Unfettered Letters

‘Bored’ with convenience at KCI

I agree with the letter writer (1/3) who said it’s time to bulldoze the three KCI Airport terminals.

As a longtime flyer, I am growing bored with KCI’s excellent service, easy access to ticket counters, quick and simple security screening, uncomplicated luggage return and convenient parking. I long for the pushy crowds, long waits, half-mile walks, impossible parking and palpable anxiety of the big centralized terminal systems like Chicago’s O’Hare, Atlanta’s Hartsfield or California’s Los Angeles International Airport.

So bring on the bulldozers, and let the excitement of chaos begin!

Shirley Phillips
Stilwell

Time to update KCI

Siding with a long-range airport plan, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s time to bow to modernity and start over again at KCI, with one major terminal instead of three.

For years after KCI opened, I loved going there, walking on the polished parquet floors (long gone) and enjoying the ease of access. Plus, the terminals were new and relatively appealing visually.

But over the years, things have changed. In recent visits to the airport, I’ve found a dark and gloomy place with not an inkling of energy or excitement. Yes, the terminals are still convenient, but I think the funereal atmosphere and the lack of light and amenities, including food options, have cast the die.

Kansas City has become a more dynamic, more competitive city, thanks largely to the Sprint Center and the Power & Light District. Now we need an airport that parallels our overall resurgence.

For comparison, just look at the nearby St. Louis, Louisville and Chicago Midway airports. All are miles ahead of KCI on almost every level, and they generate the excitement that should attend most travel experiences.

Bring on the dozers. The three-terminal era is done.

Jim Fitzpatrick
Kansas City

Parking curbside at KCI

I would like to welcome Gloria Squitiro to the club of hundreds of drivers who get tickets at KCI for parking violations every year (10/2, Local, “Airport dispute angers Squitiro”). Sounds to me like Ms. Squitiro tends to get rude and belligerent whenever anything doesn’t go her way, including breaking the rules.

Any person who has ever driven to KCI knows that those officers sit like spiders waiting for you to drive into their webs. I doubt this was the first trip to the airport for her.

It’s time to suck it up and pay the fine, Gloria, just like the rest of us rule breakers. Certainly you would not be trying to be put yourself above the law?

D.D. Zimmerman
Gladstone

I, too, was treated rudely at KCI. I was picking up a family member who was waiting curbside. She put her luggage in the trunk of my car. I was parked in my car for only about 30 seconds and was yelled at by an airport officer to move my car.

On a recent trip to the airport I observed a limousine service parked curbside for more than 20 minutes. Obviously they have preferential treatment.

Linda Springett
Olathe

Don’t mess with KCI

Regarding the article about the consultant’s recommendation to change KCI to a single terminal airport (9/7, Local, “Airport proposal gains traction”): Anyone in favor of changing our current passenger-friendly design into a single-terminal design should be condemned to spending the rest of the days of their life traveling through Denver International airport.

Ron Karlin
Olathe

KCI puts passengers first

Regarding the article detailing a consultant’s findings on the KCI airport (9/7, Local, “Airport proposal gains traction”): My experience with paid consultants is that they never keep the status quo. By implementing change — not necessarily for the better — they justify their expensive fees.

The consultant’s findings cite how inconvenient it is for stores, airlines and security personal to operate in our airport. I thought these entities were there to serve us, the flying public. I am also curious if the security personnel were surveyed. The KCI security staff appear less stressed than their counterparts at other central security facilities. Could this possibly make them more effective?

The KCI design discourages any one airline from dominating the airport. It allows real competition between many companies, resulting in some of the lowest fares nationwide. Startup and discount airlines are able to operate in this environment. I believe many businesspeople who fly frequently prefer to be based in Kansas City because of the airport.

Convenience, low airfares and an airport that puts the customer’s interests first are the reasons we should all support our airport in its current configuration.

Steve Fetter
Overland Park

Save KCI Movement

I want to join Mike Hendricks’ Save KCI Movement (9/8, Local, “Revamp of KCI seems certain”). This single-terminal idea is a win for the engineering firm that designs the new terminal, the construction company that builds it, the people employed to build it, and the retailers, eating establishments and security company.

