Airport reviews

Quote: Pacomartin

(2) Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia staged a publicity stunt when his plane landed at Newark in the mid 1930's. He shouted that his ticket said New York and he demanded that the plane fly to an air field in Brooklyn.

Wasn't NYC notorious at the time for machine politics? I think that's the only explanation for having someone so obtuse and elitist at the top.

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It's a shame since La Guardia could be a great terminal for "lighter than air" ships to carry people to Boston, Connecticut or Long Island.

That's a bit like building a station for high-speed trains: there are none to use it and little to no demand for their services.

Quote: Nareed

Wasn't NYC notorious at the time for machine politics? I think that's the only explanation for having someone so obtuse and elitist at the top.

An earlier (1900) political cartoon about NYC machine politics.

Quote: Nareed

That's a bit like building a station for high-speed trains: there are none to use it and little to no demand for their services.

Well perhaps the land under La Guardia shouldn't be used for transportation. But it's a silly space for an airport.

This photo shows the runways being re-worked at JFK in 2010. Any new runways would have to be built over the Jamaica Bay to the right.


Of the 30 "large" airports in the nation, there is particular concern about the four urban ones on less than a 1000 acres.

33531 acres Denver Airport
18076 acres Dallas Fort Worth
13302 acres MCO Orlando
10000 acres IAH Houston Bush
7700 acres SLC Salt Lake City
7627 acres Chicago O'Hare
5207 acres San Francisco
5200 acres JFK airport
5000 acres CLT Charlotte International
4850 acres - Detroit (Metro)
4700 acres ATL airport
3425 acres LAX
3400 acres PHX Phoenix airport
2800 acres LAS Las Vegas
2500 acres SEA Seattle
2394 acres PHL Philadelphia
2384 acres BOS Boston Logan
2027 acres Newark Airport
840 acres Chicago Midway
733 acres Reagan National Airport (& 127 acres underwater)
661 acres San Diego Airport
550 acres Laguardia Airport

Quote: Pacomartin

An earlier (1900) political cartoon about NYC machine politics.

From time to time I think about how many millions of political cartoons have been made, and how the vast majority is so ephemeral that as little as two months later people don't get them any more...

Quote:

Well perhaps the land under La Guardia shouldn't be used for transportation. But it's a silly space for an airport.

You'd think a city as big and crowded as NYC with sky-high real estate values would find use for any space.

The problem is often a large area, like an airport, is seen as something that needs to be remade into another one large thing. In the last new airport fight here, the top proposal was to make the current airport into an industrial or corporate park (ie a place with lots of office buildings plus a few shopping/recreational areas).

Why not just parcel the land out and sell it? Let people find a use for it.

In Mexico the airport is smack in the edge of town, bordered by dense city on three of four sides. And there is a "one large thing" nearby: the city's very large warehouse central for food distribution (Central de Abastos). Any unused land can easily be turned into housing, offices, parks, etc.

Old Laguardia and rendering of replacement Laguardia



There is a group who would like to do a massive expansion to Laguardia, and take over Riker's Island and Port Morris as well


They would tie the region together with a new rail link

Quote: Pacomartin

There is a group who would like to do a massive expansion to Laguardia, and take over Riker's Island and Port Morris as well

For any given site or project, you'll find a dozen or more good proposals for remodeling or repurposing. When this is about a public space, there's no way to pick just one that will please anyone other than its backers.

Also, I've learned not to be taken in by neat graphics and maps. They look great, but all they are is really nice modern office decorations. The reality, even when implemented 100% as planned, tends to be quite different. One should always look out for the unintended consequences (unintended doesn't mean unpredictable), hidden assumptions, overlooked flaws, glossed-over trouble spots and more.

Take most traffic relief "solutions." The elevated roadway on top of the freeway in Mex City does save one a lot of time, for a toll. It also displaced the bad traffic to many choke points near the freeway. Either because 1) now more people take them in order to get to the elevated road, 2) lanes at ground level were removed to make access ramps, which now create additional choke points, or 3) both.

Just changed planes in Kansas City airport MCI last Saturday.
Ugh, what a cramped airport.
The worst part, a shortage of bathrooms.
I'm sure when it was built, passengers could just stroll to the other side of the airport to relieve themselves in bigger bathrooms.
Now its divided in half, secure and non secure. Secure side, 3 total bathrooms the size of a convenience store bathroom for about 40 gates.
I get off the plane, there is a line of men outside the bathroom door.
I walked to the other side of the airport on the secure side just to relieve myself at a not so busy bathroom.

