American Airlines Terminal 9 nears completion; AIRLINES

American Airlines' $1.3 billion Terminal 9 at New York City's JFK is almost finished. Opened in stages since summer 2005, the new terminal boosts the airline's passenger capacity at JFK from eight millionper year to 12.8 million.

The 1.5-million-square-foot facility has 28 gates, of which 15 arecapable of handling international flights. There are eight mainline and five regional gates. Four more regional gates and two additional international gates were scheduled to open in late summer. A final two open early next year, giving AA a total of 36 gates at JFK. American currently operates around 100 daily flights from the airport to 38 destinations, including 23 outside the United States.

The new terminal has 84 ticketing positions, 44 self-serve check-in machines and 10 security checkpoints capable of processing 1,800 travelers per hour. Some 42 concessions occupy nearly 53,000 square feet.

Special services allow first-class and business-class passengers to go from being dropped off, through security and on to AA's new Admirals Clubs and Flagship Lounge in less than 30 minutes.

Upon completion, the baggage system will include eight inline CTX 9000 scanners. (Previously, luggage was screened by freestanding machines in the lobby.)

As of Sept. 8, AA operated 59 mainline departures at JFK, with American Eagle offering a further 32. AA and Eagle will serve 37 destinations, including 22 international cities. American Airlines is addingMilan and Barcelona next May.