50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 589 America's Shame

When Sun Zhiwei led the airport's management team on a tour of the main terminal, he finally understood why, a few years later, it began to be consistently ranked as the world's worst airport.

First, there's the issue of ground transportation.

LaGuardia Airport is located on the waterfront in downtown Queens, and most of its land area is reclaimed from the sea, which means there is only one road leading to the terminal.

Compared to its annual passenger flow of tens of millions, this single-channel ground connection seems too cramped.

Sun Zhiwei had been stuck in traffic for more than half an hour in front of the terminal when he arrived, so he knew this all too well.

Secondly, there's the issue of airport hygiene.

Because of the massive flow of people, the limited number of cleaners simply cannot keep up with the constant need to clean the ground, which is always getting dirty.

When Sun Zhiwei visited, he saw that all the trash cans along the way were full.

This at least shows that many people are still willing to throw their trash into the bins; it's just that the sanitation workers aren't emptying the trash fast enough.

The airport's general manager, who was following behind Sun Zhiwei, broke out in a sweat when he saw Sun Zhiwei's gaze fixed on the garbage scattered on the ground and the mountain of garbage piled up next to the trash cans.

Sun Zhiwei didn't say anything. These were all past issues, and he wouldn't be too critical about them. He would wait and see after the rectification.

The visiting group continued walking inside and soon arrived at the security checkpoint, but the checkpoint was blocked, with long queues forming behind the two security lanes.

Sun Zhiwei and his men squeezed through the crowd from the wall to the end of the line before they saw the security checkpoint.

Several security personnel were slowly and methodically checking passengers' luggage, chatting happily, showing no intention of speeding up the inspection process despite the long queue.

Sun Zhiwei glanced back at General Manager David Sheffield, who, like a kangaroo with its fur standing on end, darted away from the side.

He rushed to the security checkpoint and loudly reprimanded several security personnel, telling them to speed up the security check process.

Sun Zhiwei could only shake his head. The security inspectors were indeed slow, but that wasn't a big problem. Increasing the number of personnel and security checkpoints would solve the issue.

However, this is not a fundamental solution. To speed up security checks, the only solution is to add more high-tech equipment.

But even security inspection equipment hasn't been invented yet, and there's no sign of more advanced security inspection equipment like liquid scanners or explosive detectors. He can't buy them anywhere.

However, the technology for these security screening devices is readily available; it's just that no one has thought of this approach before.

Thinking about it this way, it seemed like another way to make money. He kept this idea in mind and continued walking inside, with Manager David, panting, quickly following behind.

Soon, the group arrived at the departure hall, which was also very busy, with flight information being broadcast continuously over loudspeakers.

The hygiene here is slightly better than outside, but it's not much better because of the crowds of passengers.

But he saw at least a number of cleaners constantly cleaning, barely maintaining the cleanliness of the place to a basically acceptable level.

By this point, he had basically finished exploring the passenger area and understood the general issues. No wonder later New Yorkers called LaGuardia Airport a 'disgrace to America'.

Overall, the problem primarily stems from human factors, but these factors also increase operating costs. How to increase revenue and reduce expenditure is a perennial issue for any airport. However, the fact that this airport building has maintained its basic functions after more than 40 years of continuous operation at least proves that the quality of its initial construction was up to standard.

Here, he saw the long mural that had been rescued a few years ago, and the long antique mural immediately caught his eye.

Photo: The murals remain in the renovated main terminal lobby.

This mural, titled "Flight," was completed in 1942 by James Brooks of the Public Works Promotion Agency during the Great Depression. It depicts the history of humankind's connection to flight.

The hall itself is an antique because it was built right by the water. Originally, it was used for taking off and landing seaplanes and was also known as the Maritime Terminal (MAT).

Nowadays, there are no seaplanes, so it became Terminal A of the airport. With the later addition of Terminals B and C, passengers were diverted from this terminal.

But now, decades later, the buildings and equipment here are old and outdated.

According to Sun Zhiwei, if LaGuardia Airport is to be developed well, its scale needs to be expanded, as its current size is no longer suitable for the needs of new urban development.

Unfortunately, he has no money now, he really has no money. He remembers that in the original history, the renovation and expansion project of LaGuardia Airport cost seven or eight billion.

Of course, that was in 2016. If we were to start renovation and expansion now, the cost should not exceed two billion.

But this would drain most of his working capital, which wasn't a worthwhile deal. He planned to sort out the internal workings of the airport first and make some money before making any further moves.

Moreover, it would be foolish to fund such a large project out of our own pocket.

Although the airport is now his private property, it still serves all the citizens of New York City. Shouldn't the mayor of New York City allocate some funds to support it?

Furthermore, with such fierce competition among airlines these days, don't major airlines like Pan Am, Spirit Airlines, and JetBlue also need to compete for customers?

They should be willing to pay some money to gain preferential treatment from the airport's policies.

And what about those bankers? Aren't they worried about having all their money piled up in vaults? Meanwhile, the account managers of financial giants are busy trying to drum up business every day.

LaGuardia Airport, as one of New York's three major airports, boasts an excellent geographical location and attracts high-quality customers from every angle.

It shouldn't be difficult for him to get bankers like Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Citibank to lend him several billion dollars for renovation and expansion.

Lost in thought, Sun Zhiwei walked out of Terminal A. He didn't go to Terminals B or C; if the main terminal was like this, the other two couldn't be much better.

He went directly into the staff area through the staff entrance, and as soon as he passed through the inner and outer isolation zone, the cleanliness of the ground immediately improved.

Sun Zhiwei nodded, which finally allowed David Sheffield, the airport general manager who had been sweating profusely the whole way, to catch his breath.

He vowed that as long as he could keep his position as the airport's general manager, he would promote and give a raise to the cleaning lady once the boss left.

David then took Sun Zhiwei on a tour of the control tower, cargo terminal, maintenance station, indoor hangar, and other infrastructure.

(End of this chapter)