Just read an article regarding airport waypoints that help pilots navigate their planes
These waypoints are given names and often with input fro local traffic controllers
Maybe BBB can shed some light on this
The waypoint names are clever
For Washington DC National Airport uses these names for waypoints-LETZZ , RLLLL , HEROO
Las Vegas-LUXOR COWBY
San Francisco waypoints are Grateful Dead themed - GRTFL, DEDHD, TYDYE, HYPEE

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/SFO-grateful-dead-7222686.php

Qatar Airways has announced that they would be flying from Doha to Santiago Chile which would be the longest flight in the world. The news was overshadowed because they also announced that they would be flying from Doha to Auckland, New Zealand which is even longer.

Doha to Santiago is 2% longer than Doha to Mexico City. I suspect that MEX will have to wait another five years as Mexico City airport is 7,316' "above mean sea level", while Santiago is 1,555' AMSL. As I said earlier, the Middle East may connect to Mexico City via a 5th freedom flight through Zurich.

I found a better map of the location of the new Mexico City airport.


Not to be outdone by Mexico City, Singapore is planning for some even more spectacular changes to their airport, including this giant water feature


Making LAX's new redone terminal #2 look pretty small in comparison

Let's go the other direction and look at SAN, the busiest single runway airport in America. In 2011-2013 time period a billion dollars was spent on expanding terminal #2.
=========================================
Terminal 2 (2013) has a lot more dining options
Artisan Market Gate 23 | Beaudevin Wine & Tapas Bar Gate 42 | Bubbles Seafood and Wine Bar - Sunset Cove | California Pizza Kitchen | Camden food co. | Elegant Desserts | PGA TOUR Grill | Phil’s B.B.Q. | Prado at the Airport | Qdoba Mexican Grill | Red Mango | Seaside Stack Shack | Stone Brewing Company | Tommy V’s Pizzeria |Urban Crave

Panda Express | Jack in the Box

Einstein Bros. Bagels
Pannikin Coffee & Tea
Peet’s Coffee & Tea - Gate 26
Peet’s Coffee & Tea - Sunset Cove
Ryan Bros. Coffee
Starbucks - Gate 37
Starbucks - Ticketing Area

=========================================
Terminal 1 (built in 1967) at San Diego is carrying far more planes than anyone dreamed possible. An ancient security layout divides the terminal into four sections (a) Pre-security, (b) Gates 1,1a, 2 for Southwest Airlines, (c)Gates #3-#10 for Southwest, (d) Gates #11-#18 for Frontier and Alaska Air

Pre-Security
Emerald Express
Ciao Gourmet Market
Pacifica Breeze Café
Jack in the Box
Ryan Bros. Coffee
Starbucks

Gates 1,1a, 2: with own security (Southwest Airline)
Craft Brews on 30th St.
Ciao Gourmet Market

Primary Southwest Airlines: gates #3-#10
Einstein Bros. Bagels
Ciao Gourmet Market
The Counter: Custom Built Burgers
Bankers Hill Bar & Restaurant

Alaska and Frontier Airlines: gates #11-#18
Peet’s Coffee & Tea - Gate 11
Urban Crave - Gate 13

but you have to wonder how much turning airports into dining and shopping emporiums is getting in the way of their core business.



Southwest flights to San Diego are plentiful and inexpensive, and that is partly because their rental rate for gates is cheap. Southwest carries 38% of airport passengers, Since Southwest doesn't normally schedule transfers through San Diego Airport (which is more of a destination airport) the minimal facilities is not a serious issue. Once the Airport Authority has there way and renovates the terminal for in excess of $2 billion, none of that will be true.

But would you rather have old dodgy facilities and massive usage of gates plus cheap flights, or do you want an airport that looks like a shopping mall?

Quote: Pacomartin

but you have to wonder how much turning airports into dining and shopping emporiums is getting in the way of their core business.

We don't all have access to airline lounges :)

There are a few odd cities here and there where the locals go to the airport to shop, dine or sightsee. MEX is a far cry from that, but if you ever need to change currency, there are a LOT of currency exchange businesses. That's where I buy dollars when I go to the US (and sometimes you find awesome deals).