Talk:George Bush Intercontinental Airport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the George Bush Intercontinental Airport article.
WikiProject Houston This article is part of WikiProject Houston, an attempt to better organize information in articles related to the city of Houston. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
Portal:Houston
B This article has been rated as B-Class on the Project's quality scale.
(If you rated the article please give a short summary at comments to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses.)


George Bush Intercontinental Airport is part of WikiProject Airports, an attempt to better organize information in articles related to airports. If you would like to participate, you can edit the article attached to this page, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and/or contribute to the discussion.
??? This article has not yet received a rating on the quality scale.
??? This article has not yet received a rating on the importance scale.
WikiProject Airports To-do:
Aviation Portal - Media on Wikimedia Commons
This article is part of WikiProject Texas, a WikiProject related to the U.S. state of Texas.
This article contains or may have contained one or more copyrighted photograph or photographs. It is requested that a freely-licensed photograph be included in this article to replace such copyrighted images, if possible, in order to better comply with fair use policy. Many copyright-free image sources are listed at our public domain image resources, or you could create your own. Alternatively, you may request permission from the copyright holder of the original images to release them under a free license.
Wikipedians in Texas may be able to help!


Contents

[edit] Intergalactic nickname

I have heard this quite a bit. Type "Houston Intergalactic Airport" into Google and you'll get 40,000+ hits. An old NY Times article even mentions it. I think it adds local character. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport article includes a humorous joke in their opening paragraph. I tried to find the most appropriate place in the article, but if you believe it's more appropriate elsewhere, that's fine.

I apologize about the problems yesterday. Evidently, according to HawkerTyphoon, there's some problem with FireFox and the Google Toolbar blowing away content during the edit process, so I redid it in IE.

BTW, the overall quality of this article is excellent. Very impressed. I am curious where the 221 destinations number came from, as Continental says 183 on their profile, and I'd have trouble coming up with 38 non-Continental destinations (maybe it's the nonstop vs. direct difference? And CAL has a lot of directs thru Newark?). If there's a reference site, I'd love to know what it is.

again i have never heard of that. if thats the case, its better to delete, then source. furthermore, it is usually deleted or changed before it is finalized with other people discussing this. its nothing personal, just the way it works. and if there is a general agreement, then its put in. cheers. oh and i found this in the NY Times: [1]

"In 1969, when the first flights touched down at brand-new Houston Intercontinental Airport, the futuristic sparkle of its two terminal buildings seemed to express the brave-new-world outlook with which Houston faced the future. Nowhere in the South or Southwest was there anything to match the spaciousness and scale of the new airport carved out of 8,000 acres of piney woods 22 miles north of downtown. But, as the 1970's rushed by, as Houston was overwhelmed by growth, and as grander airports opened near Dallas and Atlanta, Houston Intercontinental began to seem not just ordinary but even a little dog-eared. Some cynics began sarcastically calling it Houston Interplanetary and, finally, Houston Intergalactic.

notice the bold words. doesn't seem like a compliment to the airport.Urban909

That story is from 1981. I think it has a much more positive connotation today. But it's hard to argue with the Google hits that it does exist, is widespread, and deserves mention somewhere in the article. I will put the line here, and hopefully some agreement can be reached and it will be inserted by somebody somewhere in the article. I really don't care about the wording or the location, I just think it deserves mention.

"It is often referred to as "Intergalactic" by locals, connotating its large size, extensive global flights, and Houston's NASA connection with the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center."

the google hits i got are from random blogs, bead shows, a triathlon and so forth. i dont see where you are gettting this from on google..Urban909

Regarding it being referred to that by locals, I'm from Houston and not only have I never heard that but I would never use it! But that's just one Houstonian's opinion. 161.253.12.191 19:51, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Intercontinental vs. International

Why is it called Intercontinental rather than International airport? Because it sounds cooler or for a real reason?

  • Probably because Houston International Airport was the name of Hobby Airport at one point and they wanted to avoid confusion. Souperman 08:09, 22 November 2005 (UTC)


Where in the article does Aramco Associated Company fit, if any? - Eagleamn 00:38, 31 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] PIA

should manchester be listed as a stop? for china airlines and british airways, seattle and chicago (heathrow flight) are not mentioned. should the final destinations, ie, the end of the flight be mentioned (only lahore or karachi). currently, a person that has a pakistan visa/passport may not be able to do round trip from IAH to MAN. plus, even though the site has says you can do a round trip ticket on PK to MAN from IAH might not mean you can. their website has has massive problems with bookings, as was the cancellation of a direct flight, not through manchester, but straight to NYC. It was cancelled do to security reason...

