Detroit- the model for all hubs
Written: Jul 23 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Everything
Cons: ends can be hot
The Bottom Line: A great airport for everybody.
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| chris28's Full Review: Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport |
For those of you who have been to the old Detroit airport and never want to go there again, well I suggest you do, however to get the into the new World Gateway at Detroit you have to fly Northwest, Northwest Airlink, Continental, or Lufthansa. I am told that Delta, now being an alliance member with Northwest will also move over there soon. British Airways was supposed to be in the new terminal however that has yet to be seen. No longer is Detroit a miserable place to connect through, today it is the best airport in North America. The new terminal opened February 22, 2002 at 4:49 a.m. with the first arrival from Honolulu. So what is the big deal about this new terminal? It is simply the best in every category. Here is what I’m talking about.
Design:
Truly a work of art, this terminal has a quarter moon shaped ceiling with the highest end having the all new, sleek express tram. The roof has silver with white panels and white posts hanging from the ceiling. On the inside part of Concourse A is where all of the short haul flights have their gates, the DC-9’s and some A-320/A-319’s. These gates are used for international flights to Canada, Caribbean, and Mexico. This is where the tram runs above your head allowing a slight cool breeze of air to come over you when it passes above keeping the terminal a nice and comfortable temperature. The main aisle for walking has moving walkways in the middle and is a tiled floor, several food and shopping joints line the side where there are no gates, on the opposite side of the terminal are the larger gates, for the big 747-200/400, DC-10’s, and coming very soon the A-330. There are 12 long haul international gates that have kind of their own building to make it easy and fast to get through customs. Each of these gates has two jet ways, one for main cabin passengers and one for Business class passenger, they only use the two gates on the 757, 747, DC-10, and I think they will use it on the A-330. These are gates A24, A28, A30, A34, A36, A38, A40, A46, A50, A54, A56, and A60. Almost all of the building has some sort of curve to it, including the restroom entrances. The CENTER LINK as it’s called is where you get to and from Ticketing and baggage claim, and to Concourse’s B and C. There is no tram for the underground tunnel to the Airlink gates and the Continental gates, however there are moving walkways that allow you to get through quite fast, all while enjoying a nice light and sound show.
Restrooms:
The restrooms in the new terminal are no longer, dark, cold, smelly, ugly, or dirty. The new restrooms are really nice for a bathroom. Each includes several toilets, and several sinks, including 1 or 2 baby changing stations. I do believe there are a couple family restrooms. Each entrance has a wall that has silver tiles with real Platinum in the glaze. I have seen that each of these entrances is worth about $350,000. The climate inside is comfortable and clean smelling, sometimes like lemon, each have plenty of lighting and are easy to navigate. The stalls are nice because the wall nearly touches the floor and there is a little thing that allows you to hang your laptop or whatever smaller bag from it so that nobody can grab it. Each toilet automatically flushes and each sink turn on automatically, and I even thing the paper towel dispensers are automatic too. But don’t hold me on that one.
World Clubs:
Well as of today I have not been in the new ones, however there are a total of four World Clubs throughout the terminal, one at each end of the terminal, upstairs where the train stops, a large one at the Center Link, and one in Concourse B.
Concourse A:
This is where all the mainstream Northwest aircraft and the Lufthansa flight arrive and depart. Concourse A has a total of 64 gates, this mile long terminal is easy to get from point A to point B, if you have to go along ways then hop on the express tram that has a station near each end and one in the middle, this can get you end to end in about 2 minutes, or if you don’t have that far to go, then just use one of the many moving walkways, however if you have time I would suggest walking the entire length to check out all the different stores and planes. For relaxing I would suggest one of the international long haul gates seating area, this is where the GIANT televisions are that have CNN Airport Network on them. This is the only place that you can hear the news, at least the last time I was there; they used to have it run throughout the Concourse. However I would only sit here when all those flights are gone, although they do run from about 12:30 p.m. all the way to 9:30 p.m. But you can find several of those gates empty before 4:00, there nobody will bother you and you have plenty of room to relax. Along with several stores in Concourse A (which I will list later along with the ones in Concourse’s B and C) there is a great fountain in the middle at the Center Link, which includes access to the baggage claim, a couple airline clubs, and the escalators to Concourse’s B and C. This fountain represents some of Northwest routes and is sometimes a great place to find a good laugh. What many people don’t know is that the water runs over the side of the fountain into the tank underneath the floor, since the water clings to the awesome looking granite surface it can sometimes be hard to see, I have seen several kids of all ages along with adults either lean or take a nice seat on the edge of this and it’s rather amazing how fast some jump back soaking wet or try to play it off. The climate is nice, however at the very ends of the concourse there are two sections which are rather warm, they are almost like their own building, so they can get hot. Near the Center Link is also where and entrance and exit to the Westin Hotel is located.
