We need a new airport!!!

[pash]

.

[earthling]

Had several in town this week from various offices around country and KCI came up. Nearly all liked the simplicity and do not understand why we want to change it. I told them to judge when they leave and have to sit in waiting area with limited services. The overall first impression was positive for nearly all though. One mentioned he bought a BBQ sauce in airport on other trip and they made him throw it out but otherwise he prefers KCI over others. After explaining the weaknesses most understood it's great to get in/out of but poor design as a hub. It's a difficult sell for new terminal given many actually like it (I don't).

If security were not needed and the walls could come down to allow free access (as originally designed), it would be fine. But it wasn't designed with security in mind and all attempts to retrofit have been poor, therefore a new terminal that is makes more sense.

BTW, those who have never been to KC were shocked with what we have yet no hassles to do things. A few envisioned living here, asking about housing prices, etc.

[KCMax]

BTW, those who have never been to KC were shocked with what we have yet no hassles to do things. .

Indoor plumbing!

[FangKC]

United Airlines flying out of Terminal C starting Oct. 31

It's the first step in closing Terminal A, and moving all of the operations housed there elsewhere.

...

A release from the department said the Terminal A closure is a cost-cutting measure. Terminal A is also the potential site of a new, multistory single-terminal that would eventually replace KCI's current three-terminal layout.

Mark VanLoh, director of the Aviation Department, previously told the Kansas City Business Journal the department will not make any large scale repairs to the terminal before Kansas City decides on its long-term plan for the airport.

http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/n ... 2013-10-23

[aknowledgeableperson]

Smart move.

[Pork Chop]

The Ten Worst Airports In The World

9.) Kansas City International Airport

http://jalopnik.com/the-ten-worst-airpo ... 1453999532

[KCMax]

The Ten Worst Airports In The World

9.) Kansas City International Airport

http://jalopnik.com/the-ten-worst-airpo ... 1453999532

Still not as bad as Nigeria.

[AJoD]

The Ten Worst Airports In The World

9.) Kansas City International Airport

http://jalopnik.com/the-ten-worst-airpo ... 1453999532

Still not as bad as Nigeria.

Dude, you don't want to get on Nigeria's bad side.

[TheBigChuckbowski]

Truly scientific data they're using there.

[Pork Chop]

Truly scientific data they're using there.

In the end, we know that most people that live in KC either like or love KCI and most people that travel through KCI either dislike or hate it.

[flyingember]

The Ten Worst Airports In The World

9.) Kansas City International Airport

http://jalopnik.com/the-ten-worst-airpo ... 1453999532

stupid article

there's no way that KCI is one of the top 10 worst in the world. there's no qualifier of size or what makes one among the worst.

one of the worst is because one person had their ipod stolen. seriously?

[KCMax]

Truly scientific data they're using there.

In the end, we know that most people that live in KC either like or love KCI and most people that travel through KCI either dislike or hate it.

I think that's right.

They should combine the airport into two terminals, one for Kansas Citians that is the same airport untouched by renovations, one for tourists that has all the modern amenities but is paid through by user fees.

[Highlander]

Truly scientific data they're using there.

In the end, we know that most people that live in KC either like or love KCI and most people that travel through KCI either dislike or hate it.

I would edit that statement with "people that through KC or travel to KC on business or for some other purpose but do not live there".

Frankly, I understand why some people from KC like KCI but to put "convenience" in terms of how few calories one has to burn off their fat arse from the parking lot to the gate is about as insular as it gets. Convenience in the rest of the world is efficient public transportation to and from the airport, direct flights, overseas flights, options to purchase things at the airport that you may have forgotten or grab a lunch because you are flying to a destination 3 hours ahead of you rather than pay 8 dollars for crackers and cheese on the airlines, and ability to move around once through security. KCI offers practically none of these things. Some won't be solved by a new terminal, some will. But regardless of that, KCI has got to rank as one of the world's poorest and least convenient airports just by the overall package it offers. And that hurts KC.