"The US Homeland Security, expressing its security concerns, has not permitted PIA to bring its nonstop flight to New York, sources in PIA informed Pakistan's The Nation newspaper. PIA flight Pk-711 is scheduled to fly to New York non-stop today. It is interesting to note that the route of PIA flight PK-721 leaving Lahore for New York last Sunday was changed at the eleventh hour due to unknown reasons. A delegation comprising officials from US main security agencies including Home Land Security and Traffic Safety Authority visited Pakistan recently and expressed their security concerns over the prevalent security measures at various International Airports.

The US security officials termed the security environment at Karachi and Islamabad Airports as worst where they believed that many influentials got away without security search and checks. They also said in the report that there were many entrance points on these airports. It is interesting to note that PIA announced its flight to New York without prior permission from the host country.

According to rules every airline was bound to seek prior permission to change the route from the country concerned. As per Immigration laws, Pakistanis travelling to US on transit flight and holding green cards issued before 1998 were required to get transit visa from UK Embassy in Pakistan, which required a week to get transit visa. Since PIA was repeatedly asking its passengers through press that PIA flight was operating non stop from Pakistan to New York it meant the said passengers were not required to get transit visa.

Now as the US authorities have refused to allow the PIA to bring its flight direct to New York those possessing green cards would have to manage their transit visas which was not possible for them to manage within limited time. Ultimately they would be off loaded at the Lahore Airport. PIA can fly nonstop from USA to Pakistan but not from Pakistan to USA."

Source : http://nation.com.pk/daily/mar-2006/31/index9.php Urban909

For China Airlines and British Airways, SEA (for CI) and ORD (for BA) are not mentioned because these are domestic legs from IAH. CI and BA has no rights to transport domestic passengers between IAH to SEA and ORD respectively. But for IAH-MAN, this is not domestic. But then, there you have the issue with security. If this becomes a permanent matter (the fact that people cannot (dis)embark at MAN, then indeed, MAN should not be listed. Elektrik Blue 82 18:39, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

yes i am aware of the fact that you cannot disembark on china airlines and british airways. awhile back there was this debate about "via seattle or via chicago or via manchester". it seemed to be concluded that only the final destination of the flights should be mentioned. but, if it comes down to the fact that you can do a round trip with PK to MAN, and proved in a way other than the jacked up website, then i agree. it just seemed that this stupid debate over "via" was finally over with and don't want to have another debate over this. in fact, wikipedia's slogan should be "fierce debate over miniscule matters that take up your time and probablly shouldn't be debated anyways" or something like that... Urban909

You're right. The PIA website sometimes is unreliable. A question: is the route situation permanent? Will PIA be flying thru MAN or non-stop? My impression from the article is that they started a non-stop route only to be altered at the last minute. Meaning they didn't intend to land in Manchester anyway, but were forced to. So passengers basically are all IAH-bound, not MAN. I'd say we wait for further developments and let the matters stabilize a bit. By the way, I haven't found a website independent of PIA that allows me to book the IAH-MAN leg. So I guess by now, MAN is not a destination. Feel free to revert. Elektrik Blue 82 00:02, 11 April 2006 (UTC)

i believe that it was a direct, non-stop route. but the US government doesnt want to allow this for security reasons. thats as much as i know. Urban909

[edit] Continental Airlines

The Terminal E destionations for Continental Airlines does not mention Amsterdam, Netherlands which Continental does fly to.

[edit] World airport guide

this seems like a logical and important link for further info about IAH/HOU. Urban909

It adds no encyclopedic info that isn't already covered in the article, or on the official website. Thanks/wangi 16:03, 27 October 2006 (UTC)
i mostly agree, although i think it gives the option of finding out more info than the official website. that link has been there for as long as i became a member on wikipeida. i have been trying to get a discussion going for a week, and have yet not recieved any response from Elektrik blue 82.
Urban909
(As a side comment, can you sign posts using ~~~~ so they include the timestamp?)
Thing is this is an encyclopedia, not a web directory or travel guide. Our mission isn't for this article to be a guide to landing at IAH, getting a car and then getting a hotel — we should be covering topics of historic and encyclopedic content. It's really easy (Google for example) for someone to find out additional information about the airport and services companies offer targetted at it... But it's not our job to lead them buy the hand...
Another thing to consider, do you see the official website adding links to the multitude of sites like World Airport Guides? No, wonder why? Thanks/wangi 16:34, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

well if its really easy to google it, then fly2houston.com should be deleted. have you gone through their website? certainly is a guide to landing at IAH, getting a car and then getting a hotel. [2] [3]. or maybe flight aware? [4] as they list Airport Services, Businesses, and Facilities. oh oh and [5] as they also have hotels, rental cars, limos, motels, etc listed. all of these sites have these AND other important valid things like security levels, terminal guides, etc. Urban909

http://www.fly2houston.com/ is the official site of IAH and Hobby. Personally I agree that the link you refer to above have little use and should go, but saying we have this rubbish, lets have another one isn't a winning argument :) Thanks/wangi 18:07, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

http://www.fly2houston.com/ i know this is the official site. but under your argument, wikipedia should be a site of historical content, not a link to that someone can easily google. so, if that site is "rubish", which was a sarcastic comment not a basis for argument, then the others must be as well; i was pointing out that those plus many others have such links or guides. your argument is nonsequential, and in the bounds of such an argument, those mentioned, besides fly2houston, should be erased. so do it then, and quit complaining that a link that has been there for over 2 years should be erased. *yawn* Urban909