Concourse’s B and C:
To get there you need to go to the Center Link of concourse A and follow the signs underneath the tarmac (where the planes drive) to a tunnel, also where customs comes out, and where you’ll find a light and sound show, these concourse’s are where all the Airlink have their gates along with Continental, there are a few shops and a World Club here but other wise they are nothing as great as Concourse A. I do believe they plan on adding on to concourse B which houses the larger regional jets; all of the Airlink planes have gates, and yes even the little props. However I have never been on an Airlink flight out of Concourse C before, however until they remodel it I hear boarding is a mess.
Express Tram:
Not much to say about this other than it’s fast and quiet. There are a total of three stations, with two trams, both trams meet at the center station and then go separate ways, the other two stations are at the near the end of each concourse, at gates A16/A17 and gate A68. This is the only above floor tram in the world in an airport.
Food/ Shopping:
There are several places to eat and shop in Detroit, and more are coming in each month, almost every slot is full. Here is a list of the stores and their locations.
FOOD
Store name Location
A&W Gate A60
Budweiser Brew House Gate A30
Burger King Center Link
Chili’s Too near Center Link
Diego’s Mexican Village Gate A14
Edy’s Ice Cream Gate A74
Einstein Brothers Bagels Gate B2
Java Coast Café Gates A60,74, C6, Intl Arr.
Little Caesar’s Pizza Center Link
McDonald’s Gate A36
Mediterranean Grill Gate A54
Musashi- Asian Food Center Link
National Coney Island You will see it
Online Café- internet access Gate A36
Orville & Wilbur’s Wings Gate B5
Pasta Pasta Gate B5
Pizza Papalis Gate A60
Rag Top Café Gate A74
Rio Wraps- SW food Gate A60
Starbucks Central Link
Taco Bell Gate A74
TCBY- Frozen Yogurt Central Link
Tailpipe Tap- Tavern Gate A74
Twist & Shout- Pretzels Central Link
SHOPPING
Brooks Brothers- Men’s clothes Central Link
Cap Hub- Hats Gate A30
CNBC News Detroit- newsstand Gate A47
Details- Women’s clothes Gate A29
Detroit Institute of Art Gate A66
DTW Express- newsstand Gate A69
DTW Press Gates A20,31,61,B4,8
DTW Travel Mart Central Link
Gadgets to Go- Electronics Gate A35
Gayle’s Chocolates Gate A21
GM Collection-Auto Stuff Central Link
Henry Ford Museum Store Central Link, C2
Heritage Books Gates A17, 65
Hometown Favorites Gate A41
KidZoo- Gate A43
Michigan Marketplace Gate A63
Michigania- Michigan stuff Gate A23
Monarch Gifts Gate A36
Motown Harley Davidson Gate A47
Motown Music Review Central Link, C2
Ora Oxygen- Health/Spa Gate A45
PGA Tour Shop Central Link
Pangborn Collection- jewelry Gate A41
Terry’s Enchanted Garden Gate A38
Ty-rrific- Beanie Babies Gate A71
www.news.detroit- newsstand Gates A7, 55,66, Intl Arr
World Duty Free Central Link
As far as the prices go, I would say reasonable to normal prices except at the fast food places, especially Burger King.
I can’t tell you about security as I have never been outside the new terminal, however I have heard it’s quick and painless, there are 12 different ways to enter, and the fastest is probably through the Westin Hotel. As far as check in I know that there is check in inside the parking garage I do believe skycaps and E-Ticket machines, but inside there are plenty of check in desks if you do not have and E-ticket, there are also E-ticket machines inside the Terminal. Well good luck and I hope that you may enjoy the new Northwest World Gateway at Midfield Terminal in Detroit.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Families
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
chris28
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Member: Chris Burns
Location: Colorado Springs
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 3 members
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