL would have a problem for not doing accordingly to the contract. But with all this blaming one another I can see a failure by QR but just my guess.

Well a clash of two big egos. AAB wanted to stick it to Delta and at the end Delta did stick it to AAB. The gates are leased by airport to Delta on long term exclusive lease so it’s Delta’s saying what goes on and who uses the gates and when. An airport can request to Delta the gate for temporary use by other airline but according to Delta they submit operational plans 3 months in advance for gate use. So airport would have needed to ask Delta more than 3 months or more in advance to make that gate available. AAB only requested that gate one month in advance when QR decided to use 380 instead of 772. At the end, Delta would need to give up 2 gates for that time period because the gate that can accommodate 380 is actually made up of two gates. And it would affect more flights because turnaround on 380 is longer than turnaround on other smaller aircraft.

Legally, Delta was in its right. But yes everyone knows they did this on purpose, yet nobody can legally blame them. In the US, the airlines “own” the gates, either outright or under long term leases. That’s why it’s difficult for new startups in the USA, not because of slots (which are plenty, spare JFK) but the gate space is restricted.

Yeah, I guess they knew their A380 won't get the gate around the time of its arrival. Nevertheless, knowing how the CEO love the sensational spotlight, I wouldn't be surprise if they are intentionally not following the 3-months notice for the gate request and choose to proceed anyway with flying the A380 for the inaugural flight, making the grandest entry possible, slamming the legendary airport's image, rubbing the salt on your competitor's wound, while claiming the free worldwide advertising, all at the cost of passengers comfort. Wonder if the A380 get a water cannon salute, can't seem to find it in youtube, but the CEO really should get one for this remarkable inaugural flight.

Yes,Qatar got a water cannon salute.

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If it would have been Air France delta would have granted a gate, but you might know what relation the big 3 in America have with the big 3 in the gulf.

Watch this press conference with Sir Tim Clark to understand more about the conflict:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFBr5d1ZO4U