Airport Upgrades (NY)

New welcome centers, additional customer care agents, new seating for weary travelers and new food outlets are all in the works for Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark-Liberty airports, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced yesterday.

The upgrades to the metropolitan area airports, considered among the most congested in the United States, are part of a new $34-million customer service improvement program.

"The new and enhanced elements in our customer care program focus on the complete travel experience, from parking lot to airline gate and back again," Port Authority chairman Anthony Coscia said in a statement released yesterday.

The program initiatives announced yesterday include:

The addition of about 200 new customer care representatives to assist travelers throughout the airport grounds, including at ticket counters, doorways and at federal inspection facilities.

New welcome centers to replace existing ground transportation counters that will be staffed with representatives who will provide help and information regarding flights, ground transportation and points of interest in the metro area.

Additional flight information monitors, free airport alerts for electronic subscribers, PDA-accessible flight status information and schedules, and "next arriving train" monitors at AirTrain JFK and AirTrain Newark stations.

A cell phone parking lot at Kennedy, where drivers can park for free while waiting to pick up arriving passengers.

New seats and flooring for the entire AirTrain JFK fleet.

The addition of nearly 70 new and upgraded food and beverage outlets.

Separately, later this summer, officials are scheduled to meet to discuss potential new flight patterns for the airports in an attempt to resolve congestion issues. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark have some of the longest arrival and departure delays in the nation.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.