2004 ACI Data shows 952,000 movements for ORD, while CDG and FRA combined have 1,002,000.

I guess these figures do shed some light on why Europeans think the A380 is so important. More people on a fewer number of flights seems to be their goal. Interestingly, the US airlines say that passengers prefer more choices, ie., more flights.

I didn’t intend to focus only on jetways. Most of the infrastructure is tied together. Terminal space, parking, surface travel access (something the European airports excel at). But the bottom line is that more infrastructure is needed almost everywhere. Someone once said the definition of an airport was “continuous construction project.” Look at the ambitious plan for ORD (12-16 Billion), the huge airports at DEN and DFW, and the plans to add two more runways at IAD. What is happening in Europe by comparison and why doesn’t anyone in the aviation enthusiast community seem to care?