by Pa Rock
Weary Traveler
My sister, Abigail, and I are safely in Oregon and having a visit with my daughter, Molly, and her family. Last year I did not go anywhere, but this year I have already made two long trips, this one to Oregon, and an excursion to North Carolina three weeks ago where I was able to see one of my plays, "The Shine from Dead Man's Bottom," being produced in Goldsboro.
Both of those trips involved travel through Kansas City's new airport - and Pa Rock is here to tell you that he is NOT impressed! Kansas City built its last new airport back in the late 1960's and early 1970's. It was thirty or forty miles north of town in a rural area with plenty of room for growth. The new airport is in the same area.
The old KCI was one of the most convenient airports in the nation, and you could almost see your airplane from where relatives would let you out at the curb in front of the terminal. You could literally enter the terminal building and be on your plane in just a few hundred steps. Easy, peasy. There were three half-moon terminals serving the different airlines with a free and convenient shuttle between the terminals for those who arrived on one airline and departed on an other. So simple!
The new airport is more like stepping into LAX in Los Angeles. It is massive. I wear one of those watches that tells me how many steps I walk in a day, and yesterday from the time I entered the terminal building until I officially stepped onto the plane,, I walked 3,623 steps. That is an outrage!
The reason the march to the airplane is so long is to accommodate massive amounts of new shops - which was probably the major emphasis for the Aviation Division of the Government of Kansas City, Missouri, building a new airport to begin with. Those massive indoor shopping malls produce enormous rents to subsidize the airports, and in return they charge exorbitant prices to trapped shoppers - but everyone who travels understands that scam. Yesterday, as an example, when my blood sugar suddenly went low and I had to find something sweet quickly, I bought six mini-doughnuts for "just" $4.99 plus Missouri tax.
The new Kansas City International airport is a good one to avoid, but for those who get sucked into its endless corridors of arrival and departure gates, keep those credit cards handy because at KCI shopping is what it's all really about!
Where the hell are those high-speed trains, @SecretaryPete?
1 comment:
Glad you made it to your destination safely. The old Kansas City International Airport had three terminals, which was fine before terrorists turned airliners into weapons of mass destruction. Airline companies agreed to pay $1.5 Billion dollars for the new single terminal airport. About 90% of the new airport has been paid for.
Yes, there are more places to eat and shop at the new Kansas City International. The old version had the gates separated from the concourse by TSA. Once you went to your gate you could not leave the gate area to have a beer, a burger, or buy souvenirs without checking back in through the TSA security gate. That's no longer the case.
Gone are the days of landing at Terminal A and rushing to a connecting flight at Terminal B or Terminal C. Those trips required taking a shuttle bus.
And did you check out the art at the new airport? Kansas City's Municipal Charter requires that one percent of money spent on public projects goes to the Municipal Art Commission whose mission is to serve as a catalyst for artistic growth and aesthetic excellence in the City's communities.
One website serving the travel niche, TravelAwaits, ranked KC's new airport as the best airport in the nation in 2023. The old airport was ranked near the bottom, perhaps an homage to the Kansas City Royals?
The Kansas City rendition of light rail is our KC Streetcar, which runs from The River Market's City Market to Union Station. The line is being extended south to the Plaza and UMKC. Another extension, the Riverfront Extension will run from the River Market to the new Kansas City Current stadium being built on the South bank of the Missouri River near 1-35.
Studies are under way to develop east west routes. The Streetcar runs every day and is free to use.
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