KCRag Forum

Most of the major airports through which I fly have a mix of local and national. What I see is a line at Mcdonalds, usually either families with kids or those for whom mixing in a salad might help with that weight problem, whatever. The question for the new KCI is how many of those eating are those who are connecting and have more time than those originating at KCI. For me, in the end, if I were flying out of KCI I'd much prefer to eat at a local restaurant rather than at KCI. It's not so much about the cost though I do notice the difference. Let's say I want BBQ. Personally I'd rather not eat a big meal right before a flight. The night before, you bet. I rarely eat at an airport. I fly around 100,000 miles a year. I used to fly around 200,000. I doubt I ate at an airport more than 5 times a year. That's just me.
Anyway, a mix with the usual suspects appears to be the norm.

SingleMalt12 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:09 am Most of the major airports through which I fly have a mix of local and national. What I see is a line at Mcdonalds, usually either families with kids or those for whom mixing in a salad might help with that weight problem, whatever. The question for the new KCI is how many of those eating are those who are connecting and have more time than those originating at KCI. For me, in the end, if I were flying out of KCI I'd much prefer to eat at a local restaurant rather than at KCI. It's not so much about the cost though I do notice the difference. Let's say I want BBQ. Personally I'd rather not eat a big meal right before a flight. The night before, you bet. I rarely eat at an airport. I fly around 100,000 miles a year. I used to fly around 200,000. I doubt I ate at an airport more than 5 times a year. That's just me.
Anyway, a mix with the usual suspects appears to be the norm.

I would agree with this. I feel like most airports have more chains than local stuff though.

Everyone uses airports differently, that’s why I said you have to have the mix right.

Good airports have a mixture of the food court, family restaurants, bars, and lounges.

Extrapolating from how you travel to how everyone travels is stupid.

WoodDraw wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:09 pm Everyone uses airports differently, that’s why I said you have to have the mix right.

Good airports have a mixture of the food court, family restaurants, bars, and lounges.

Extrapolating from how you travel to how everyone travels is stupid.

....and i ended with "That's just me...." So yeah.

SingleMalt12 wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:28 pm

WoodDraw wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 1:09 pm Everyone uses airports differently, that’s why I said you have to have the mix right.

Good airports have a mixture of the food court, family restaurants, bars, and lounges.

Extrapolating from how you travel to how everyone travels is stupid.

....and i ended with "That's just me...." So yeah.

Sorry, I wasn’t addressing you. I think travel anecdotes are interesting and useful. I was just going back to my earlier point that I feel like I need to walk through it and see how the mix works.

It’s about the airport flows too and it’s just hard to see where people will congregate until you see it yourself.

Could have worded that better though, apologies.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, no one flying into KC will give a damn about local restaurants, they’re all going to be looking for Starbucks, Chick Fil A, Panda, and McDonald’s.

Say what you want, I’ve thrown away airport trash because I worked at the airport, in a year from opening I’d put money on the fact one or more of those “local” places will be turned into another corporate conglomerate. People want convenience, and Starbucks.

I think it’s great our city has pride, and optimism about how the new airport will be, but give it a year, Only time will tell. Although that Kansas City store will flourish. Travelers \ Tourist will eat that place up, along with all the themeing they’re doing to the place.

So, I flew out of KCI back on June 15th. Some of the issues that were glaring:
The roof was leaking in terminal B at gate area 34.
Stores were closed this was at 5p.
Not enough security staff so our wait in a 30 people deep line was about 30 minutes to get through security.
Also someone went out the wrong door setting off this loud alarm that lasted 10 minutes because again security staffing issues.
Trash was heaping out of the trash cans and onto the floor around it.
The Mexican restaurant closed because of staffing issues so we were forced to pay nearly $60 for three cold sandwiches, 3 bottles of water, and 2 bags of chips.
The southwest flight from Denver was redirected to Wichita because of the storm at KCI. The plane was supposed to be used for another flight which they had to cancel. So, the southwest agent got over the intercom and told everyone that he was the only one there and that they need to either go home and rebook online, or go back to the counter outside of security to rebook a different flight for later that night if there was room on any other flights.
Point is, if staffing is still an issue when the new Terminal opens, its not going to matter whats in it. It will still be a bad experience.

I ran into similar issues, but only at kci. Bars and restaurants were running just fine at every other airport I’ve been at.

Hard to run disconnected F&B as at KCI. Food service has never recovered since Covid but was already poor before

May have already been mentioned here -- but the new terminal is running ahead of schedule, and may be fully finished around November. Anticipate the possibility it opens earlier than initially anticipated (possibly Jan/Feb 2023).

Link2 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:52 am May have already been mentioned here -- but the new terminal is running ahead of schedule, and may be fully finished around November. Anticipate the possibility it opens earlier than initially anticipated (possibly Jan/Feb 2023).

No, no that had not been mentioned yet. But now you got me excited!

WoodDraw wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 10:43 pm I ran into similar issues, but only at kci. Bars and restaurants were running just fine at every other airport I’ve been at.

Flew there from phoenix 2 weeks prior. The only issue there that reflects my experience at KCI was the trash.
All restaurants were open, and security took just about as long but with quite a few more people in line.

Open early has been hinted at but just hints. Seems like still a lot to do finishing wise and then all the testing to get through.

AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:29 pm

Link2 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:52 am May have already been mentioned here -- but the new terminal is running ahead of schedule, and may be fully finished around November. Anticipate the possibility it opens earlier than initially anticipated (possibly Jan/Feb 2023).

No, no that had been mentioned yet. But now you got me excited!

I thought the new target date was early February 2023???

First Gate fit test today.

https://www.facebook.com/KCIAirport/

More importantly, NEW LOGO!

shinatoo wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 3:11 pm First Gate fit test today.

https://www.facebook.com/KCIAirport/

Nice, they got the Pixar Plane to do it

mykem wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 3:04 pm

AlkaliAxel wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 1:29 pm

Link2 wrote: ↑Tue Aug 16, 2022 11:52 am May have already been mentioned here -- but the new terminal is running ahead of schedule, and may be fully finished around November. Anticipate the possibility it opens earlier than initially anticipated (possibly Jan/Feb 2023).

No, no that had been mentioned yet. But now you got me excited!

I thought the new target date was early February 2023???

This is the first I've heard of any mention of a possible January 2023 opening

It’s been talked about for over a year now. Kc is hosting the league of cities in November and there was some talk about at least trying to show it off.

There have been ongoing rumors about moving airlines over in waves, although I haven’t heard that as much recently.

No idea if there’s anything behind it, but there’s been chatter for awhile.

What about FAA's schedule to certify (or whatever the process is), that would seem to be a big factor.