My hometown airport of Minneapolis / St. Paul has been in a constant state of updating, which makes every trip fun to discover what is new. Our hub carrier, Delta, has made big investments to the international and long-haul gate areas that Northwest Airlines had custom-built back in the 1980s and that re-construction has just recently been completed.
On a business trip last week I was able to check out these renovated gate areas and came away very impressed with how family-friendly they turned out!
 |
| The gates at MSP are arranged something like a letter "H", and the international gates and Customs facility is in the middle of the left-hand side of that "H". The short hallway to get to those gates used to have a big McDonald's on one side and a gift shop on the other. No more McDonald's ... and the hallway runs right through a much bigger retail area (kind of like how Copenhagen does it...) |
 |
| I had read in local media how this remodeling was supposed to appeal to business and high-end travelers, and I agree that it certainly does that job. The finish, lighting, and quality of goods & foods make this part of MSP every bit as interesting as what I've seen in Tokyo or Amsterdam - well done! But as soon as I saw this frozen-yogurt self-serve bar I thought "my daughter is going to go nuts here when we go on vacation in March!" |
 |
| They have those new Coca-Cola Freestyle make-your-own-mix dispensers, which is neat. But as a parent what I really appreciate is the big assortment of healthy and tasty deli food & bottled beverages. Fast-food has its place (and you can still get your fill of it at MSP just a few minutes' walk from here) but when you're on the road you crave fruit ... vegetables ... fresh bread ... a simple bottle of water. And you can get it all right here. (And of course if the kids are eating healthier, they're going to be behaving better on the flight...) |
 |
| A bit more variety of travel-gear than I usually see at most airports, too, in case you need an extra bag or pillow... |
 |
| You pass through the retail space into the light-filled gate areas. I wasn't expecting the seating to have changed, but this was a real surprise ... extra-wide chairs with tables and electric outlets all over. If you're holding an infant or toddler there's enough room on that seating to still be comfortable and not stick halfway out into traffic. |
 |
And of course the iPads. You can't do *everything* on them - and they're meant first to place orders at the food vendors right behind you - but I've been told there are games on these tablets, too.
I don't know what the kids are going to be doing while you're playing games on the iPad. |
 |
| This used to be kind of a dumpy wall with a few pay phones and people sitting on the carpet. Now, wow. That tile curves all the way up onto the ceiling. The TVs are there, but you're not being blasted with audio, either. |
 |
| This is the back part of what used to be McDonald's - a nice bistro with plenty of table seating inside. So people who really want to be "in a restaurant" to eat have their space, and people who want to relax in the gate area have their space, and everyone has power and iPads to play with. |
 |
And here's looking back through the retail hallway to get back to the main part of Concourse G and the rest of the airport. Concourse G has been re-done all the way down to the end in a similar fashion, although the seating areas are the best here in G1-G6. I see restroom upgrades, too (more about that after our next trip) - and some work being done in other Delta gates on the F concourse.
If you're taking Delta to Asia on the Minneapolis-Tokyo run, these updates will make your family travel experience much more relaxing and fun.
I'll be updating the Minneapolis / St. Paul airport guide on weninchina.com this season to incorporate this fresh information, and with more photos, too. |
No comments:
Post a Comment