In 2008, 34 Million passengers traveled via Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.
Faced with complaints that an estimated 20,000 people show up at the wrong terminal each year, MAC has been considering proposals to change the terminal names on the signs and list the airlines that fly out of each terminal.
In 2008, 34 Million passengers traveled via Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.
If 20,000 people can’t make it to the right terminal, that’s 0.059%; less than six in ten thousand people.
The price tag to make sure people get to the right terminal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has soared to $2.2 million, more than twice the original estimate.
When the revised proposal goes before the committee, Hogan predicted that the new cost estimate will be a consideration in how the vote goes. “But in the big scheme of things, we just spent $3 billion to improve the airport, and if there are still people having trouble getting to the right terminal, that’s a small price to pay.”
The last sentence of that paragraph is rather demonstrative as to why government shouldn’t be in business, health care – or running airports for that matter.
In 2008, 34 Million passengers traveled via Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport.
Over 90,000 people travel through our airport per day. 20,000 per year can’t discern the difference between “Lindberg” and “Humphrey.”
34,000,000
vs.
20,000
Managing to the exception needlessly costs taxpayers and travelers.
There will always be percentage of people who can’t figure out where they’re going and as the percentages get smaller, the resources to required to remedy the CRISIS(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) increase exponentially. Spending $2.2M of OPM is easy when there is no accountability; no career repercussions for spending resources foolishly.
An expenditure judged to be a waste in a well-run corporation is deemed an “investment” by government.
Especially since also spent $700million to build a light rail line that happens to connect both terminals – via a FREE RIDE! If you’re in Lindberg and you’re supposed to be in Humphrey, you are a two minute free train ride away!
Problem solved!
But … but … but … aren’t these the SAME Minnesotans who voted for AL FRANKEN? How could anyone that brilliant possibly have difficulty finding their way around an airport?
I can almost guarantee you that the MAC will get their way. They run the airports AND the tenants in the airports and they get their way. Exorbitant rents, outrageous build out costs for food and retail, both at the ‘Main’ and ‘Humphrey’. They are like a mini ‘Mafia’.
Sen. Craig wants to devote the $2.2 million to installing “buddy booths” so he can meet Swiftee next time through town.
If the unemployment rate is still 9.5% in 2012 Craig will have a better chance than Obama of being elected president.
Keep on hoping for the worst, wingnuts. It’s your only chance!
Clownie must not realize that we’re already there. You owe $184,000 in national debt, sucker. Pay up.
There are plenty of studies that show the percentage of people with a complaint who actually file a complaint is in the single digit range. So the number of people who had a problem is probably much, much higher. Discount the people who fly out of MSP from this area who know which airline flys out of which terminal without any help, you are talking a lot more people as a percentage with a complaint than the number you have laid out here, Johnny. I travel out of MSP on 2-3 times per month. In my opinion, MSP has the worst signage of any airport I’ve been to. In the five or so years I’ve lived here, I have had to direct people to right terminal maybe five times and had to be directed myself once. (Airtran moved to the Humphrey? Who knew?) Is it that hard to put a few signs up each way on the approach road to the airport saying which airlines fly out of which terminal? From the numbers above it sounds like a typical government job, $2-3 million to put up a few signs. A kid trying to earn his Eagle Scout tab could probably organize it and complete it for 80% less. But we do ask our government to do things for us that we can’t do for ourselves individually – like maintain roads. Signage is a part of their responsibility with the money travelers pay in gas taxes and airport fees. (Rented a car recently? A bookie’s vig is less than the governments cut for an airport access fee!) As a person that works for a business here that brings people in to the area, believe me the complaints we get about MSP will go back to #1 after the Sen. Fartjoke swearing in passes through the lower intestine.
Clown,
What Kerm said. “It could get worse” is both true and scant comfort. One year of Obama has put me in debt to the tune of a multiple of my annual salary.
And this is the “good” part. The “honeymoon”.
Changing the names of the terminals is supposed to reduce confusion? Isn’t the terminal already listed on tickets and reservations? People who can’t read their tickets are not going to be helped by changing from names to numbers. Having signs that list which airlines fly from each terminal makes sense, but I don’t see where changing the names of the terminals can do anything but cause more confusion.
No, terminal names are not listed on tickets. That’s mainly because the vast majority of tickets are “e-tickets”. You check in at the terminal and get your boarding pass. Go to the wrong terminal and you don’t check in.
That’s just one more reason to get to the airport well in advance of your flight.
And for God’s sake, know what frigging airline you are flying. You bought the non-refundable ticket.
Reading your statistics, the first question that crossed my mind was to wonder how many of the people with a complaint were sufficiently fluent in English that ANY sign change would be an improvement? The signage may not be the problem, merely the symptom.
