jsguyrus

OK, I have fussed about this before on here but after a trip this week I thought I would hit it again. The N Gates at SEA are total chaos due to overcrowding. The line at the bathrooms (both of them) were 20 people deep, the line at Starbucks had to be 50 people, there were no seats anywhere in the terminal. The "new" rooftop boardroom is two years away and the temporary one downstairs is months away (maybe as it didnt look like anything was being worked on when I looked).

I realize that it is summer and mornings are busy, but it wasn't much better in the evening on my return. This is AS main hub and should be a flagship airport for them, instead it has to be one of the worst travel experiences of the many airports they serve. Not sure I know what the answer is, I would have thought this would have been planned for prior to taking over N.

Is this just the way it is going to be from now on?

MonThruThurs

Yes.

What more do you want to hear? You can grab SBUX/food before getting on the train and there is another set of bathrooms after you get off the train.

If you know you are going to N, you can plan around it.

missamo80

Stopped at Beecher's in C on my way to N today for a sandwich and water. Hit the facilities across the hall while my sandwich was being grilled. Got on the little train at C gates for a pleasant ride to N gates. Got off, grabbed a chair, ate my sandwich, then got on a plane.

As MonTruThurs says you plan around it. The terminal needs updating.

Neil

jsguyrus

We all know you can plan around it (if your flight is not delayed), but should that really be what people need to do to have a good experience with AS?
There are a lot of people that do not know the ins and outs of the terminals or what and where to avoid, should they be left with a bad impression of AS at their own hub? Should I really have to use a bathroom in another terminal and take a train to where my flight departs? Come on we are in a dog fight with DL, lets step it up.

alphaeagle

They are renovating the North Terminal, more details here:
http://www.portseattle.org/Business/...orth-STAR.aspx

There is a thread about it somewhere but couldn't find it. Did find this locked one from last year after a quick search:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/alask...nal-chaos.html

beckoa

Wirelessly posted (beckoa's BB: Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9810; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.11+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.1.0.694 Mobile Safari/534.11+)

AS can't just waive a magic wand. They have to deal with the POS.

apodo77

POS definitely comes to mind when thinking of the N gates but not the Port of Seattle.

ANC

take a stroll through concourse K at ORD durng peak times

MonThruThurs

AE and UA terminal at LGA is worse.

tusphotog

The setup is terrible in the N11/12/13 corner. I had a flight leaving from there a few weeks ago and it's a total disaster. It looked like the fall of Saigon or something.

Sure didn't look like anything was going on a couple weeks ago when I went through. If the new N BR doesn't come in to existence, does that mean my membership will go down next year?

EIPremier

Agree that the N gates really look very shabby for a primary hub. It wasn't super crowded the day I was there, but the N12 area is definitely congested. I actually preferred how things were 10 years ago: most flights out of D and C, with an occasional trip over to N.

BearX220

This is the status quo in the N satellite until mid-2020 earliest -- probably more like 2022 if the construction timeline elongates as they usually do. And wait until they have to seal off chunks of the current N floorspace to attach those new wings, which will take years. It's unpretty.

sea_jeff

Yep - I agree.

gaiusbaltar

I'm not a fan of the N gates either. The Starbucks line is always long. I often have called it the world's slowest Starbucks. Usual time from entering line to getting my drip coffee is 15 minutes. I sometimes pay someone at the front of the line to get my coffee for me if I'm in a hurry.

Pacific Place I(the new area near Terminal B and C) just magnify and highlight how awful the N terminal is. I often enter the secured area through Security Checkpoint 3 and not Security Checkpoint 1 because the line is often shorter (although it's been better at Checkpoint 1 now that they've opened up the TSA line). Anyway, at checkpoint 3, you see Ivar's, Anthony's, Starbucks, etc. In the afternoon there is often some person hustling for money by singing and/or playing on their guitar which builds the ambiance of the area. It's new. It's fresh. Has a great view of the airplanes going back and forth. A generally pleasant area.

Then you go over to the N gates. I usually walk over to the main terminal entrance to the N gates. You finally get there. You see the boarded up UA club. When you get up the stairs, your food options suck. The Starbucks is serving coffee at turtle speed. The ceiling doesn't look good. You get there past 7 AM and you can run into crowds. There have been times I've sat on the floor.

I generally grimace when I see that I'm going to the N gates to leave SEA. I'm relieved when I get a C or D gate departure...much more pleasant experience.

FWIW, the S gates suck too so DL doesn't have it any better over there.

Whoever mentioned the thing about the Port of Seattle, they're right. I think the Port is one of the better government agencies, nevertheless, you are dealing with government. Why they would want to use the old UA club for meeting space doesn't make any sense to me until I start thinking like a government employee. I have a very low opinion of government, especially the Feds, but I diagress....

Only 6 more years until we have new N gates! Just look on the bright side!

makfan

There are MANY airports in the world where you have to take a train to your departure gate. TPA, MCO, LAS (in some cases), DFW (if changing from E to other terminals), JFK (if changing terminals, and not airside) are just a few that come to mind.

I hate the N bus station as much as anyone, but it isn't that unusual, and it isn't any worse than the current SFO terminal (about to be bulldozed and rebuilt over the next SIX years).