Montréal Mirabel Airport was opened in 1975 at the cost of $2 billion adjusted. Ultimately its tarmac and runway areas alone were to take up 70 km
2 (27 mi
2) of space and would have made it the world's largest airport. The airport never got any busier than Boise Airport is today, and the passenger terminals are now abandoned shells (
slideshow). A key
factor in the failure was that for 22 years authorities banned all international flights from the much-closer, thriving Dorval Airport, heavily used by locals and business travellers. It didn't help that Montreal was already sliding into decline in the 1970s due to the growth of the Great Lakes and Toronto-based economies and uncertainties about Quebec's
political climate. Montreal is no stranger to alleged boondoggles:
Olympic Stadium, half-finished during the 1976 Summer Games, spiralled
$1 billion over budget.
posted by crapmatic
on Nov 27, 2009 -
46 comments
Mark takes us on the A380 (warning: image heavy) from Dubai to New York with meticulous photographic detail. For $7300 you can fly the
A380 with access to amenities like
showers and a full-service
bar, and stroll down to see the plebs in
steerage. Arguably the last time a flying hotel was tried in earnest was the post-WWII Boeing 377
Stratocruiser, a staple of Pacific routes until jet-powered 707s appeared on the scene.
posted by crapmatic
on Nov 20, 2008 -
90 comments