If there are 20,000 travelers with a complaint, while a very small percentage of the total, it still suggests there is a problem. Presumably the intention is to make the Mpls / St. Paul international airport more efficient, and more likely to expand on that 34, 000,000 travelers.
Seflores has a good point. As a general thing, only a very small percentage of people who are unhappy with a purchase, whether goods or services, ever complain effectively – which includes making the complaint to the appropriate source. The actual number of people having a problem is very likely MUCH higher, and better signage could improve the experience of most if not all of those 34,000,000.
Being competitive is the name of the game. One can only hope that the airport authority did their homework before they change the signage, so that it is better, not worse.
If the ticket or other ticketing document, including e-ticket, does not list your terminal, that is a problem with the ticketing system. Changing the names of the terminals will do nothing to help you.
As a general thing, only a very small percentage of people who are unhappy with a purchase, whether goods or services, ever complain effectively – which includes making the complaint to the appropriate source.
I’ve heard that many times before as well. It’s usuallly from a lobbyist or a member of the media attempting to bolster their position or overestimate subscribership or poll results or from a proponent of larger government, trying to promote a new program or justify an existing one, with a back-beat of “We’re smarter than the people – they don’t know what they want.”
In this over-networked, high-technology world we live in I find those sorts of statistical extrapolation suspect at best.
Please read: “Faced with complaints that an estimated 20,000 people show up at the wrong terminal each year…”
There were NOT 20,000 complaints. Whatever number of complaints that there were (presumably much less than 20K) led them to estimate that there were a TOTAL of 20,000 that show up at the wrong terminal terminal. I’d bet that of those 20K, there are a 3 or 4 major REASONS, but signs are the #1 EXCUSE.
How do I get a government contract making signs? It sounds less risky and more lucrative than investing in the stock market.
Not that I like the idea of spending 2.2M on signage changes at MSP, but could we at least add the words MAIN and CHARTER to the terminal naming? I lived here for a few years before needing to take a flight and trying to figure out who was more important and thus who would have their name on the MAIN terminal was a bit daunting while driving down 494 and trying to determine which road to take. For anyone who thinks otherwise – the signage does suck.
Johnny wrote – “I’ve heard that many times before as well. It’s usuallly rom a lobbyist or a member of the media attempting to bolster their position or overestimate subscribership or poll results or from a proponent of larger government, trying to promote a new program or justify an existing one, with a back-beat of “We’re smarter than the people – they don’t know what they want.””
You’ve never heard that most people don’t voice their complaint to the provider of the service or good – they simply take their business elsewhere? It’s sometimes called voting with your feet. Do you send every subpar meal back to the kitchen or just not go back and complain to your friends and associates about the place? Most do the latter. Isn’t the Strib learning a lesson about their daily insult to 50% of their potential audience?
Look, I’m against needless, wasteful government spending as much as the next right thinking commenter in this blogs comment section. I’m merely expressing the view that signs ARE needed at MSP to tell visitors to the area and the airport which airlines fly out of which terminal. (As for renaming them, who cares?) I have some real world experience with this. I’m not like some commenters here who will tell you about how their neighbor is the vice-chairman of the MAC and says these signs are needed because Roosh offered an opinion that he is not qualified to make because he hasn’t learned how to fly a 747. I’m simply saying that the place could use some better signage to bring it up to grade with other airports around the world.
Seflores, I appreciate your respectul debate but let me piece this back together.
1) I studied at the U of M’s Professional School of Journalism and I remember the teachings that a complaint to a media outlet represents 40,000 viewers but as Joe C. pointed out, the 20,000 number is already the “leveraged” number
2) As such, 9,994 out of 10,000 people disagree that there is a need to spend more money on signage. Now if these were planes falling out of the sky – I’d be with you on this one.
3) Worst case, you end up at the wrong terminal and as Mitch pointed out, we’ve already spent $700 Million so that travelers can hop a two-minute train ride to the other terminal.
I appreciate your personal opinion that we need better signage but the reasoning expressed in the article is flawed and serves as yet another example of liberals’ endless chorus of “just a few million more dollars” and life will be grand.
Just rename Lindberg terminal to “Delta/Northwest Terminal” and Humphrey to “All Other Airlines Terminal”. Problem solved.
Might have to move United and Continental, but Northwest always wanted the Lindberg Terminal to themselves anyway.
It’s a wonder some people find their way out of bed in the morning.
Just affix small signs with the logos and names of the airlines each terminal serves to the existing signs. I see that at other airports.
Simple. Cheap. Done.
What about Midway and O’Hare in the Chicago area?
Do they have this problem?