OFFICIAL - New KCI Terminal

[smh]

KC already does live music.

Wait, really?

Baggage claim of B . Super annoying

Hahahahahaha

[Highlander]

I fly pretty frequently and agree that, while it would be cool to have an iconic or beautiful airport, in the absence of unlimited funds functional is all that really matters.

I cannot think of an airport I have ever been to which really "impressed" me and felt like a great place to kill several hours. If anything, you only really notice the "bad" airports--the "good" airports simply do what they are supposed to do. I want the most flight options possible, a couple decent food/drinking options open during reasonable business hours, and I am good.

Honestly--what are the "gold standard" airports out there in terms of experience and functionality? Am I missing something?

I kind of view the convenience factor at airports as simply a function of how busy they are so I don't really tend to rank on that criteria. Most of the time I spend at airports are 1. related to waiting for connections and 2. getting to the airport early and waiting to depart. When I land, I barely notice anything about the airport. So finding a great place to "kill several hours" is probably the biggest criteria I use to judge an airport but I would never use that as a criteria to book flights. I take the cheapest, quickest and most convenient route.

I actually love Chicago O'hare. Every terminal is very different and I like wondering around when I have hours to kill. If I could book every flight through Chicago (except maybe in the winter), I'd be fine with that. Seattle is good although I don't like the Alaska Airlines terminal all that much. San Francisco is great, may be my favorite airport in the US. Nice facility with great food and drink establishments. I'm not that fond of Phoenix even though it gets rave reviews. Denver is great too, especially for connections. It's not quite as good as a final destination or departure point. I haven't flown to eastern cities as recently. Most of my recent experience is at Newark which I don't mind but it's got some issues as a port of entry to the US.

In terms of more mid sized cities, KCI is my least favorite as it's just a painful place to be for any amount of time.

Nothing is worse than 3rd world airports. One of the things I hated about my last few assignments. The overall nastiness of the places and constant delays, shakedowns and bizarre security apparatus . KCI has all the discomfort of many of these but at least it's not corrupt.

[smh]

I fly pretty frequently and agree that, while it would be cool to have an iconic or beautiful airport, in the absence of unlimited funds functional is all that really matters.

I cannot think of an airport I have ever been to which really "impressed" me and felt like a great place to kill several hours. If anything, you only really notice the "bad" airports--the "good" airports simply do what they are supposed to do. I want the most flight options possible, a couple decent food/drinking options open during reasonable business hours, and I am good.

Honestly--what are the "gold standard" airports out there in terms of experience and functionality? Am I missing something?

I kind of view the convenience factor at airports as simply a function of how busy they are so I don't really tend to rank on that criteria. Most of the time I spend at airports are 1. related to waiting for connections and 2. getting to the airport early and waiting to depart. When I land, I barely notice anything about the airport. So finding a great place to "kill several hours" is probably the biggest criteria I use to judge an airport but I would never use that as a criteria to book flights. I take the cheapest, quickest and most convenient route.

I actually love Chicago O'hare. Every terminal is very different and I like wondering around when I have hours to kill. If I could book every flight through Chicago (except maybe in the winter), I'd be fine with that. Seattle is good although I don't like the Alaska Airlines terminal all that much. San Francisco is great, may be my favorite airport in the US. Nice facility with great food and drink establishments. I'm not that fond of Phoenix even though it gets rave reviews. Denver is great too, especially for connections. It's not quite as good as a final destination or departure point. I haven't flown to eastern cities as recently. Most of my recent experience is at Newark which I don't mind but it's got some issues as a port of entry to the US.

In terms of more mid sized cities, KCI is my least favorite as it's just a painful place to be for any amount of time.

Nothing is worse than 3rd world airports. One of the things I hated about my last few assignments. The overall nastiness of the places and constant delays, shakedowns and bizarre security apparatus . KCI has all the discomfort of many of these but at least it's not corrupt.

Please elaborate on the shakedowns if you can.

[KCPowercat]

So what happens when you drive into the development plan graphics in too much detail with an hour on your hands on a foggy weekend? You come up with this list of observations

* Walkways (between areas where chairs are) is 30 feet.
* Definitely plenty of bathrooms but the bathrooms by the retail hub to the west may get a little tight if a lot of planes arrive in the middle gates.
* 18 security lanes
* Looks like planning on high top tables like we see in a lot of new airports with iPads attached and get food served.to them. I'm sure that hasn't been determined yet but blocking is there to allow for it.
* 18 retail spaces in Western retail hub, 8 in eastern hub
* Plans for some retail in the middle of the walkways
* Stairs/escalators to go down to baggage claim is in the middle of all the security lines, could lead to a lot go bumping into departing passengers as trying to go down and they are milling around retail area.
* There are elevators and escalators in pre security between the levels.so if wanted to go from garage to terminal in bad weather could use the arrivals level.
* There is retail space in baggage claim and pre security departure level.
* Four lanes in garage arrivals level for buses etc
* I doubt this is true but looks like there could be an outdoor patio in the walkway between the retail hubs
* 7 Baggage carousels with room for 2 more and can stand all the way around them (some airports feed in bags from a wall and can't get all the way around them )
* 8 elevators in parking garage.

[flyingember]

In terms of basic functionality, the arrivals line does look better. No more mixing of shuttle busses and cars will help everyone

Interestingly there's pick up on both levels. The valet pick up is on the departures level. Maybe they figure the valet will get bags???

It looks like the garden will be attached to the arrivals lane so if you need to wait due to an early arrival it becomes an option instead of standing on ther curb.

There is retail space in baggage claim and pre security departure level.