And who loses? The passengers and the airlines. It seems to me that airports are designed and built to get people on airplanes efficiently so they can go from point A to point B, not for shopping and eating .Most people go to retail shopping centers and restaurants for that.

The cost to build will be in the billions when the time comes. The airlines will pay the price and then pass it on to you. Do you really want higher airline tickets?

John Dembski
Kearney

Sign me up for the Save KCI Movement.

Several weeks ago, a 10-year-old girl was flying alone from Boston to Dulles airport in Washington, D.C. Her parents had completed necessary paperwork for her safe flight. She was wearing a United button to indicate that a flight attendant was to escort her to her parents. As she exited the plane, an attendant told her to have a nice day. That was it.

The girl followed the crowd to the baggage claim. A man standing nearby asked her if she was lost and took her to the ticket counter. They were able to find the parents. What if the man who offered to help had been the wrong kind of man?

This would not have happened at our airport. When we go to meet someone, we see them as soon as they leave the plane. Save KCI!

Jeannae Dickerson
Holden, Mo.

Don’t change KCI

Some people want to replace KCI with a new single-building facility (9/7, Local, “Airport proposal gains traction”). I love KCI. To me it’s one of the best-designed, most passenger-friendly airports in the world. I don’t think it is any less safe than Denver International Airport or any other airport is when it comes to stopping terrorists. In fact, I know it’s not.

If the airlines don’t want to make KCI a hub, so be it. They all lose money anyway, so why should we spend billions on a new airport to subsidize them when the one we have is just great?

Brian K. Kegerreis
Overland Park

KCI police do specialized work

Michael Webber’s recent column on the unfortunate proposal to have Kansas City Police Department officers take over security at KCI was cogent, concise and spot-on accurate (7/30, Opinion, “KCI director deserves greater support from city”).

In addition to Mr. Webber’s correct assertions about the unlikelihood of the plan saving any money, the following critical fact is what the council and the traveling public should be concerned with: Airport policing and security is not the same job as civil and criminal policing. The current airport police and their command staff possess years of mission-specific training and experience working with procedures and protocols specific to operating in a federal air operations environment. Airport police, for instance, have duties on the airfield where intimate knowledge of geography and procedures is critical.

We all support the Kansas City Police Department and its fine work in our community. However, the current airport police do — and have done for 36 years — a highly effective job at providing security at KCI. Messing around with them will do little to mitigate the woeful, long- term underfunding of the Kansas City Police Department

Jeff Gerner
Retired manager, Aviation Department
Kansas City

How insulting that Mayor Funkhouser seems to feel that the airport police are incompetent, second-level security guards. These men and women put on their uniforms and risk their lives every workday for this city, just as the Kansas City police do. They have been at KCI and Wheeler Downtown Airport, quietly doing their jobs day after day, for the last 35-plus years.

These officers have saved the lives of countless people, doing their thankless jobs under adverse conditions, all while collecting low pay and average benefits. They have had police training and regularly attend continuing education courses hours to be their best. They continue to keep customer satisfaction high and leave a professional, positive impression on airport travelers.

Today and every day, these men and women are at work, doing what they are well trained to do. Shame on you, Mayor Funkhouser! These are your city employees.

Nancy Robertson
Kansas City

Keep KCI police separate

KCI’s airport police are real police. They have specialized training in airport safety and security. Would the entire Kansas City Police Department be trained? (7/17, Local, “Police chief cites benefits of KCI officers under KCPD”)

Why even consider a change when there is no problem? I found the airport police at KCI to be helpful, courteous, and professional. Sounds like a power play.

Joe Pollock
Overland Park

Lack of drinking water at KCI

I share Diana Lambdin Meyer’s concern regarding the lack of water fountains in secured areas of KCI noted in “The Watchdog” (6/25, Local, “Parched KCI passengers go thirsty”). Joe McBride, representing the Kansas City Aviation Department, did not solve the problem with his cavalier comment that bottled water is available. Many of us do not wish to purchase oversized bottles of water. And what about travelers who might need a quick drink of water to prevent choking?

I appreciate the expense that installing water fountains might entail after the airport’s renovation, but why not choose an acceptable, less expensive answer? The Aviation Department could install water coolers and small cups for the secure areas of the airport.

This may not be a perfect answer, but it is far better than McBride’s response.

Jan Duncan-O’Neal
Overland Park