Why is it so hard to build an airport? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#491

Post by throwway120385 » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:20 PM UTC

newhotelowner wrote: post #255

perlgeek wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One of the interesting ideas [...] is to run high-speed rail to Moses Lake Airport in Central Washington and just expand there. While reading this article, I thought about something like that too. Build an airport quite a while away from the big city, and provide a high-speed, maybe even maglev train there. Make it free for customers. Also, make it very inconvenient for passengers and staff to approach the airport…

I don't think you ever traveled international or your plane got delayed or cancelled. I don't want to carry 4 big bags in the train when I travel international I don't want to travel 30 miles if my plane get cancelled.

My understanding is that in Japan you can have your luggage portered to your hotel separately.

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#492

Post by throwway120385 » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:20 PM UTC

dml2135 wrote: post #380

newhotelowner wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you ever traveled international or your plane got delayed or cancelled. I don't want to carry 4 big bags in the train when I travel international I don't want to travel 30 miles if my plane get cancelled.

I realize not everyone can just pack a carry-on, but as one of those types, traveling with "4 big bags" anywhere just seems insane to me. What do you bring that takes up so much space?

Hiking gear.

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#493

Post by cse463 » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:30 PM UTC

ZanyProgrammer wrote: post #4

General aviation is in decline, so really there's no need to build new airports.

I think air travel is becoming more popular actually.

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#494

Post by 7952 » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:32 PM UTC

jorisboris wrote: post #24

When building https://randomairport.onrender.com/ I noticed that US and Euro airports always look very different Somehow US airports always seem to be surrounded by densely populated residential areas, even in the direction of the runways, while Euro airports don’t seem to have this problem. And secondly Us airports always seem to take huge plots of land compared to Euro airports. My assumption is that Us cities are…

A lot of British airports emerged out of WWII air bases. I am not sure how they were chosen exactly. But they probably wanted places that were flat, dry and grassy with lots of space. They could have considered proximity to places that needed to be defended or suitability for launching attacks. And they knew that airfields were likely to be bombed.

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#495

Post by nojvek » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:36 PM UTC

subzidion wrote: post #52

There's been discussions where the "next" airport should go in the Seattle region, and the consensus is that nobody wants it. The State Legislature created a commission to try and identify some potential sites, but the public backlash was so great that they ended up submitting it's final report with no actual recommendation. One of the interesting ideas (that was proposed even back when SEA was adding it's third runw…

Make Paine field airport bigger and accept international flights.

I love that airport. It should be bigger and is north enough that it has its own population.

Also US needs to build more high speed rail. We are over-reliant on airports.

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#496

Post by dboreham » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:53 PM UTC

masklinn wrote: post #208

ruszki wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxi is not the main way to leave airports in large part of the world.

It definitely is not for narita, NEX brings you to Tokyo in an hour.

For anyone doing travel planning based on reading here: often your best option is actually a bus (coach). This is because although they're slow, they go straight to many major hotels in the city. This removes the need to negotiate the subway with luggage or deal with Tokyo's idiosyncratic taxis while jetlagged.

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#497

Post by avidiax » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:54 PM UTC

ihaveajob wrote: post #332

dynm wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One option would be to have people check in, drop off their luggage, and even go through security in some convenient location in the city center and then take a high-speed train "inside security" to the gate. (Maybe you could even have trains to two different fields.)

The Madrid airport offered this service, but it wasn't very popular, nor widely known. You checked in your luggage downtown and hopped on the subway to get to the airport with just your carry-on. I can't find any reference now, so it must have been discontinued.

You can do something fairly similar in Japan. They have luggage shipping services that are quite cheap and reliable, and have some days of storage built in. So you can take a train between cities without carrying everything, or maybe skip your big luggage at one city in your itinerary and have it at your hotel in the next city. You could also deliver it to the airport, but you have to build in some hours of lead time.

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#498

Post by dboreham » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:57 PM UTC

perlgeek wrote: post #63

subzidion wrote: post #52

There's been discussions where the "next" airport should go in the Seattle region, and the consensus is that nobody wants it. The State Legislature created a commission to try and identify some potential sites, but the public backlash was so great that they ended up submitting it's final report with no actual recommendation. One of the interesting ideas (that was proposed even back when SEA was adding it's third runw…

> One of the interesting ideas [...] is to run high-speed rail to Moses Lake Airport in Central Washington and just expand there. While reading this article, I thought about something like that too. Build an airport quite a while away from the big city, and provide a high-speed, maybe even maglev train there. Make it free for customers. Also, make it very inconvenient for passengers and staff to approach the airport…

See: DIA

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#499

Post by avidiax » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 10:57 PM UTC

dml2135 wrote: post #380

newhotelowner wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think you ever traveled international or your plane got delayed or cancelled. I don't want to carry 4 big bags in the train when I travel international I don't want to travel 30 miles if my plane get cancelled.

I realize not everyone can just pack a carry-on, but as one of those types, traveling with "4 big bags" anywhere just seems insane to me. What do you bring that takes up so much space?

I do this all the time, but the bags start mostly empty and get filled up with purchases over time.

Re: Why is it so hard to build an airport?

#500

Post by dboreham » Fri, Mar 22, 2024, 11:22 PM UTC

drstewart wrote: post #455

TulliusCicero wrote: post #364

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Considering population and size I'd expect more. London has like four major airports: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airports_of_London

So does New York and LA. Not special.

The 2nd tier airports in the LA area are all quite small. The fourth busiest London airport (Stanstead) has more traffic than the busiest non-LAX airport (SNA).