St. Louis Airport (Chesterfield, Washington, Houston: home, restaurants, price)

[stljoey]

Anyone else here upset w/ what is going on w/ the St. Louis airport? I was listening to KMOX today and Charlie Brennan had a show about how the airport in St. Louis does not compare to other airports around the country when it comes to "things to do" / "amenities" etc. Also the airport director is moving back to San Antonio after a short stay as the Airport director here.

[RickMG]

Well, I find our airport very easy to get around and as for "amenities", I believe that we don't have all that the other major airports have, mainly because of TWA being sold to AA and them taking our hub status away along with reducing flights by at least half (if I remember right). It was announced last month that we are having a major overhaul of our main terminal that will put us as nice and modern as any in the country. The east terminal where Southwest and some other airlines and charters fly out of is already top of the line.

As for our director moving back home to San Antonio. First he was only here for two years, and it has been a pretty rough two years for him as he has seen his share of problems though not really his fault. The best news is who the new director is. His name is Richard Hrabko. He built our Spriit of St. Louis airport in Chesterfield from the scratch making it one of the largest and best regional airports in the country. They do not have commercial passenger service there but I really think that he's brilliant, though I doubt he will be there as long as he needs to be as he's already 68. Anyway, the only thing that is going to bring our airport back to the way it was years ago is to have someone make it a hub again, and the only way to do that is with the plans they have for rebuilding and with a great leader, where we soon will have one of the best as director.

[Subscribbler]

The bar in the airport closes at six PM. That should tell you something.

[RickMG]

Originally Posted by Subscribbler

The bar in the airport closes at six PM. That should tell you something.

Hey, good point, hopefully that will change now.

[jeepr]

Yes, it's sad to see what has come of the airport. But without the flights, I'm sure they don't have money to spend either. What's up with the new runway? I travel a lot and have landed on it once only.

I blame most of it on American. While we still have a decent selection of destinations non-stop, it is all on the crappy Embaer planes and they sell out fast and go for a high price. If they keep selling out, why can't we get some big planes back? I was told by a pilot of one of the small planes that Trans States (that runs the small planes for American) isn't allowed to even get some of the bigger Embraer's or Canadair Regional Jets per their contract with American.

Anyway, I look forward to the upgrades at the terminal. The new A-gate security area is looking nice.

[brightmidnight]

Are you guys kidding?

As a seasoned flier, I've been to all the airports and St. Louis is one of the best-- nice transportation with the MetroLink with little wait, (not parking, though), prettiest, and easiest to get around. Of the ones I've seen, only Charlotte's and O'Hare's Untied terminal is nicer, but those are also major hubs and St. Louis isn't a hub anymore. And O'Hare's AA terminal is not good in the least.

Have you seen Newark? Have you seen Laguardia? Raleigh? Washington DC? Houston? Cincinnati? Indianapolis? Even Chicago? I've seen all of these and many international airports and St. Louis, on looks and ease of security, ranks with the best. I love the purple scheme and the Lindbergh plane hanging down. It's very unique and separates Lambert from so many other cookie-cutter airports. Most airports look like hospitals and ALL of them have nothing to do and no good restaurants.

I prefer to fly into St. Louis than any airport in the country. I really don't understand why anyone is complaining.