KCRag Forum

Went to New Orleans this weekend with a group of guys and every one of them hated the new floor at KCI. Said it looked like a messed up basketball court.

I really like the floor but maybe the general population doesn't?

Sample of floor:

Haven't been to KCI since past March and won't be flyin' again until this December (prefer long drives)...how's the new simple retail and lounges look? How much has the KCI atmosphere been transformed? From a tourist prospective?

QueSi2Opie wrote:Haven't been to KCI since past March and won't be flyin' again until this December (prefer long drives)...how's the new simple retail and lounges look? How much has the KCI atmosphere been transformed? From a tourist prospective?

I'm with you, I like what the airport is doing, but rarely fly, would much rather drive. I only fly for business or if I'm in a big hurry. Drivinig is how you should see the country not sitting around in airports.

I like it better than the old stuff. I'm not sure it's the most fitting for the terminals, but it looks O.K. in the pictures.

The shops are good but I always fly northwest/continental and the redone park is quite small so I don't see much.

I know in A & B there are things like a huge sports bar and an Arthur Bryants and a food court too...

It's much more modern with the new plasma screens for information and stuff....has to be more impressive than the old to tourists....

Example of the old:


Versus new:


Notice the brown band is gone and replaced with more windows for light....

The new airport is very modernized, utilizing the newest of technologies, i think once it is all done people will be very impressed

Speaking of the floor. The KCMO CITY COUNCIL spent weeks agonizing over the floor design. Does anyone find it a bit unnerving that the CITY COUNCIL spent soo much time toiling over a flooring design?

What are architects emplyed for, or design specialists or aviation department execs?????????

Stop screwing around with FLOORS and start getting REAL stuff done.

wasn't it just the aviation committee....let them fret, they usually have nothing else to do.

no you have to get out of the "secure area" to do any of those things.....the thing is if you are there early, there is no reason to go into the gates...it takes like 30 seconds to get through security, even with elevated security, so why go in until you have to?

That's my thinking too, though I don't know if we could get that much changed without major recontruction- like adding secure areas in spokes jutting out the back of the terminals. It's one thing to get there early and wait to go through the secure area, its another to exspect to have any chance to get a hub. Not only are there no facililities, but there is nowhere to walk, and for a long layover, those things are a must!

OK guys now there is now way KCI was ever going to become a hub with it's design. It was built before hub/spoke and the redo wasn't to lure a hub.....somebody want to tell me the great thing about a hub anyways?

I mean just think about it, how would you have done it? Maybe have one end the entrance and then the rest secured and make people walk all the way around?

The best thing about KCI is the fact that you can get out of a car and be on the plane in 100 feet...name me another airport that you can do that at? I'm not a huge fan of walking 5 miles in any airport.

The fact is it takes maybe 3 minutes to get through any gate security...so if you need to get out to the bathroom, no big deal...need to eat, go out and eat...we're not DIA where the lines can be hours long to get into the secured area.

Now I wouldn't have been against making less secure entry points and putting some things in the secured area but that was studied and the current design was preferred by travelers. If there is a long layover, who hangs out inside the secured areas?

I love KCI...it's cheap, fast, & easy.....they are improving the amenities which was my big complaint.....airports are supposed to be quick...in and out...I don't want to hang out in airports...get me in and out and I'm happy....walking 3 miles from one gate to another doesn't make it better just because it's all in secured areas.

I love KCI...it's cheap, fast, & easy.....they are improving the amenities which was my big complaint.....airports are supposed to be quick...in and out...I don't want to hang out in airports...get me in and out and I'm happy....walking 3 miles from one gate to another doesn't make it better just because it's all in secured areas.

I almost never fly, so I'm definitely no expert, but I flew roundtrip from KC to Atlanta last year, and KCI was heaven compared to Hartsfield. Yeah, there were concessions and restrooms and stuff in the secured area at Hartsfield, but so what? I wasn't there to eat, I was there to get on a plane and fly away. After entering the secured area, it was like a 20 minute walk/jog to get to the gate AFTER taking the airport train thing to the right terminal. Ridiculous. I'll take KCI any day.

There's no doubt it would have been better to have bathrooms and some sort of retail inside the secured areas.....I just think that was financially impossible with the amount of money given.

I know that Southwest is tinkering with the idea of putting bathrooms in and making their gates more combined. They would be doing this at their own cost. If an airline wanted to make a hub out of KCI (which I'm not sure fliers would want) they would work to accomodate that request....

I'm sure people who fly alot do have that as their #1 issue with KCI...even less frequent travelers point that out. I just think it's much less of a hassle to pass in and out of the checkpoints than everybody makes it out to be.

KCPowercat wrote: ↑Mon Feb 10, 2003 9:58 am Went to New Orleans this weekend with a group of guys and every one of them hated the new floor at KCI. Said it looked like a messed up basketball court.

I really like the floor but maybe the general population doesn't?

Funny how it went from "messed up" to an icon in less than 20 years. I imagine the same would happen to any of the more modern proposals that get shot down every few years on the Plaza.