For two years, KCI Airport officials have leaned heavily on promoting the idea of a new single-terminal concept when reporting aviation details to City Council committees.
Not this time.
New Aviation Director Patrick Klein reported to the Airport Committee on Wednesday and focused entirely on ideas for improving the existing terminals.
In May, Mayor Sly James said the city was putting discussions on a new single-terminal for KCI on hold after research suggested an overwhelming lack of public support.
Klein said two major projects are in the works. One involves improvements to American Airlines’ gate and checkpoint areas in Terminal C. The other is the modernization of the international arrival and departure areas.
Klein also reported on a number of less expensive improvements he said he is working on.
He said he wants to increase the number of electrical outlets in the pre-security areas of the airport to accommodate the increasing number of people who need to recharge personal electronic devices.
Along with more plug-in opportunities, Klein said he is investigating whether the Wi-Fi system at KCI can be improved. He noted that the system was just recently improved, but said he had personally noticed that speeds seemed a little slow and had been asked by some travelers about the same problem.
While working on improving speeds, he believes incorporating a brief survey into the log-on process for the free wireless connection will help the airport get a more accurate reading on who its customers are and where they live.
Another possible change involves the short-term parking area. (Some call it the “cell phone lot,” but he believes that to be an inaccurate description.) He would like to see the lot closer to the actual terminals.
Finally, add music. Klein said he is in conversations with the American Jazz Museum about the possibility of having jazz musicians play in select areas of the terminals during high traffic hours.
“It will give travelers a taste of the flavor of Kansas City,” he said.
Steve Bell is afternoon newscaster and business news reporter for KCUR. He may be reached at 816-235-5173 or by e-mail as steveb@kcur.org
