Originally Posted by
ITRADE
When I was in college in the early/mid 1990s, I got to and from school via RDU when AA had its operation there. Anyone remember infamous Gate C16? The downstairs seating area with old worn seats and carpeting where Leroy, Kenny, Wilma, and Cletus would patiently wait to board their J31s, SF340s, and Shorts 360s to fly to LYH, CHO, ROA, ILM, and any number of little cities...
I sure do! They kept Gate C16 running until 2005 I believe. I remember being there for my first time in 2003 and waiting on a very delayed flight. The gate agent changed CNN The Airport Network to Nascar by forcing his way into the plastic housing the TV sat in.
Also, as to your point about regional parts of terminals looking bad, they don't have to. Look at the B/C Concourse at DTW or Concourse G at ORD. Though they're certainly the exception not the norm.