PV_Premier

At G13 right now and what a CF. all this retail crap clogging up the area to the gate, G12 and G13 departures are within 10 minutes of each other, and G11 also occupied with a flight departing soon. It's like being in a sardine can, passengers are packed around the retail kiosks, clogging up the boarding lanes and the entrance to the restaurant. Simply the most poorly designed gate area I've ever seen.

MSPeconomist

Form over function. People are supposed to love the iPads as well as those high tables with bar stools that block the way.

Wait until boarding is called and people can't get around the retail obstacles to the podium while as usual the gate lice refuse to move out of the way.

PV_Premier

Three flights departing within 15 mins of one another. If it was one or two flights it might be manageable. This is worse than CDG T2F gates!

Carpboy823

I think that's my main problem with MSP, though it's certainly not unique to there either - they cluster departures in close proximity to each other. Gate announcements get confused, not enough seating, gate lice, etc.

davetravels

So, you want a flight with your sandwich and magazine? ? ?

TTT

I think this is so they can staff 3 gates (i.e. 3 flights) with 3 agents and 1 red coat to float between all three gates.

SLC does it too, especially in the late evening bank at the end of C or D. It is a big cluster most of the time.

Ber2dca

It's kind of a damned if you do, damned if you don't thing though as without retail and food/drink services people will complain the airport 'doesn't have anything' (and that particularly applies to the 90% of flyers who don't have lounge access). And from a spatial planning perspective, lounges probably do take away a lot of the space for use of a relatively little % of customers. If one removed the lounges to create more general queuing and seating space it would probably not be a popular move on here.

jrkmsp

No mainline flight in MSP goes out with less than two gates agents, and usually a red coat as well.

Ledfish

LGA certainly and DCA to some extent, suffer this same fate.

TTT

While the example of 3 GAs for 3 flights may not be correct, I have boarded plenty of mainline flights from MSP with only one GA and no Red Coat.

They don't staff a Red Coat per gate - the clustering of departures by concourse allows the Red Coats to float where needed.

live5

I was just going to say... LGA is the epitome of this problem. I don't blame Delta though. They've got the nicest terminals in the airport.

MSPeconomist

That's not a high standard at LGA.

DLERT

When there is a cluster of gates it is common for A320-319 737 and other
aircraft of similar size to use those gates. The biggie-r 757 A330 767 and
a like are on the low number (1-6) gates of the G and almost anywhere on the F.
The C & D concourses use the afore mention Airbus and 737 types.
The CRJ and assorted Barbie jets are on the A & B concourses.

Now have a mechanical or weather related delay and bring out the spinning
dart board - where do we put the next critter scheduled for that gate AND WILL IT FIT ?
Another crucial gate congestion problem is with the 4 gates at the very end
of the G.
Way too many concessions (kiosks) in the aisle and inadequate holding corrals
results in the gate lice having a romp on and through the Priority Boarding lanes.

Viewing the G concourse from Post Road it looks oh so neat and regulated
all the planes lined up almost military dress-right-dress but belies the
interior workings of the mayhem of that concourse !

And did I mention that this concourse stretches from Fargo to Rochester -
Why didn't the airport just have a light rail running between these two cities ?

MSPeconomist

Post of the day. Thanks for making me laugh. "Planes lines up almost military dress-right" makes me think that you are (or should be) a creative writer. The Fargo to Rochester light rail line is funny too.

If the G concourse keeps growing it can encompass the proposed hotel and eventually connect Terminals 1 and 2. However, it's strange that G keeps growing as DL is supposedly exercising capacity discipline.

JSprague24

Used MSP for the first time since 2009 in October and G for the first time since 1992 out of G19 (supposed to be G18 until the plane broke and they slid us next door) on the way to SAN.

I've never seen a line for a men's room longer at an airport. I felt like I was at a sporting event.