You've lost me - the link to World Airport Guides was recently added by you, it has not been there for two years. It's common practise to link to the official sites that an article is about, if they have one. Thanks/wangi 18:27, 27 October 2006 (UTC)

Umm, no. I changed the name from houston airport hotels, to world airport guides. do some research. it was added on 08:12, 10 February 2005. the link first appeared almost 2 years ago... Urban909


[edit] Removal of photo

Flag posts of various nations located outside.
Enlarge
Flag posts of various nations located outside.

It has been suggested that this photo be removed from this article because it:

  • Does not look good.
  • Is not white balanceed.
  • Needs brightness/contrast corrected.
  • Has excessive image noise.
  • Could use optimal image resolution for Wikipedia.
  • May have been made on the computer and is not a photograph, painting, or scan -- it probably shouldn't be in JPEG format at all.
  • May not have a correct perspective.
  • Has a questionable composition.

Please comment on how you feel about this photo (in its current size) being re-incorporated into the "Artwork" section of this main article. If you support/reject any of the above points regarding this picture, please discuss.

Also, if you support/reject any of these points regarding the other two photos currently in the main article, please comment here as well.

  • ALSO NOTE: You can use most image editing software such as the free GIMP to do this manually. Many programs also have facilities for semi-automatic image enhancement (Ulead PhotoImpact 10 [6] is good), so that you only need to mindlessly click on thumbnails until you find a modification that improves the quality.
  • If you are inexperienced and can't improve the quality of an image, but you clearly see that the image needs improvements, upload it anyway and then ask anyone for assistance on Village Pump, Requested pictures, on this article talk page or elsewhere.

Nick81aku 20:04, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

  • Delete i do not have a problem with a photo of those structures. i am opposed to the QUALITY of the photo in question.
  1. there is a bridge in the background
  2. grayish skies
  3. off centered; structures not looking like the main focus of the photo
  4. these are EXCELLENT examples of photos that look good
  5. this is a better shot on IAH website [7] website, although i wouldn't use this either. [8].

Urban909

  • Delete - poor composition (needs to be closer to the subject and centered), half of the image is grass, casual observers would have a difficult time trying to understand what is in the image. GIMP cannot improve image composition. Postoak 02:57, 27 November 2006 (UTC)
  • Comment: Ha, so it’s settled just like that?
First off I had to laugh when I saw the two bold “deletes.” The image is not up for deletion—it is up for discussion.
Second, fine…Rip it apart as much as you want. However, both Texans (Urban909 and Postoak) surely understand that the flag posts are a major part of the outdoor landscape of IAH. Until there is a better picture of this critical element of the outdoor landscape, the image should stay. If someone has one (or can find a better one), please replace it! Until then, why can't the current immage of the posts be represented by a small thumbnail under the “artwork” heading? The quality is no worse than the two dim pictures already included in the article. Why pick apart this picture so much?
Third, if the grass and bridge are such distractions, maybe I should cut them out… (or maybe it should just be kept and be listed under bridge or grass?)
Look, bottom line—flag posts must be represented... and until a better picture is produced, I think this image should stay.

Nick81aku 20:01, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

(votes are evil) It might not be the best photo ever, but until we have a better one there is no harm in it staying. I have cropped the image to improve the composition (fluch your cache to see the change). Thanks/wangi 20:08, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

sorry to break it to you, but discussion also involves the possibility of deletion. yes, like i said before, i do not have a problem with the SUBJECT of the photo. your photo does not have a good representation of the SUBJECT. also, if this photo is up for deletion, i believe it been over a week. unless i am mistaken, if the vote is delete, then thats final. find a better picture/take a better picture, present it and come back. why don't you contact HAS, and ask for permission to use a photo of the flags they have on their website and present that to this discussion board and we'll see. cheers.Urban909

[edit] Sun Country Airlines

okay, the website for this airline says it flies to HOU not IAH. anyone know anything more on this?.Urban909

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../g/e/o/Talk%7EGeorge_Bush_Intercontinental_Airport_5fdc.html"