Sep. 18--A few surprises greeted bleary-eyed fliers returning from Las Vegas at 5:15 a.m. Wednesday to Metro's new North Terminal.
TV cameras filmed their arrival. Wayne County Executive Bob Ficano handed them gift bags at the gate. And perhaps most shocking of all, they walked into a shiny terminal that looked nothing like the building they departed.
Spirit Airlines Flight 788 was the first arrival at the airport's $431-million terminal, which officially opened Wednesday. On its first day of operation, the terminal avoided any significant turbulence: No major delays were reported and glitches were limited to computer system slowdowns or cash registers that confused new employees.
And although the ground transportation center was not finished, vehicles moved smoothly all day in front as taxis, shuttles and buses did pickups and drop offs on the arrival and departure levels.
The mood was as buoyant as the giant balloon arch that stretched across the terminal walkway.
"We are ecstatic," said Lawrence Barber, station manager for Detroit's Southwest Airlines operation. Southwest passengers could pose for pictures Wednesday morning with a staffer dressed in a plane costume. They also got free T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Southwest Airlines New Digs in Detroit."
"For most of our employees ... the Smith Terminal is all they know," Barber said, referring to the building decommissioned on Wednesday. "They didn't know they were working in a primitive operation."
The long-awaited, 24-gate North Terminal replaces the Smith and Berry terminals at the airport. Many of the 11 airlines now operating out of the North Terminal had been in the Smith building.
The North Terminal opened with six vacant gates. However, by mid-morning Wednesday, airlines were using five of those gates to handle overflow traffic, said Scott Wintner, public affairs specialist for the Wayne County Airport Authority.
The new terminal is expected to handle, on average, about 184 flights each day.For passengers, the difference between the Smith and the new terminal was like night and day.
"So far, so good," said Bennie Tucker, 63, of Ypsilanti Township. Tucker and his wife, Donna, were both on the first flight into the North Terminal. Their flight left Detroit from the Smith Terminal.
He and his wife got gift bags that included Sanders fudge topping, a luggage gripper, an iPod holder and a pin with the North Terminal logo. Along with Ficano, airport authority CEO Lester Robinson was on hand to greet the terminal's first passengers.
Travelers quickly found a great hang-out spot: the food courts. They feature funky round white tables, lime green and bright yellow chairs, and large windows.
Rich Allanson, 46, of Commerce Township sampled the new Caribou Coffee shop near Gate D11. He said he flies weekly for business. He was pleased there were no glitches at the start of opening day for his trip to Myrtle Beach, S.C.
"Smith is just the Tiger Stadium of airports. It's way past its time," Allanson said.
"I'm glad they had their game on for Day One."
But can Detroit keep the enthusiasm going, asked Trent Stuart, a Colorado Springs resident returning home on Frontier Airlines on Wednesday morning. Stuart was pleased with the change.
"Everything here is tip-top," Stuart said. "The staff is alert and attentive ... but I'd like to come back in six months and see if there is still the same amount of energy."
Janice Frazier of West Bloomfield is counting on that. She is a joint venture partner in the North Terminal's Borders store. On Wednesday, she got a manicure and some pampering at the terminal's XpresSpa.
"I really see a future for branded products at airports across the country," Frazier said. "And now we finally have something modern."
Contact MARY FRANCIS MASSON at 313-222-6159 or at [email protected]. Travel writer Ellen Creager contributed to this report.
