MISSOULA — With the second phase of the terminal project set to open in the coming months, Missoula Montana Airport has secured the vending contracts needed to serve future passengers.
The Missoula County Airport Authority this spring approved a three-year contract with Faber Coe & Greg to provide snack vending in the new east concourse.
The agreement provides 20% of gross sales back to the airport.
The airport also awarded its new beverage vending contract to Coca-Cola Bottling High Country.
Deputy airport director Tim Damrow said the airport's former vendor went out of business.
“It left us without product in all our vending machines,” he said. “Pepsi will run their term through June while Coke won the (contract) starting in July.”
The new east concourse is expected to open in mid-May and marks a milestone in the airport's growth.
Damrow said the first flight is expected to occupy one of the new gates on May 15 and the expanded baggage claim will go operational.
Watch related coverage: Summer runway renovations planned for Missoula's airport
The project's completion comes just before the summer travel season.
“Over the summer with the added service we've seen, all of our new gates opening in May will be filled with an overnight aircraft,” Damrow said. “It's a huge improvement over what we had.”
February ended with a 7.5% increase in passengers when compared to the prior year, marking the 13th consecutive month with passenger increases.
The day the new terminal opens, Alaska Airlines will also begin its second daily flight to Portland.
“We're looking forward to our summer schedule with the addition of both Portland and Chicago overnights,” said airport director Brian Ellestad. “We will have seven overnight aircraft and just 6 jet bridges until phase 3 opens.”
Phase three, which is currently under construction, expends the new east concourse by one gate. Damrow said it'll open later this year.
That currently marks the end of planned construction at the airport, though future expansion may be needed.
The new south and east concourse both were designed to accommodate future expansion.
“The whole point of the project was to set us up for future expansion,” Damrow said. “We should be well served for the next five or ten years. But we always have the next piece of where we're going to be growing.”
