Who says KCI isn’t an international airport?
After all, our MCI departure schedule lists non-stops (via American, Delta and Frontier) to Cancun.
Vacation Express takes us to Punta Cana. And Air Canada provides non-stop service to Toronto.
That’s four international destinations!
Question is, how does that compares to our big competition to the west –Denver?
No comparison whatsoever.
DIA lists roughly 25 international non-stop destinations out of the Mile High City. They include cities in South America, the Caribbean, Mexico and several in Canada.
And while KCI provides no non-stop service to Europe, Denver offers it to Frankfurt, London, Reykjavik, Zurich and Munich.
Will things ever improve for KCI? Maybe!
One of our major carriers may provide direct or through service to Europe in the not too distant future. That would possibly mean the aircraft would make a stop along the way with no plane change. Or it could be a situation where one flight number would be assigned but would entail a change of equipment somewhere (east) along the way.
But there IS a chance, folks!
The way I see it is that there is one foreign carrier that has made quite a name for itself during the past couple of years. And if my math is correct that carrier already has a pretty hefty footprint across the USA.
And better yet their management is hinting at further north American expansion.
So who is my pick for possible future KCI-Europe non-stop service?
NORWEGIAN AIRLINES, the super-discount carrier that’s shaking up the trans-Atlantic business, that’s who!
NORWEGIAN ticket prices are low, seats but rows are tight for which you pay extra for just about everything other than your seat. It’s pretty well a la carte all the way—and probably the best bet to sometime in the not too distant future to fly non-stop from KCI across the Atlantic Ocean.
Those trips down to Cancun shouldn’t really count as I believe they are seasonal routes.
I see nothing wrong with seasonal service to seasonal vacation spots. At least these carriers make service available when it is in high demand.
By the same token Toronto non-stop service is year-round.
I had one of my travel clients use Air Canada via Toronto to Germany just this past month. They were very satisfied!
I remember taking a charter flight from KCI to Frankfurt in the early eighties but don’t foresee any regular service across the pond in the near future.
I think most people view KC as a backwater town. Even though I grew up in KC I left when I was 17. Now when I come back to visit I realize it was pretty nice back in the day, but now it looks like a lot of the people moved away to greener pastures.
Just my opinion, man..but other people I know have basically said the same thing.
I have to disagree with you, E.H. I moved here from the East Coast thirty years ago and wouldn’t trade KC for anyplace. Just the perfect amount of ‘big city’ things to do without the traffic congestion and crowding. Our daughter lives in NYC and it’s blast to visit her. It’s even a bigger blast to get back home.
E.H. is correct. And in my humble opinion, KC has by and large stagnated due to the local population’s refusal to think and act “big”.
It definitely seems to have stagnated. Some big businesses left KC and that really hurt. Plus, the big housing collapse of last decade really seemed to have decimated areas. I don’t know if JOCO is any better, did a lot of the money and upwardly mobile people move over there?
I see nothing wrong with seasonal service to seasonal vacation spots. At least these carriers make service available when it is in high demand.
By the same token Toronto non-stop service is year-round.
I had one of my travel clients use Air Canada via Toronto to Germany just this past month. They were very satisfied!