By Emily Moore

Let’s face it, before the William M. Thomas Air Terminal was built at Meadows Field, many of us have picked up friends, family (or worse, business associates) who had never laid eyes on Bakersfield and we quietly cringed when we realized their first impression of our town was the tiny, out-dated, hokey, old airport.

The embarrassment grew when we had to wait for their baggage outside in 104-degree heat on the cold war-era conveyor belt.

And if you were traveling and had to use the bathroom once inside the secured waiting area?

Too bad, you’d have to hold it. There were no bathrooms there. The terminal was 50 years old, when she was retired. She showed her age. She was far past a mere facelift.  Luckily for all of Kern County our local leaders must have had similar feelings because they managed to gather $36 million for the new William Thomas Terminal, which opened February 27, 2006.

So here we are, seven months later. Was it worth it?

Traveler Kim Coleman of Bakersfield, who was picking up her bags at the baggage claim inside the new terminal says yes.

“It’s beautiful, gorgeous. It makes me feel good about Bakersfield,” she said.  “I think it’s fantastic, it’s a major, major upgrade for me,” said her husband Jorgen who was picking her up.

In case you have not been inside, the spacious waiting area is surrounded by sky-high windows, and speckled with modern, comfortable chairs along with tables so people can pull out their laptops using the terminal’s wireless internet access.

To the south is a separate area for baggage claim and car rentals from four companies. To the north is a separate ticketing area. To the west, the secured passengers-only area, and a hallway to a spacious waiting area where the gates are.

“I think for the most part the public is happy with the convenience of the building, that there is food service beyond the security checkpoint. The fact that we have restrooms beyond the security checkpoint is huge,” Teresa Hitchcock, Analysis and Marketing Manager of Kern County Airports says, adding that before people often waited until the last minute to enter the secured area because of the lack of bathrooms.

Something else that’s new? Beer and wine. Once ticketed passengers get beyond the secured checkpoint Blimpies can serve you a club sandwich, and a glass of beer to wash down those pre-flight jitters.  And it is not uncommon to see a good part of passengers in that area doing just that, even at noon on a Sunday.

However some, like Jorgen Coleman would like to see a restaurant that serves alcohol outside of the secured area.

“So people can have a cold beer while they are waiting for their friends to come in,” he said.  

Robert Yoon, who runs Omni Goods in the non-secured area, says he does not know if he will be able to add beer and wine to the list of coffee, snacks and souvenirs he currently sells.

But what will be coming to further soothe waiting passengers and others is more art.  Next time you are in the terminal, take a look around. The walls and ceilings are speckled with hand-picked works from local artists, although artists from all over the county submitted their work to be displayed, says Jill Egland, Director of Special Projects for the Arts Council of Kern.

“We will continue to have art here but it was important that the first round of art be local,” she said, adding that it was the local voice that was most important.  Egland echoes the word of one of the local artist whose work is displayed at the terminal.  “She said ‘through this work let’s remind ourselves and visitors of what we hold special.’”

While many larger airports have budgets for art, Kern County does not. So the Arts Council of Kern raised $250,000 from donations to purchase the paintings, sculptures and photographs on, or to be on, display. The artwork currently displayed is a bronze and steel sculpture called “Up in the Air: Junior Birdsman,” by Fresno artist Dorothy Ralph Gager, the “Landscape Heritage Project” by Gita Lloyd of Bakersfield which is a mural of four large local landscapes and in the ticketing area you will find Bakersfield artist Chalita Robinson’s “Risen Jewel” which is wings made of gold leaf and shattered glass.  Some works still to be displayed by Bakersfield artists are Joyce Kohl’s mobile of “Airplanes of the World” in different media. Photographer Greg Iger will have his photos of the Kern River mounted on tile and displayed in the departure area. In the unsecured area, we will get to see Bob Gardner’s paintings of Kern County icons, and outside, in front of the terminal, Thomas Zachary will create a water fountain  featuring a motif of the world.

Inside there are plans to display a wall of art by children, which is being sponsored by the Kern County Superintendent of Schools.

And Egland says there is still much to do here in the way of art.

“There are plans in the future for there to be a gallery of local artists,” she says.  And according to Hitchcock, people are not just taking to the new airport, but even more are taking off from it.

There are now 34 daily flights, 17 in and 17 out, to six destinations: Los Angeles, San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City and Houston.

There are four airlines: Continental, Delta, United and U.S. Airways (formerly America West). Roland Williams of Sausalito needs to travel to Bakersfield periodically, but he has never flown, until now.

“Six or seven months ago the only way to fly here (from San Francisco) was to go to L.A. and change planes. It was quicker to drive from San Francisco to here than it was to fly,” he says.

So what does Williams think of the new airport?

“I was noticing you have a lot of light and that’s very important because airports can seem like dungeons,” he said, adding that it’s also very clean. Williams says from now on, he’s flying to Bakersfield.  

So are many others. In fact, Hitchcock says most of the flights are full. Last year Meadows Field had about 291,000 passengers. So far this year there have been about 232,000 passengers, with four months left to go. This does present downsides for travelers: It can be harder to get the flight you need, and it could cost you more.

“That’s a real issue. A lot of flights are full and it’s driving up prices, so that is why we are trying to gain more service,” she said, adding that those new flights could come next year.  

“Denver is our biggest destination that we don’t have service to so that’s why we are pushing for Denver service,” she said.

In the meantime she has some tips for getting the best local flight deals. Do multiple searches on the Internet such as Orbitz, or Expedia, and be sure to check the airline’s website. Even if they don’t have the best price they may offer other incentives such as more miles.

So what’s going to happen to the old terminal? It will become the international terminal in April, with service to parts south of the border via Mexicana Airlines. In addition to a renovation, 10-thousand feet will be added to accommodate customs and border protection for incoming flights, Hitchcock says. “It’s just an exciting time here,” she said. “A lot of growth, a lot of new projects going on. The future seems bright.”