The Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority gave final approval on Wednesday for a plan to begin renovations on the fleet of mobile lounges and Plane Mate vehicles that transport travelers around Dulles International Airport.
The vehicles were built in the ’60s and ’70s as part of Dulles’ original design and have been a part of the airport’s operations ever since. In total, there are 19 mobile lounges and 30 Plane Mates.
Though the mobile lounges are used less frequently than Dulles’ AeroTrain, which opened in 2010 with a $1.5 billion price tag, they still transport passengers between the main terminal and Concourse D, which the AeroTrain does not reach. These vehicles can hold up to 125 passengers and can travel up to 25 miles per hour. The AeroTrain, comparatively, travels at speeds of up to 42 miles per hour.
After decades in service, the vehicles are nearing the end of their lifespan, which presents a challenge for the airport authority: The original manufacturers no longer support them.
MWAA began seeking proposals for companies that could reengineer and restore the fleet of vehicles in September 2021, and awarded the contract to Pennsylvania-based Brookville Equipment Corp.
At a July 19 board meeting, MWAA granted approval for Brookville to “analyze, design, and reengineer” two vehicles over the course of three years: one mobile lounge and one Plane Mate vehicle. The company has a budget of $16.4 million to complete this task.
Once those two vehicles are complete, MWAA will then determine whether to proceed with the remainder of the fleet. If it chooses to proceed to revamp the remaining 47 vehicles, the project will have an additional budget of $143 million over six years. The total project is not to exceed $160 million.
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