[Highlander]

The Ten Worst Airports In The World

9.) Kansas City International Airport

http://jalopnik.com/the-ten-worst-airpo ... 1453999532

Still not as bad as Nigeria.

Lagos is chaos for sure but what I fear in such places is getting a shake down by the authorities. You pay a bribe or you don't get on your flight - and sometimes they'll arrest you for offering a bribe. Flying to places where corruption is rife is never that fun.

[chaglang]

They should combine the airport into two terminals, one for Kansas Citians that is the same airport untouched by renovations, one for tourists that has all the modern amenities but is paid through by user fees.

Or have the city advertise KCI as a 70's retro-themed airport.

[knucklehead]

But regardless of that, KCI has got to rank as one of the world's poorest and least convenient airports just by the overall package it offers. And that hurts KC.

[/quote]

As someone who has traveled regularly for work for 35 years - all out of KCI, I completely disagree.

Yes the airport would be more convient if it was located 10 miles closer to downtown. But no one is talking about moving the airport and the cost would be astronomical.

Yes improved public transporation to the airport would be nice - but even there, I doubt if many business travelers would use it all that much. Luggage and rapid transit don't mix all that well, and when the company you work for is paying milage and parking, the business traveler has no incentive to take rapid transit. I fly into San Francisco all the time and don't even consider taking Bart to the airport - work pays for a cab so why bother with Bart? A cab will pick me up at the front door of the building where my meeting is at (or in front of my hotel) and will drop me off at the curb in front of the ticket counter. The big risk is rush hour traffic, but Bart terminals are crowed during rush hour to.

Pandering to vacation travelers makes no sense - they book way ahead and don't pay a lot for airfare. The business traveler is the bread and butter of the airline industry.

You try walking a half a mile to get to baggage claim and then walking even farther to get to your car in the same stinking central terminal year after year, especially after getting home on a late night flight. Central terminals suck. Anyone who has flown in and out of KCI even thirty times, learns the ropes. For people like me that have either flown into or out of KCI over 100 times, the advantages of KCI's current layout are obvious.

When you are running late for your flight, which business travelers regularly do because meetings go long, KCI's predictably short TSA lines are a big advantage. Lesiure travelers can show up at the airport 90 minutes before flight time, business travelers don't always have that luxury (and don't want to arrive that early anyway.) The business traveler understands that the key is not making your time in the airport more enjoyable - The key is shortening the time you have to spend in the airport!!). Again - a closer location would be great, but no one is talking about moving the airport.

If you want to sink some money into putting some more resturants as part of the current layout, fine. But please please please don't even think about a centralized TSA check point where people headed to 20 or 30 gates are funneled through one checkpoint.

As far as bars and resturants - the number one thing a business traveler is looking for is a nice quiet place to sit relatively close to the gate. It helps if they can keep the price of a 22 ounce beer under $6. Crowded bars are a major negative. Bars at hub airports are terrible because all the flight tend to land within 30 minutes of each other. So you have terrible crowding near those times. Give me a nice quiet uncrowded bar with decent sandwiches that is 50 feet from the gate and that is ideal. When you are on the road you are eating in resturants a lot. At the airport, business travelers are looking for convience and predictability not fine dining.

[mean]

Lesiure travelers can show up at the airport 90 minutes before flight time

...but why in the world would they want to!? They just really want to have lunch at Pork and Pickle?

[flyingember]

Luggage and rapid transit don't mix all that well

I beg to differ. I've done it and it works fine.

Used the train in and out of Midway about a year ago. Was amazed how many people got on and off the train there. On the way in the bike racks at the station were nearly full. The path between the two was busy enough that stopping meant you blocked someone else nearly instantly.

[Eon Blue]

I used the bus/Blue Line combo in Minneapolis earlier this year as a business traveler with luggage; no problems to be had. Timewise, it was comparable to what I would have had if I had called a cab, waited and then rode to the airport.

[pash]

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