Ready for Takeoff - Page 5

So when the New terminal finally lands this month, how will the city measure its success? Kish at the Airport Authority says completing the project on time (almost—the original opening date was pushed back two weeks in order to coincide with Veterans Day and not be upstaged by the election) and on budget counts as the first success. Beyond that, the measures grow more subjective.

“If the buzz from passengers 60 days after we open is that it’s an easy, inspiring place, that’s a success,” Tobias says. “If it serves as a catalyst for more nonstop flights, that’s a success. And if it connects with the city in a more substantial way, that’s a success. I’m hopeful that we’ll find a way to develop light rail lines between the airport and downtown.”

The Convention & Visitors Association expects to get feedback from meeting planners about the new terminal almost immediately. With the Convention Center doubling in size by 2010, that organization needs to bet on the airport’s success. So does the west side of Indy, where development may surround the new IND. Super Bowl XLVI’s impression of this city begins there, too. By the time the media circus arrives in Indianapolis in 2012, the old airport will be little more than a pile of rubble on the outskirts of the property.

A few aspects of the aging terminal seem worth preserving, however. Officials hope to keep terminal fees to the airlines below $10 per passenger, a feat considering the $15 at O’Hare and more than $20 at LaGuardia. They hope to keep the experience low-stress for travelers, a factor Goldberger, the architecture critic, calls “the best definition of a good airport you’ll find.” Most of all, they hope for no surprises. The sudden rerouting of planes to a new terminal, the baggage operation, the “Virtual Strip Search” machines—any of these things could fail on opening day despite years of planning.

But if the mundane systems hold up, if the inconveniences of air travel fade into the background and allow passengers to see the airport for the spectacular piece of architecture that it is, the city will have its gateway. Another generation will decide whether the new IND changed everything. This one can at least enjoy wandering through that airy main hall, under the dome of Civic Plaza, past colorful glass murals and mosaics, to the wings of a building that makes you feel, well, like flying.

Click here for extra photos of the new Indianapolis Airport.