Quote:
Originally Posted by msmariner
I can't believe the negativity on this site. We have a brand new terminal that is having some minor growing pains. People make it out like it's the worse airport in the world. I've used the new terminal twice and it was a breeze in arrivals and departures both times. Customs, security and pre clearance were smooth. Sure better signage would help and better education for those using it. That will take time and the bugs will work themselves out.
We have a very large terminal now that is made for 30 million passengers. It looks empty right now with nearly half that. As the airport fills out with time services will improve and be a much smoother experience. I'm sure the link between A & D will improve. I'd rather have extra room now,versus the old airport which was like being in a cattle car at times.
Enjoy the extra room
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Fair enough. And you’re right, there is a whole lot of good stuff about the new terminal. And, in spite of the many design and implementation problems, I would never, ever, ever want to go back to how it was before -- especially in that awful concourse B holding pen.
As I said earlier, I personally really like the new terminal -- for the most part. (No NEXUS at security is the one thing that, after four cross-border trips, continues to irk me.) I'm able to enjoy the new terminal because I follow this forum, and I therefore get what they
tried to do and what I need to do differently in order to enjoy the building.
The people who don't like it are those who
aren't following it on forums like skyscraperpage and FlyerTalk ... and who therefore have no clue what to expect, and instead expect it will work like a 'regular' terminal. That's what really upsets me, because the poor user experience for normal, everyday users is giving our airport and our city a bit of a black eye right now.
I think the anger and frustration being expressed here over the new terminal (and everywhere else, for that matter) ultimately boils down to a couple of reasons:
First, there legitimately are a lot of things that hurt the user experience in the building -- particularly for those people who don't expect anything other than a 'normal' airport experience. The ‘no seats at the gate’ confusion and frustration. The lack of water. The downgrading of the NEXUS experience at CATSA.
Secondly, I think the anger is amplified because everyone in the city had such high expectations. (10 years, $2billion, and a lot of self-congratulatory PR can cause that.) The best analogy: in UX and design terms, everybody thought our new terminal would be a cutting edge "iPad" that wowed, impressed, and streamlined the experience for everyone -- frequent flier or novice, Calgarian or overseas visitor. Instead, we got something that requires a lot of explanation, instructions, and “getting used to”. Apparently you need to read the manual to figure it out. (Like a terminal designed by Blackberry rather than by Apple!)
Here's my attempt at a balanced summary of the positives and negatives...
The Positives:- It’s a beautiful building.
- Lots of natural light and views. The 'E' central waiting area (the only one I've experienced so far) is really quite stunning, particularly in the daytime. I love that you can see the big, blue Alberta sky all around you!
- Central waiting hall is very spacious.
- Food. Full food court post-security with lots of variety. And multiple full service restaurants. (I think better choice and variety than even YVR or YYZ-T1 transborder!) I'm a huge fan of Vin Room, so I'm really looking forward to my first D gate departure.
- A good number of shopping options, for those who want to use them.
- The artwork throughout the building is really nice. Great variety, and lots of it is fun to check out.
- The Aspire Lounge. Really nice experience.
- US Customs automated machines.
- US Customs throughput seems to be improved from what it was before. Faster and more efficient.
- The (attempted) Call-To-Gate design allows for points # 4 and 5 above (restaurants and shopping) to exist and function in what's only a mid-sized airport.
- CATSA Plus. Still some challenges, but generally a good system.
- Wayfinding signage is generally really good. A noticeable step up from the old terminal, where a lot of it had an amateur feel. (Except for where it sorts arriving pax into different queues at CBSA, where it's a flop.)
- YYC Link. When not at or over capacity, it’s working really well. Passenger comments quite positive.
- Locating common-use kiosks/terminals post security. Nice and easy to change a seat, reprint a boarding pass ... as long as you don't need to speak to an airline employee.
- The two pedestrian links to the international parkade are really well done. Having both the +15 walkway and the big, underground tunnel are nice, and make for easy access to the terminal from any parking spot. (Many people parking on either the arrivals or departures levels, though, are getting confused and angered that they can't just walk straight across the street and into the terminal.)
- The Marriott Hotel. Utterly beautiful facility. And an incredible location right in the middle of the terminal (on par with the Fairmont at YVR).
