Some of the worst congestion in the city in recent years has been at the check-in counter of the Penticton Regional Airport. But now, that situation is solved.
The latest phase in the redevelopment of the airport's terminal building officially opened to the public yesterday, and it deals specifically with a better check-in and departure experience for both passengers and staff.
Frequent flyers will remember the old check-in space – where both Westjet Encore and Air Canada Jazz were essentially stuffed into a single corner. It was tough slogging for employees and even tougher for passengers, who were corralled into claustrophobic lineups.
Conversely, the new check-in area is a long sleek space located in the centre of the building, with three individual counters for Westjet Encore and another three for Air Canada Jazz, and plenty of room for those waiting to leave town.
It looks good too, with chrome and wood accents and oodles of natural light coming through the ceiling.
Richard Olson, Penticton station manager for Westjet Encore, seemed rather pleased with the new setup when we chatted with him this morning during a quiet period.
"This is the next phase," he said. "So from our old digs in the past to this. We finally did our big move, and this kind of gets us back into the 2000s, so to speak."
"The counters are far more accessible. The airline industry is always changing, and we were stuck in the past. The old arrangement was just based on the size of the airport and the age of the building. But this is definitely pretty nice."
Aside from the extra passenger lineup and seating space, Olson's a real fan of that third counter.
"Before we were all kind of gummed up into the same area, and now we have a much better flow. And we have three separate counters for each operation. We were both working with two in the past. But now we have the proper priority service line that we should have."
Olson also discussed upcoming improvements.
"Security hasn't changed. But that's the next phase they'll be getting into, making it a bit more spacious. But temporarily they're moving things around in the baggage room, so the baggage room will get bigger as well."
"But the security through-point isn't really going to change. You'll still take your bags here, take it to security and drop it off there, and then they punch it through."
And, he says, a "kiosk cafe" is also on the way, just to the south of the new check-in.
