D.B. Cooper

Yes; (original) Braniff, then Eastern, then Braniff II and finally Vanguard.

All ended up bankrupt/liquidated.


- DBC

fastflyer

Kansas City Mid-Continent International was built in the late 1960s and replaced an old-school downtown airport soon thereafter. It was built in Platte County, far from the city, and was in fact placed in the opposite direction from where the city was moving and has moved since then.

That is my biggest complaint -- it is not near the city. To get there from my suburban neighborhood (built in the 1920s-1940s), takes at least 50 minutes.

It was built before the notion of secure gates, and its design was heralded at the time (Arthur Haley mentions it, fictionally, as a good "new" design in his novel Airport). Braniff did have international flights and a sort of a hub there in the 1970s.

I use the airport as an O&D passenger, and for that, it is great. It could not be a hub in today's TSA world.

BTW, Gates BBQ, which does have the best sauce, is available by mail order. I am shipping cases to Normandy this very week for a party there.

stef

i am not sure if this is a pro or a con, but the front line security screeners are not TSA employees.

here is a link confirming that with some other good backgound information on the airport.

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/enc...al_Airport.htm

StudentExplorer

Didn't TWA once attempt to make MCI a hub?

alanw

I think they did. I remember going there after it opened as a little kid and we (the family) were all very excited about the novel space-age design! I moved to KC in 1973 and remember it opening and all the excitement, so I'm confused by the earlier statement that it was built in the 60's.

For a while, TW had (I believe) some kind of dual-hub thing going on between MCI and STL. My brother was a pilot for them and remember him having to commute back and forth on connecting flights from both places.

I have only been through there a couple of times flying in the last five years, but remember that I hated the way rental car places were out in BFE. And the fact that you have to pass through Speed Trap County to get there. And sit in bumper-to-bumper traffic on 435 in the afternoons just trying to get out of there and onto I70. But then I get to see mom and dad and have some Zarda BBQ and it's all OK.

bobob

If I'm not mistaken, Midwest Airlines considers MCI a hub.

fastflyer

A web history includes:

"Mid-Continent International Airport resulted from a $150 million bond passed in 1966. The city council voted to rename the airport Kansas City International one year later, overriding suggestions that it be named for Harry S. Truman or Dwight Eisenhower....

When Mid-Continent International Airport (later Kansas City International Airport) opened in 1972, Municipal Airport became a business aviation center. Municipal was renamed Kansas City Downtown Airport in 1977."

I believe the terminals were built in sequence. One of the plaques inside a terminal definitely has a 1960s date, the project certainly rolled over into the 1970s also.

Delta Hog

Actually, MCI to downtown is 20 minutes in clear sailing, closer than a lot of airports to their downtowns, that I visit around the nation.

And as for suburban neighborhoods, I guess like anywhere else, it all depends on where your suburban neighborhood is. Mine is only 10 minutes from MCI.

Hubs -- Midwest and US Airways both operate "mini-hubs" at MCI. But while Midwest will connect a few passengers through here, most will still go through MKE. US Airways used to have a larger operation than it does now, taking inbound passengers to MCI out to podunk towns in Kansas and Arkansas on commuter craft. That seems to have shrunk almost down to nothing.

One irony is that while TWA was historically connected to Kansas City (I used to walk by the closed "TWA headquarters" building on my way to work downtown), after AA took over TWA's STL operations, it didn't take them long to close the MCI-STL route altogether. Unfathomable, and blasphemy, to me. Now, it's drive or take WN.

fastflyer

There are some suburbs that have developed north of the river, especially since the airport opened. And downtown is reachable in 20-30 minutes. But so much of what is going on in Kansas City is many miles south of downtown.

A key area - the neighborhoods south of the Plaza - are not terribly convenient to the airport, and I once had to get to/ from Olathe on a weekly basis from the airport. That was 1 hour 10 minutes each way.

IceTrojan

You mean besides the fact that it's in Kansas?

ludocdoc

I dont understand. You know it's in Missouri, right?

I was just connecting in San Diego (on WN, had to go through security to get to gate 1, with 25 mins to connect ... squeeeeek) and we were saying how NOTHING, even that, was worse then flying through MCI. Try connectin in winter and waiting for the bus between terminals. I was there a few months ago and saw renovations in progress. But bathrooms and food past security? Cant imagine there's room for that. I'll believe it when I see it.

Well, hopefully thats never. Maybe when I hear it here.....

Spiff

I like: The Admirals Club and the Crown Room. The speed at which checked luggage is delivered

I dislike: The private screeners/TSA-substitutes who are Shoe Perverts and perpetuate the Shoe Carnival. They are a disgrace. The inability to access all gates (and therefore all clubs) is also very unpleasant. The lack of amenities past security is nothing short of appalling.

IceTrojan

oops, my bad result of lack of sleep.

allisonflyer

I was there a couple of weeks ago and stumbled across free WiFi

hobo13

I'll be making my first trip to MCI tomorrow on a MR. If this thread is any indication, my 'quick turn' 2-hour connection is not going to feel all that quick! Any updates lately on how good or bad the airport is? Is there any BBQ or steakhouses at the airport?