Waiting in security lines is bad enough without enduring that canned remix of Piano Man playing over the airport PA. So Lambert-St. Louis International Airport has just fired up a classical music series in its main terminal.
Set up above the concourse C/D security checkpoint, local harp maestra Sue Druckenmiller serenaded passengers yesterday afternoon. More piano and harp are on the schedule for the future to provide "soothing music for the passengers in line," a spokeswoman says.
So far, concerts are happening twice a week, but the airport hopes to schedule more shows, particularly during the holidays. Hey, if the flights aren't leaving on time, at least you can catch some live music.
Could an upcoming renovation of St. Louis' airport coincide with the arrival of JetBlue? Or is that too good to be true? The latter is still just a dream, but rumors of JetBlue's arrival into STL have been swirling for a while. The renovation, however, is real, though whether it will really be completed within five years is questionable. Plans for a little $105 million nip/tuck were announced yesterday. To be fair, STL does its job just fine, however the aging is evident, and the environment did depress us quite a bit on our last trip through. As one traveler commented to the Post-Dispatch, "They're going to need more than $100 million to upgrade this piece of crap." As the plans don't yet indicate any major interior overhauls, that could well be true.
Let's say you don't agree with the price tag and think the $105 mil should go somewhere it's really needed. St. Louis could do worse than to donate it to Honolulu, whose '70s time warp airport will truly play tricks on your mind. Not only does HNL make us see disco balls, but we have yet to get the Foghat out of our heads since our last visit there. That part--the Foghat--may not be such a bad thing, depending on who you are.
Of course, none of this should surprise us considering STL's history. It was for many years the main hub of TWA--the folks who pioneered the frequently infuriating hub model of airline transportation. More recently, the brother of St. Louis's mayor became deputy director of the airfield--and allegedly proceeded to get embroiled in a records-falsifying scandal that stranded thousands of passengers after a power outage. Mayor Slay has some details, but of course leaves out the fact his brother was in charge. Guess we're still waiting on that promised WiFi, then, mayor?
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by pbb
