San Antonio airport director outlines $40M design procurements, announces three new Breeze Airways non‑stop routes

On Wednesday, San Antonio City Council heard from the city’s airport director, Jesús, who described three planned procurement tracks for San Antonio International Airport and announced three new Breeze Airways non‑stop routes to Raleigh‑Durham, Memphis and Pensacola. Jesús said the airline’s introductory fares are low and that the service will expand the airport’s network beyond routine domestic and some international routes.

The director asked the council to support upcoming solicitations that would advance terminal modernization and logistics work. He described an architectural design RFQ for the AYB terminals intended to align those concourses with Terminal C design standards and increase gate operations. "Estamos muy emocionados de lanzar esto," Jesús said when describing the new flights and the program’s expansion. Staff described the RFQ as a preliminary, design‑phase contract with a procurement value noted in the presentation at about $40,000,000 and said Aviation Capital Funds would be the funding source for that design work.

In addition to the terminal design RFQ, Jesús explained a pre‑solicitation for a centralized receiving and distribution center (CRDC). The CRDC would move inbound food, beverage and other concession goods to a secure off‑airport facility for screening and distribution, reducing on‑apron congestion. Staff estimated the CRDC contract value at roughly $8 million to $11.25 million.

Staff told the council 13 firms initially responded to the design solicitation, the pool was later narrowed to eight interviewees, and finalists included local and national firms such as West East Design Group, Arup, CAET and CNG Engineering. Kimley Horn was named among respondents and described in the presentation as a successful respondent to the RFQ process; HOK and other firms were noted for their interview performances. Jesús said the terminal C design is about 90% complete and the AYB renovations will bring the concourses into alignment with that standard, including expanded gate footprint (about 3,000 square feet per door to accommodate larger aircraft).

The staff presentation also listed the members of the evaluation committee and explained the scoring criteria: 30 points for experience, 30 for the project proposal, 20 for price, 10 for local preference, 5 for veterans and 5 for another preference category. Jesús said staff conducted interviews and would return finalized solicitation documents to the council at a subsequent "session A" for final approval.

Council members praised the airport’s progress but pressed staff for more detail on the evaluation process, why scores changed between rounds, and how firms would commit local staffing to San Antonio. Concejal Spears said, "Muy buen trabajo, Jesús," while other council members asked for the names of the interview panels and for clearer timelines and mentoring commitments to connect large national firms with local subcontractors and workforce programs.

Staff responded that federal funding rules limit how local preference points can be applied on federally funded solicitations, clarified distinctions between pre‑ and post‑solicitations, and agreed to include the interview‑panel membership and additional timing information in the final materials returned to council. The presentation concluded with staff requesting council support to proceed with the advertised ASEP services and design solicitations; staff will return the finalized documents to a future council meeting for formal approval.

The meeting adjourned at about 2:49 p.m. The city reminded the public that a public comment period is scheduled for 5 p.m.