Detroit Concourse C
 

I think the new DTW airport is great and I am always happy to connect there. Concourse C where the commuter flights leave is another story. The tunnel is great but this concourse reminds me of an inner city bus terminal. Confusing layout, no indication of the destination near the Gate signs, no where to sit. As the C gates seem to be assigned at the last minute, I found myself standing on the wrong line by the door for some flight to upstate New York (and almost boarded). I realize most of the commuter concourse facilities are pretty poor but this was a big disappointment.

Concourse C was built as a temporary solution for a regional aircraft facility. It was built with some type of bricking (please note that I’m neither an architect nor constructionist, so I have no further details) that’s allegedly easy to dissemble and rebuild. I imagine NW wanted to see the impact of regional jets/retirement of turboprops on its network before surging (with the airport) on permanent facilities. At least every “gate” has a bridge, which is an issue if you often travel with persons who have disabilities as I do.

I think the biggest disappointment is Concourse B -- it's likely to eventually span the length of Concourse A, yet it isn’t nearly as wide so it will never have a tram to ease walks...

When Concourse C opened, you could not just enter whenever you wanted, You checked in and waited in the central terminal and did not go to your gate until your flight was called. Now that the doors are open all the time, people just walk to their gate and wait instead. Then they get upset when there is no place to sit. The orginal way NW managed access to the concourse seemed much less confusing. Seems like the compliants began when this changed.

Concourse C will be completely remodeled at DTW
 

Concourse "C" is an awful place to board a flight or deplane because the wodth of the concourse is much too narrow for the pax load that utilizes this part of the airport.

There only way to fix this problem is to raze concourse C and rebuild it, which is already underway.

RC

I can't say that I recall seeing a bridge at the C doors I was at.

A bridge is a jetway. When there is no jetway, you disembark down the aircraft stairs and walk out on the tarmac and either enter the terminal or board a shuttle bus, which is what was done with many of the small aircraft at the old DTW terminal. That was eliminated with the new terminal and the C concourse, for which I believe the replacement is already under construction. Stay tuned.

I looked on A.net to see if there was an overview with it showing construction. Sure enough there was. http://www.airliners.net/open.file/626085/M/ (But viewed best as large)

Re-construction
 

Thanks. Good news.

At least there is a WorldClub over there, though small....was in the B/C terminal for the first time this past week, not exciting, but not horrid, especially if it is just for a limited point of time.

Looking for updated comments, please.
 

Just heard from a friend who was in DTW TErminal C last night, and reported that it is still as awful as before. So I did a search and found this year old thread. I thought the "reconstruction" was going to address most of the issues there like no seating at gates and no PA to announce flights, etc.
While I have been to and/or through DTW many times, it is almost always only in A and rarely B Concourse that I have any first hand experiences. Does anyone have any updates to offer on the conditions at the "new and expanded" Terminal C? Thanks.

Still not open.

Bad News: Went thru C today and it was a total mess.

Good News: New terminal opens tomm.

KOOOOOOL!!! I'll be through Term C on Monday....

Did quick tour of concourse C this morning
 

I had a bit of extra time this morning before my flight and did a quick tour through the new C concourse. In short, it looks like a mini-concourse A, a big improvement over the old C "hallway". The odd numbered gates are currently not in use as they are blocked by the old C concourse which has yet to be torn down. There are a handful of concessions in the new concourse including a Coffee Beanery, Martini Lounge (woo hoo), Fudruckers, Detroit 500 (cafe), CNN Newstand and Everything ASAP. The one odd thing I noticed is that all the clocks are stuck at 2 minutes to 6:00.

Thank You!
 

Thanks for taking the time to do an inspection tour! I will be in Detroit again in about 10 days, and will try to check out Concourse C for myself, at that time. The improvements have been a long time coming!!!!