I don't see any retail in baggage claim from the September plans. Their color scheme is super close to each other. Looks like it's lounge space (seating)

* Stairs/escalators to go down to baggage claim is in the middle of all the security lines, could lead to a lot go bumping into departing passengers as trying to go down and they are milling around retail area.

Security slows down the flow inbound and flights tend to exit in groups. I expect there will be some crossing of paths but nothing unique to any other airport.

I doubt this is true but looks like there could be an outdoor patio in the walkway between the retail hubs

I think it's supposed to show a glass bumpout to get a better view and otherwise the walkway is skinnier than the level below

[normalthings]

There is retail space in baggage claim and pre security departure level.

I don't see any retail in baggage claim from the September plans. Their color scheme is super close to each other. Looks like it's lounge space (seating)

There are some newer drawings on Compass

[flyingember]

There is retail space in baggage claim and pre security departure level.

I don't see any retail in baggage claim from the September plans. Their color scheme is super close to each other. Looks like it's lounge space (seating)

There are some newer drawings on Compass

What's the ID? I was looking at CD-CPC-2019-00178

[KCPowercat]

The retail I saw look to be kiosks where future baggage carousels could go

[SingleMalt12]

Interestingly there's pick up on both levels.

That's a trick at a lot of airports with upper and lower roads.

If you don't have checked bags, why go downstairs? Depending on the airport, time of day, how many flights are landing at the same time, it's a lot easier not to have to deal with a mass of cars waiting for people to get their bags.

We do it all the time here in Detroit and every time we fly to New York. I've picked up my kids at midnight at DTW and the arrivals area is a zoo. Upstairs? Not so much. Even if you have to get bags it's a lot easier to come back upstairs.

[GRID]

Interestingly there's pick up on both levels.

That's a trick at a lot of airports with upper and lower roads.

If you don't have checked bags, why go downstairs? Depending on the airport, time of day, how many flights are landing at the same time, it's a lot easier not to have to deal with a mass of cars waiting for people to get their bags.

We do it all the time here in Detroit and every time we fly to New York. I've picked up my kids at midnight at DTW and the arrivals area is a zoo. Upstairs? Not so much. Even if you have to get bags it's a lot easier to come back upstairs.

Yep. Ditto! Do people still say that? haha.

Like many airports, arrivals at BWI is pretty crazy during evenings, like departures are in the mornings. Even the roads to get to the lower level will back up for quite a ways on busy nights. You can drive right by all that and be nearly all by yourself by picking up people on the departure level. It's much faster and easier even if you have to grab your bags from the baggage level. If you are not familiar with BWI, you will more than likely experience far more delays than the locals do simply by not knowing how to use the terminal, the parking, TSA, the buses etc. Once KC gets a new terminal, people will start figuring stuff like that out. Those that actually think the current KCI setup is convenient, simply have no idea what it's like to have a modern terminal as their "home" airport. Everything about BWI (and DCA for that matter) is easier and more pleasant than the KCI experience. Now with all the self check in kiosks and what not, there is pretty much no wait at all at most major airports and those that have long ques are rarely more than 10-15 minutes.

Honestly, even if you don't do things like pick up passengers on the departure level, I still think BWI is easier to use than MCI. As a traveler to KCI twice a year or so, KCI is just terrible from the second you step off the plane starting with the TERRIBLE signage to just get your bags, a taxi, rental car etc. The rental car buses are a joke (after you find where to stand in the middle of the street and wait for one) since they are used for both departing and arriving passengers. And landing at KCI is the best part about using it. I can go on and on just on arriving. Departing or changing planes from there is much worse.

I just hope KC is not going too cheap and generic with the terminal. Time will tell, but KC should put itself in a position to grow the airport into more than just a regional airport where most flights got to a few hubs. I guess you can always expand later, but it just seems to me like this new terminal is really bare bones and kind of small to serve the KC market for the next 20 years if KC were to become a bit more of a "hub" than it is now.

[FangKC]

Aviation Department seeks artists to advise on design for KCI project

...
The department and Paslay Management Group are looking for as many as five area professional artists to "collaborate and contribute" to the design of the new terminal and garage for Kansas City International Airport (Code: MCI). The artists will serve on the design planning team with Aviation Department staff, city staff and other consultants, according to a release.
...

https://tinyurl.com/v9uu6gk

http://city.kcmo.org/kc/Ads/AdResults.aspx

[flyingember]

I guess you can always expand later, but it just seems to me like this new terminal is really bare bones and kind of small to serve the KC market for the next 20 years if KC were to become a bit more of a "hub" than it is now.

New: 42 gates, expandable to 50

Today: 36 gates assigned today out of 41

So the new airport will start out at the exact same size as we have and be expandable to much bigger.

[FangKC]

Artists Get Decision-Making Roles For Public Art At Kansas City's New Airport Terminal

https://www.kcur.org/post/artists-get-d ... l#stream/0

[normalthings]

Sub grade work is wrapping up. At grade work has commenced and vertical steel should start shortly.

[KCPowercat]

Shouldn't we be seeing some new sexy renderings at some point?

[normalthings]

Shouldn't we be seeing some new sexy renderings at some point?

Yes, especially once finalization of budget and financing occurs.

[normalthings]

[FangKC]

Developer: Coronavirus hasn't disrupted $1.5B KCI project

While the effects of COVID-19, the disease caused by a strain of coronavirus, are being felt across the city, the outbreak has yet to cause disruptions to the area's biggest construction project: the $1.5 billion single-terminal modernization of Kansas City International Airport.
...

https://tinyurl.com/u5are26

[normalthings]

,

[Steve52]

Exciting updates coming next week.....

Thrilling we can hardly wait.