Midwest - Moving: Would Kansas City (MCI) be a good upgrade from Omaha (OMA)

Would MCI be a good upgrade from OMA? My wife is looking at a relocation to KC KS, I travel for work and fly every week so I think it will be an upgrade from OMA. Hopefully better flight selection which should eliminate connections to many of my destinations. My territory is the from the Mississippi River West.

How is MCI to fly in and out?


I couldn't find the best forum for this so hopefully it works here.

MCI is EASY to fly in and out of. 30ft from check-in or baggage belt to the outside world and pick-up/drop-off.

However, KC, KS would probably not be my first choice of areas to move into! While there are ok parts, a lot of those nice parts are surrounded by a lot of nothing.....!

As this is not a trip report I shall move it on the Midwest forum.

Moomba
Moderator: Trip Reports

I live in KC and love our airport. Very easy to get in and out of. Plenty of direct flights to the hubs on the major carriers. Delta recently added a lot of non-stop flights to non-hub locations as well, including New Orleans, etc. You won't regret coming to KC.

Plus, parking at the airport is very cheap!

The great thing about MCI, as previously mentioned, is that you can be to TSA in a few minutes after being dropped off, and then you are right at the gate. Parking is convenient and relatively cheap, and there are numerous flights to various destinations. The only caution I would offer is that if you're going to be in Kansas (specifically Johnson County, which is a nice and popular place) that can easily be 45 minutes from MCI.

I would not recommend MCI as a place for interline connections, because you often have to take buses between terminals, but if you live there, it is maybe the most efficient big airport in the country.

Would MCI be a good upgrade from OMA? My wife is looking at a relocation to KC KS, I travel for work and fly every week so I think it will be an upgrade from OMA. Hopefully better flight selection which should eliminate connections to many of my destinations. My territory is the from the Mississippi River West.

How is MCI to fly in and out?


I couldn't find the best forum for this so hopefully it works here.


I have only passed through it....I was in KC for work once.

Id suggest if you fly often like every week or every other week to live closer to MCI. The good thing is MCI is close to the state line so you can live in the state you choose and still be close.

How would living close to the airport be on your wifes commute to work? Your office locally?

As for the airport since its smaller and should be easy to get in/out of. The only issue will be first flights out in the am where it will depend on TSA staffing and if they staff accordingly.

As for airlines Southwest would be a good carrier to use since it seems many of your cities in your area have flights to MCI. Southwest at MCI is one of their minihubs when it comes to flights...since they opened in Denver...Denver has taken over from MCI a little in this.

I've looked into this before. This summer there were 15 cities that flew direct to/from MCI that OMA did not offer.

Cancun :cool:

I have made the move to the KC area (Lee's Summit actually) and have say it is better overall then OMA. Not that OMA was all bad but KC is literally walk in and pass through security. I have yet to have the 530am security line be like OMA, I cannot say I have had more then 5 people in front of me at security yet.

Questions for this thread...

As an avid walker who loves the large expanses of big terminals at airports, it sounds like MCI might be a bit disappointing from my perspective?

Can I walk the length of Terminal C or are sections closed off? (I've read that the length is about 2200 feet)
Same for Terminals B and A?

From what I've read: No secure-side connection between terminals, correct?

I understand the fact that MCI was designed to minimize walking. Unfortunately I planned my pre-flight 6 hours at the airport before reading that.

I've looked into this before. This summer there were 15 cities that flew direct to/from MCI that OMA did not offer.

Cancun :cool:

That is because southwest used to have MCI as a "hub" city before they moved into DEN.

Some service has moved over to DEN but with most coast to coast routes you either fly through MDW or you fly through DEN, STL, or MCI.

Southwest pushed to allow Missouri to be added to the state you can fly to from Love field in Dallas.

For carriers not southwest it isnt all that much different than Omaha. you will generally fly to hub sites with a few other directs to places like Vegas or Orlando.

Questions for this thread...

As an avid walker who loves the large expanses of big terminals at airports, it sounds like MCI might be a bit disappointing from my perspective?

Can I walk the length of Terminal C or are sections closed off? (I've read that the length is about 2200 feet)
Same for Terminals B and A?

From what I've read: No secure-side connection between terminals, correct?

I understand the fact that MCI was designed to minimize walking. Unfortunately I planned my pre-flight 6 hours at the airport before reading that.

I haven't been to MCI in a few years so can't really address the walking or airside part. However, you might consider seeing if any of the nearby hotels have a day rate or a day pass to their gym/pool & go there, or if there's a movie theater nearby go see a movie. Or post & see if any FTers are around to meet up for drink or meal (depending on when the 6-hours occurs).

Cheers.

For carriers not southwest it isnt all that much different than Omaha. you will generally fly to hub sites with a few other directs to places like Vegas or Orlando.
15 other places is quite a bit more. Still in Jan 2013

Omaha does not have anything that Kansas City does not.
http://www.flykci.com/FlightInformation/FlightSearch/Index.htm

Kansas City gains you:
Toronto
Seattle
Los Angeles
Boston
Cincinnati
New York - LaGuardia & JFK
Cleveland
San Francisco
Philadelphia

Southwest from Kansas city gains you:
Baltimore
Oklahoma City
Nashville
San Diego
Indianapolis
Milwaukee

15 other places is quite a bit more. Still in Jan 2013

Omaha does not have anything that Kansas City does not.
http://www.flykci.com/FlightInformation/FlightSearch/Index.htm

Kansas City gains you:
Toronto
Seattle
Los Angeles
Boston
Cincinnati
New York - LaGuardia & JFK
Cleveland
San Francisco
Philadelphia

Southwest from Kansas city gains you:
Baltimore
Oklahoma City
Nashville
San Diego
Indianapolis
Milwaukee

Kansas city pwns Omaha any day!