- Making gates multi-purpose for both international and U.S. departures. Although the aircraft door can be a long hike from the gate agent (and sometimes through quite a maze of tunnels and passages), it's well-designed for maximum flexibility and growth. Smart.
- It's not concourse B!
The Negatives / Design problems causing user frustration and anger:- Bloody long distance to/from car rental area for international visitors. Absolutely no option but to walk. Imagine a family arriving here for a ski vacation, with all their gear in tow. Yikes. Good luck.
- Bloody long distance for WS passengers connecting between A and D/E.
- YYC Link, when at or over capacity. Waits and frustration during peak periods.
- Bloody long distance for WS domestic passengers arriving at the swing gates, and needing to get to WS domestic carousels for their luggage.
- No true NEXUS lane at CATSA security clearance. A degraded experience for NEXUS members.
- The way that they've attempted to do Call-To-Gate is confusing and angering many passengers. Lots don’t have a clue that the terminal has any different system. Lots who do still want to sit at or near their gates. And even those who do ‘get’ CTG (and proceed only when they’re supposed to) are being frustrated when they go to gate and have to stand around for 15, 20, 25 minutes while waiting for their boarding zone to be called.
- Limited restroom capacity in the distant gate corridors. Like it or not, people are waiting there. And they need to pee.
- Water. Nice that YYC relented and put in a couple of used water dispensers for people who happen to be carrying empty bottles. But, in 2016, the place really does need proper water fountains (there are still none) along with bottle refill stations. Throughout the terminal.
- Airline customer service desks (post security) abandoned by airlines. Only place to find an agent is at a gate. Runs against the CTG design and functionality.
- Gate set-up (at least at the low 70s E gates) doesn't allow for zone boarding. Instead, there are two (?) long queues for each gate that everyone starts lining up in well before boarding starts. Then, when the airline starts calling zones, there's confusion because (a) people are randomly lined up in the two queues and (b) they're packed with people in all boarding zones. And also because of that wierd queue layout, before boarding, it's tough to get up to speak to a gate agent. You have to push through one of the lines of randomly sorted people to reach the front, then do the same to get to the back. Goofy, and not working.
- The departure experience for passengers when 70 and 71 are used for domestic outbound flights. It's a pretty cramped and spartan wait.
- Layout and queuing in the primary CBSA arrivals area. Confusing and not intuitive when passengers first arrive, and then again when they try to find their way to an officer for the primary inspection interview. The problem is compounded when there’s a large influx of arriving pax at once. Accurately described by another user in a previous post as a big "fustercluck"!
- Far too few NEXUS machines at CBSA for a brand new, high tech terminal. I think everyone assumed that making NEXUS members line up for too-few machines was a problem that would go away with the move to the new terminal. It didn’t.
- When there's a long line of people waiting to exit the customs hall, many are left standing on an uphill slope while they wait. Luggage has wheels. Think about it. (I've only seen waiting passengers backed up down the ramp once, but it's a problem when it happens!)
The Negatives / minor growing pains and (hopefully) easily fixable things:- Curbside electronic signs don’t align to airline check-in areas, creating confusion.
- Self bag-drop at check-in is finicky, to say the least. Hasn’t worked well for me once. (Two tries so far, both on WS.)
- C/D/E swing gate operation issues and confusion. Frequent reports of arriving pax being ‘trapped’ behind locked doors because the reconfig from one operation to another isn’t working well.
- The new bridges freezing up in very cold weather. Frequent reports of delayed deplaning due to bridge problems during the recent cold snap.
- Arriving passengers are treated to a long, dull, colourless and lifeless trek to CBSA. More of a hospital hallway experience than a "welcome to Calgary and the Rockies" experience. At least until you get to that one maple leaf art installation. (Arriving should be as nice an experience as departing!)
Jury’s out / YMMV:- Walk-through Duty Free. Some hate being forced through it. A non-issue for others. (Personally, I’m ok with it. I’ll never buy anything there, but if YYC can increase their revenue from people who want to buy, it’s a win-win for everyone. I’d rather walk through a duty free than get hit with a bigger AIF!)
- No Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges. Your opinion here will depend entirely on your airline loyalty and your associated frequent flier status. As a one-time AC "SuperElite" member who's no longer loyal to any one airline, I frankly prefer having a really, really nice common use lounge. So I'm happy, but many others aren't!.
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It is as if they were expecting people to be waiting for a flight by the gate.
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