The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority voted unanimously Wednesday to move forward with a $15.5 billion plan to reconfigure Dulles International Airport, which will be added onto $4.4 billion that was already on the books.
"Municipal bond funds to be issued by the airports authority, are the primary source for the capital construction program," said Andy Rountree, MWAA's chief financial officer.
The financial breakdown includes $14.2 billion in future airport revenue bond sales, $1.23 billion in future facility charges that could be passed on to travelers, and $150 million in grants.
The board authorized spending $48 million from now till the end of the year for immediate planning efforts.
MWAA operates Dulles, which is about 25 east of downtown Washington D.C., Reagan National Airport, which is just across the Potomac River from the city, and the Dulles Toll Road.
Major renovations at Dulles attracted the attention of the White House with President Trump personally weighing in on some of the design decisions.
The plan is also prompting skeptics to question how much of the renovation costs will actually be pushed onto customers.
Airlines pay fees to airport authorities known as "cost per enplanement."
CPEs vary over time and according to industry sources, the current rate at Dulles is $12.77.
The renovation plans show CPEs going up to as much as $65 by 2040, which MWAA officials believe will be competitive.
Last year, CPEs were$33.85 at Los Angeles International, $29.84 at Chicago O'Hare and $4.48 at Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta.
Atlanta is generally acknowledged as the world's busiest airport but has a low CPE due its high volume of traffic, the logistic strength of the hub and high revenue streams from parking and concessions.
The Dulles hub is dominated by United Airlines which is supporting the renovation.
Questions remain about the math being used to project future passenger growth in a metropolitan area served by two other airports.
"There's not enough passenger growth plausible to fund this," writes Gary Leff, a blogger who writes about the airline industry.
"Higher costs limit future flights and limit passenger growth which also limits airport concessions revenue."
Earlier projections for CPEs at a renovated Dulles pegged the number at $90, but Jack Potter, president of MWAA walked that number back on Wednesday.
"It was a number that was in an early projection before all the information that was needed was received from the airlines was input into the model," he said.
The proposed renovation is being laid out in five "packages." Package A will tap $6.2 billion in funding and focus on the main terminal and concourses A and B.
Package T slated for $3.75 billion, will expand the Aero Train system by connecting all the terminals and phasing out the bus-like people movers that have defined the airport since it opened in 1962.
Package B will cost $2.3 billion and will demolish the existing C and D concourse while creating a new regional gate.
Package C will use $4 billion to build out concourses E and F while laying utilities for future concourses G and H.
Package D will fund concourses G and H with $3.7 billion, if the traffic level warrants it.
