parking at kansas city international airport?

[pokeysmom]

need help with the cheapest parking at kci, we will be gone for over 2 weeks, any suggestions?

[DISNEYWITHDAUGHTERS]

Satellite parking is approximately $4 per day, got to get on big blue busses that take you to your general vacinity, or for $7 per day, use Parking Spot which picks you up and drops you off right at your car.

[webhead]

Hey, I'm in Overland Park too! :) The best parking at KCI, IMHO, is the Parking Spot. You can get a discount to like $6 a day if you work for a perferred company. I know that you can get discounts for Sprint or Yellow, but I'm not sure about others.

When you get back, they drop you right at your car. On my last trip, I ran over a nail on my way to the airport. When I got home my tire was flat and they brought out an air pump and refilled it for me. Pretty good service!

[rhodgkie]

Hey we're all flying out of KCI within a few days!

[mcottingham]

If You stay the night before at the Chase Suites by the airport.
You can park there for $10.00 for as long as you are gone!
They also drop you at the gate and pick you up on the return.
Most of the time you can get it thru Priceline for $35.00 a night.
WWW.biddingfortravel.com for priceline info

[pooh41]

Can somebody walk me thru the airport from curbside to the gate? I leave in 8 days.:bounce: :hyper::Pinkbounc

[Escapecar]

Ah, KCI. State-of-the-art, for an era of airline travel that will never return...

KCI has three detached terminals, all circle-shaped. Buses run continually between the terminals, but they are mostly used by employees and those making very complicated connections. This design worked pretty well in the days before hub-and-spoke airlines and heavy security, but not so well anymore. You clear security at each gate cluster (usually 2-3 gates), instead of at a central location. Unfortunately, all the services (food, shopping, restrooms) are outside the secured areas. So if you want to use the restroom or buy something after getting into your gate area, you have to clear security again. This explains why KCI will probably never be a airline hub again, despite its central location. Unless you are flying SWA, or going to an airlines' hub city, you have to change planes to get almost anywhere from Kansas City. There are a few direct flights to the West Coast, and some to Reagan in DC, but that's about it.

Most airlines have skycaps on the sidewalks at street level. Since 9/11, stopping and parking along the street level is very restricted, but a cab or bus will get you close to the doors.

The rest of this is SWA-based, but other airlines are pretty similar.

Due to an extensive cosmetic renovation project at KCI, SWA is operating out of gates 40-52 in Terminal B, right next to Delta. (They will return to their old location at the other end of Terminal B next winter). The SWA counter is near gate 52. Once you check luggage, you will find that the gates and baggage claim areas are on the left as you walk clockwise around the circle and the restrooms are on the right. (Baggage claim carousels are spaced every few gates, so make sure you are at the right one.) Shops, restaurants, and food carts can be on either side. As noted above, you must clear security at each gate cluster, and there are no services within the secured area. So take care of "business" before you get to the gate, unless you want to get wanded and x-rayed again. (I am just amazed that they spent all this money on renovations without doing something about the "no restrooms inside the secured area" problem. There are probably more TSA employees per passenger at KCI than at any other good-sized airplort in the country.)

On the plus side, each SWA security checkpoint only serves 2-3 gates, there is a maximum number of people trying to clear security at a given time. But it can be a pain to head for the restroom, as I once saw no line and figured it would be a good time to go, only to return a few minutes later and find myself at the end of a line of 30 people!

If you are parking inside the structures within each ciircle, KCI is really easy to get in and out of. Just park, take the elevator, escalator or walk across the street, and you are inside the terminal. But at $18/day you are paying for the convenience. The Economy Parking areas are $5/day, and there are buses to take you to the terminals. I haven't parked out there in years, so I can't comment on the timing of the bus service.

KCI has a website: www.flykci.com, which might be of help. It has maps and such.

Hope that helps!

[pokeysmom]

kci is a very easy airport just make sure you park in the correct terminal, check out flykci.com for any info you might need.

[pooh41]

According to SWA's website they have curbside check-in. Do I pull up to this area and drop off my family? Is there somewhere in the immediate area for them to wait while I park in economy parking?:Pinkbounc :wave2:

[Escapecar]

You'll be able to pull up and drop off the family and the luggage. However, I'm not sure if security will let you stay there long enough to check yourself in at the curb, especially if there is a line. Unattended vehicles are a no-no these days.

You may have to let your family check all the bags and check yourself in separately after the shuttle brings you back....so seperate reservations might be in order. If you don't have bags to check, you can use the automated check-in kiosks, which should save you from standing in a long line.

Your family should be able to step right through the doors and watch for your return on the shuttle bus. The doors are set up in pairs, and there are usually a few seats in between them on the inside of the building. There are also some bars and restaurants around, but I don't know if any of them will provide a good view of the doors. I haven't been up there since SWA moved to the temporary gates for the construction project, so I can't be more specific on the restaurants and such.

Frankly, the way KCI is laid out, it shouldn't be tough to find them. The concourse is maybe 30 feet wide most of the time, and there aren't any hallways that branch off. Just start at the SWA ticket counter and walk clockwise around the circle until you find them. As long as they haven't decided to explore the Delta gate areas, you should run into them, wherever they decide to wait.