Quote:
Originally Posted by Acey
Yeah I mean I'm looking at it only from a gate utilization perspective, I don't care to spend enough time inside to see how well lines are moving, check-in is working, customs, etc.
If anything, the pretty decent utilization of IFP gates right now shows how hectic it was before 24 new gates were added overnight.
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Cargo hold cave dweller.
The picture above the wing is great, with the exception of pre-board security checkpoint E.
AC and WS have more than enough room to handle the crowds.
There is a minor problem at WS checkin, the kiosk and self serve bag checks clerks are required to do a secondary document check (alternately, document checks are not performed for all pax at the kiosk) at the checkin line. This can create a long line before the self serve bag drop stations. This can be easily fixed by requiring all pax to undergo an electronic document check at the self serve checkin kiosks.
As we are into the summer season, AC's problem of 70 pax with skis/snowboards heading to LHR & FRA is solved. However this problem will return in December.
KLM and BA are co-located at position 5. Now that the self serve bag drop is removed from position 5 there are enough checkin desks for everyone.
Delta has moved 3 times since the terminal opened. Hopefully they are in a permanent spot. DL shares checkin counters with AM.
AA, DL, and AS share one problem; their checkin desks close for brief periods of the day. Customer arriving 3 hours or more before departure don't know where to go because all the electronic signs remove any mention of the airline.
There is a minor problem for Calgary based large groups, there is very little room congregate a group of 20-30 travelers plus their send off relatives. School trips to Europe is an example. The terminal was designed to speed pax through checkin and preboard security in order to wait at the central hall. However the group organizers want everyone at the terminal 3 hours before departure and then have 1.5 hours for the send off and selfie pictures.
Checkpoint D pre-board security rarely has a line. The exception is when both KLM and HU crews are on the same bus and arrive at the same time. The line up grows to 40-50 people instantaneously. Checkpoint D is helped by the airside corridor access for connection pax. On AC the domestic connections is 30-50% of the load some days.
Checkpoint E is probably the worst place in the whole new terminal. Constant work process changes on the CATSA side. Closure of the remote xray viewing room for periods of the day can back up the lines to 20-30 minutes long. Additionally, the checkpoint E dedicated lane for connections has been permanently closed. Connections pax are given priority lane treatment to the regular lane. This causes the normal pax line to grow very quickly.
There is constant staff turnover at both D & E security. The BP checker
- is always new (generally started within the last 2 weeks),
- doesn't know the terminal configuration,
- doesn't know each airlines definition of priority security access,
- Gets surprised at the general line reaction when one pax gets moved forward due to being close to departure (hint half the line is in the same condition).
- Gets overwhelmed when more than 4 people come to the start of the line. Hint, not all BP are required to be scanned. To save time scan 1 ine 4 BPs have the rest join the line.
- Gets overwhelmed when faced with Nexus card holders who know more about the screener job than the noob and are ready to be the jerk in the group. Its a quirk of the system, pax are not required to present their BP unless requested by a screener. So bypass the line of general pax, if the screener challenges then show them their BP. It is legalized queue jumping. If the screener abandons their station to find a supervisor, all pax can get into the appropriate line. The only thing the screener can do is acquiesce to the pax and immediately clear the BP.
The obligatory run through duty free is okay. The lounges, while an improvement from old Chinook/Rocky Mtn variety, are not up to the Aspire standard set in Europe.
Gate areas are okay, but I'm a stand in zone 1 line kind of pax. I would have preferred the traditional configuration of 1 gate per agent desk. I dont like places where 2 or more gates are co-located together. It creates a lot of unused space while simultaneously everyone is congregated into a small area.
The big disappointment is the gate plan. There are daily adjustments and its near impossible to predict where your airplane will be assigned. AC departures to LHR and FRA are fairly consistent but there are exceptions. WS to LGW is all over the map, as are all USA departures. Just today the mid afternoon departure bank had an AS 175 in the middle of 2 UA A320s and UAX 175. Why couldnt the AS 175 and UAX 175 switch spots was beyond me. This creates confusion at the gate counter and over the intercom. While UA and AS were duking it out, seven gates stood underutilized.
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