why not downtown MKC for new airport? (Kansas City, Houston: rental car, rental)

[lovekcmo]

MKC-Municipal/Downtown/Wheeler when it was shut down as commercial airport in 1972 had about 30 gates. The new new airport single terminal purposed for KCI/MCI has less than 40 gates I believe. Why not just move the airport back to downtown? KC will never be a hub for an airline like originally envisioned. The regional jets flying into KCI are smaller than the 707's that once flew into downtown. Airforce One, a 747, lands downtown. With some revamping and rebuilding of terminal facilities, downtown with it's more central location could be the airport once again for the KC Metro. KCI never took off/worked out, it was a "white elephant" the day it open. San Diego Int Airport, with twice the usage of KCI is a single runway airport and it works for that city. Why spend money on KCI when probably half the cost could be spent for downtown.

[kcmo]

Would love to see it, but FAA would never allow it. KCI has three long runways of around 10,000 each with a crosswind runway for the often changing winds of the midwest. MKC only as a 6800 foot runway while SAN has a 9400 foot runway. That may not sound like a huge difference, but it is and the FAA has much stricture safety requirements now than back when MKC was a commercial airport. A 9400 runway at MKC would go almost across the Missouri River.

http://skyvector.com/files/tpp/1412/pdf/00213AD.PDF

http://skyvector.com/files/tpp/1412/pdf/00373AD.PDF

Then you have the logistics of cramming a modern terminal, gates, parking facilities, rental car etc into the small footprint of of MKC which is walled in by 169 and the river levee.

Finally, you would have to walk away from the massive investment at MCI.

I too wish KCI were closer to downtown, but I honestly have no problem with where it’s located now. It’s 20 minutes from Downtown and near nice growing suburban area. MCI just needs a new terminal.

Here in DC, it’s interesting watching DCA, a tiny airport compared to Dulles, pass Dulles traffic. But Dulles really is far from the city and DC can support more than one airport.

[Ztonyg]

Dulles would be a much more successful airport if they closed National. It's not nearly as much of a pain to get to as people make it out to be (especially for Northern Virginia). I used to live in Oakton. Dulles was a breeze to get to compared to National.

I don't really get all of the bellyaching about a new terminal for KCI. The old terminal is very outdated and most other airport terminals built around the same era as KCI's have either been replaced or substantially remodeled in a way that isn't possible due to KCI's design.

[Floorist]

Most travelers love KCI as is, they say it is one of the easiest most convenient airports in the country.

[GraniteStater]

Originally Posted by Floorist

Most travelers love KCI as is, they say it is one of the easiest most convenient airports in the country.

I would say locals, not travelers.

[Ztonyg]

Originally Posted by GraniteStater

I would say locals, not travelers.

I would agree. I'm not a local (my wife is originally from Johnson County and we use KCI 2-3 times a year) and, while it isn't horrible, I don't particularly like KCI.

We got to KCI about 90 minutes prior to our flight departure (which was a 6:20 departure). I like to give plenty of time for traffic delays, security delays, and transportation delays (such as getting from the rental car facility to the terminal). Well, getting to the gate area 60 minutes prior to departure, we found ourselves hungry. Now, in almost every other major airport in the US, there are at least 2-3 dining options once you get past security. Not KCI. There was a total of 1 option in the US Airways gate area and it was basically a refrigerator with cold salads and cold sandwiches (along with snacks).

[kcmo]

I hated KCI's terminal setup when I lived in KC. Now I despise it. It's one of the worst airports IMO and the worst mid-sized airport. (midsized airports have zero wait times, so there is no need to give up the amenities other airports offer). I like having "basic" airport amenities when I travel. Unless all of the following happen: you are dropped off, your flight is on time, you have no bags to check, you are flying during off peak times and you had time to eat something before you got dropped off. KCI is just not a very nice place to catch a flight. Traveling out of KCI with a family is BRUTAL when you have to get there early, check a lot of bags etc and then are stuck in a cattle pen for an hour and hope to hell there is no delay.

And connecting flights is even worse.

It's better for arriving though. But still has issues like having to find a phone and call a cab and then hoping somebody else doesn't get the cab you called.

[Ztonyg]

What's sad about KCI is that cities like Tulsa, OK and Tucson, AZ have more functional airports with more of the basic airport amenities than KCI does.

Both have several shopping / dining options past security and both even have the car rental agencies within walking distance of the terminal. Neither has a ridiculous security setup for a few gates at a time either.

Neither of these airports will win any awards at being the "best" at anything, and both airports have parts of them that look a bit "tired" but they still have more of the basic amenities than KCI does.

In addition, one other aspect about the Tulsa and Tucson airports is that the locals find the airport easy to use (in the same way that the locals in Kansas City do).

If Tulsa and Tucson can do it, why can't Kansas City?

[kcmo]

Originally Posted by Ztonyg

What's sad about KCI is that cities like Tulsa, OK and Tucson, AZ have more functional airports with more of the basic airport amenities than KCI does.

Both have several shopping / dining options past security and both even have the car rental agencies within walking distance of the terminal. Neither has a ridiculous security setup for a few gates at a time either.

Neither of these airports will win any awards at being the "best" at anything, and both airports have parts of them that look a bit "tired" but they still have more of the basic amenities than KCI does.

In addition, one other aspect about the Tulsa and Tucson airports is that the locals find the airport easy to use (in the same way that the locals in Kansas City do).

If Tulsa and Tucson can do it, why can't Kansas City?

I fly all the time and yes, even the small city airports are a much more pleasant experience than KCI.

Funny thing is the rental car facility is the nicest thing about KCI. While KCI's terminals are a 1960's era, dark, dated, with low ceilings and crowded narrow concourses, the rental car facility is, modern, open, with lots of room, lots of light, high ceilings etc.

But it's COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY and the entire process of renting a car at KCI is not very user friendly or efficient at all. There is no reason for an airport with as much land as KCI has to have an off site rental car facility other than it just being a terrible design.

You have to drag your luggage across the road and wait in a narrow median for a bus to show up rather than curb side like normal airports. Like parking buses, all RCF buses pick AND drop off passengers something that just doesn't happen at normal airports where buses pick up passengers on an arriving levels and quickly move them to offsite locations or the reverse. At KCI buses are annoying because people are coming and going and so luggage gets messy an it just slows everything down.

Then once at the RCF, you have to walk a long ways still and then all the rental cars are in surface parking lots for more walking in often terrible weather conditions.

There is no reason that KCI couldn't have a main parking structure across the street from the terminal that housed the rental cars in a closer covered facility.

[Tenebrae]

With the post-9/11 changes to airport security, I actually prefer MCI over the other US airports I've been in / through. I can hug my family and kiss them goodbye, then walk right through security, and sit in the waiting area. My family can be there watching me, waving to me the entire time until I get on the plane, if they want. This is a sharp contrast to what feels like miles of walking through every other airport terminal I've been in lately. Once we get to the security checkpoint, there's still a ton of walking to finally get to the boarding area. Phew!
I'm not as young as I used to be, and I get exhausted travelling through the airport maze, especially with the long long walk AWAY from my loved ones to drive the separation home.
For reference, these are the airports I've been through recently:
SFO
Oakland
Dallas/Ft. Worth
Austin
Houston

I've also been through the airport in Allentown, PA, but that hardly counts. >_>

-T.