Eisenhower National Airport

[Veritas]

Flew out last Sunday. Very nice impression.
Still too much "construction dust" on the floors. Also, Chick-Fil-A is one of the few places on the concourse in which to eat. On Sunday they are closed. Dunkin' Donuts couldn't keep up with the lunch crowd. Trash cans were stuffed, and waiting for a sandwich took 20 minutes minimum as everyone crowded around their counter waiting for their food. Best to east in the terminal on Sundays before you go through the checkpoint.

Rental car return was easy. Ticket counters are nice; especially the inline baggage X-ray for the checked bags.

Pretty nice, though they do need to take care of the Sunday departing passengers regarding food.

Makes a good impression for the city.

Nice job Wichita.
I like Ike.

[MoValley John]

Flew out last Sunday. Very nice impression.
Still too much "construction dust" on the floors. Also, Chick-Fil-A is one of the few places on the concourse in which to eat. On Sunday they are closed. Dunkin' Donuts couldn't keep up with the lunch crowd. Trash cans were stuffed, and waiting for a sandwich took 20 minutes minimum as everyone crowded around their counter waiting for their food. Best to east in the terminal on Sundays before you go through the checkpoint.

Rental car return was easy. Ticket counters are nice; especially the inline baggage X-ray for the checked bags.

Pretty nice, though they do need to take care of the Sunday departing passengers regarding food.

Makes a good impression for the city.

Nice job Wichita.
I like Ike.

Dunkin Donuts is notoriously slow, airport location not withstanding. Their butter crunch donuts are to die for, though.

[WuShock16]

I'm going on a trip here in about a month. I look forward to checking out the new digs.

QUESTION: how is parking? Is parking closer to the airport more available or is the shuttle parking lot still the most accessible option? I have used the shuttle for several visits in recent years and it has been perfectly fine. I just wondered if there was more parking near the airport.

[1979Shocker]

I'm going on a trip here in about a month. I look forward to checking out the new digs.

QUESTION: how is parking? Is parking closer to the airport more available or is the shuttle parking lot still the most accessible option? I have used the shuttle for several visits in recent years and it has been perfectly fine. I just wondered if there was more parking near the airport.

http://www.flywichita.com/parking/

Wichita Eisenhower National Airport offers a four-level parking garage in which to park, plus three parking lots from which to choose – Economy, Close-in and Park & Ride.

The Economy Lot and Close-In Automated Lot will open in September.

[Veritas]

I was also curious about the jet bridges too since they have a lot of glass. When I arrived and departed, they were
Very comfortable and cooled. I believe it is the largest use of glass jet bridges in the U.S.

For those flying out on Sundays I am curious how DD learned from their opening week Sunday challenge. The little "Grab & Go" at the end of the concourse will need to stock up better as well.

Saw some Shocker wall art.

Nice to see it open before the NCAA MBB tournament hits Intrust.

[Steeleshocker]

I know it's probably super difficult to achieve, but i believe they still need to pursue changing the airport code to IKE.

Worth it.

[SB Shock]

I know it's probably super difficult to achieve, but i believe they still need to pursue changing the airport code to IKE.

Worth it.

I had asked somebody about that who was involved. There is already a airport code IKE, so it is not going to happen since it is international body that governs it. But if they did, all your luggage for the first few years would end up in Greenland.

[AndShock]

Taking away Mid-Continent from me for someone who has no connection to Wichita was bad enough. They will be taking away the ICT from my cold, dead hands.

[Veritas]

I know it's probably super difficult to achieve, but i believe they still need to pursue changing the airport code to IKE.

Worth it.

I believe that airports officially place a "K" in front of what is called an iata 3- letter IATA code. Therefore, IKE would become "****" which would be a negative. Can any pilots give a better explanation on when /why the letter K is used?

[wu_shizzle]

Anyone else find it interesting that the new concourse looks like the one from "Knight and Day" which looked nothing like the old one which it was supposed to represent?

[Veritas]

Well... Round two departing on Sunday.
Construction dust has turned into dust bunnies. Escalators need the grates cleaned and dusted; especially the area on the other side of the glass that runs a ledge from the 2nd floor to 1st floor.
Dunkin' Donuts trash cans overflowing again on the concourse area--- flies love it. DD tables not wiped down.

I'm thinking Ike needs someone to upkeep the property.

A definite improvement over mid continent, but gracious how can airport folks not see the dirt?
Show some pride airport folks.

[KC Shox]

I agree. It seemed all the metal panels on the walls and columns had residual smudge marks from construction and installation. Paint in the men's bathroom had smudge marks and this wasn't due to customers. My impression, they were in such a rush to open the airport, they simply didn't have time to get to the fine stuff. That place needs a good once over to clean up the details.

[ShockdaWorld]

I was at Ike this morning with my daughter dropping my wife off. We've always gone in with her a couple of hours early to sit down and eat, have a couple drinks, etc. before her flight left. At Ike, the only place to get anything to eat or drink was the little hole in the wall under the escalators. I didn't go past security, so can't say anything about the concourse, but as far as the "pre-security" areas, it looks a lot like a rather large waste of money. It is "prettier", but not anymore customer friendly or cleaner that MidCon was. Not impressed.

[Veritas]

I was at Ike this morning with my daughter dropping my wife off. We've always gone in with her a couple of hours early to sit down and eat, have a couple drinks, etc. before her flight left. At Ike, the only place to get anything to eat or drink was the little hole in the wall under the escalators. I didn't go past security, so can't say anything about the concourse, but as far as the "pre-security" areas, it looks a lot like a rather large waste of money. It is "prettier", but not anymore customer friendly or cleaner that MidCon was. Not impressed.

Concourse is incredibly nicer than MidCon. Security checkpoint is roomier with upgraded equipment, jet bridges are not 1968 versions, gate seating has charging stations about every 2-3 seats, additional bars and restaurants.

Ticket counter has inline baggage X-ray, larger baggage claim area. Quite an upgrade overall.

Parking garage.

No comparison with Mid-Continent.

Just needs to be cleaned more regularly. I hate to see something that nice not being taken care of so soon after opening.

[ShockdaWorld]

The parking was certainly better, and I did notice that the bags were able to be put through at the ticket counter rather than being taken down to the TSA scanner. It's quite possible I was just "over-expecting." We had a couple of people that went to the grand opening that talked it up like it was the next best thing to sliced bread, so I was expecting more. I may change my mind when I fly out of Ike, but for now, I'm just not as impressed as I'd hoped to be, and the pre-concourse food/drink selection at MidCon (which wasn't great), was three times the pre-concourse selection at Ike. My daughter was even bummed because she's used to going into the little Wizard of Oz gift shop that was at MidCon. I'm not sure if that's been done away with or if it's just moved beyond security.