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Thinking about flying in to Houston?
Are you a Houston resident who uses the city's airports? Well,
don't look to the Web for any help in making your travel plans.
The folks who run Houston's airports are quite content to have
the most mediocre, incredibly useless website of any major airport
in the US. Here's the evidence:
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BREAKING NEWS...BREAKING
NEWS...
As of September
2003, the Houston
Airport System
has a new web site. Since I've come down very hard on the HAS
for their mediocre web site so many times in the past, it's only
fair that I applaud them for their work.
They dumped the
stupid Java apps and alarmist travel warnings, they have flight
info, they no longer have an Eastern Airlines plane featured
on the header graphic, and the terminal maps are up to date for
the first time in 5+ years. Good job, guys.
On January 28, 2001 the
Houston Airport System (HAS) launched
their new, redesigned Web site. It's certainly... umm... colorful.
It's also slow to load, what with all the little Java scripts
they threw onto the page for no apparent reason. To be fair,
the HAS made a half-hearted effort to include some important
features, such as flight arrival and departure information, local
traffic and weather, and terminal maps. But the information is
simply a link to another site. Still no up-to-date parking information.
No up-to-date information about the massive airport construction
projects and how they can affect travelers. Amazingly, during
the massive floods Houston experienced in June 2001, no details
were posted on the site, despite
the fact that the entire airport was shut down.
I think the entire
"Houston Airport System Experience" can be summarized
by the header graphic they've placed on each page. They "Photoshopped"
an image of an old Eastern Airlines 727 over a grainy image of
the Houston skyline (see above). This was pointed out the day
they launched the site, and they promised to fix it right away.
That was a year and a half ago. Oops. |
Only The Dumbest Of Web Addresses
For Our Travelers.
Take a look at the website for
George Bush/Houston
Intercontinental Airport (IAH), one of the busiest airports
in the world. Did you happen to notice the URL for the official
site? It's http://www.ci.houston.tx.us/has/iah.html.
Yes, that's right. It's not exactly a URL you can remember, is
it? You would think the folks running a multi-billion dollar
organization could give it a name like houstonairports.org
or houstonintercontinental.org or a catchy name like flyhouston.com.
And if you've lost luggage at the airport, take solace in the
fact that you can always e-mail them at this convenient, easy-to-remember
address: iahlostandfound@has.ci.houston.tx.us.
Busted Links Galore.
Visit most any website for a
major commercial airport and you'll see information about local
weather. This is critical stuff because travelers want to know
about possible flight delays.
So how about the weather information
for the Houston Intercontinental website? They've added a link
from the home page to the Weather
Channel site. And the link has been broken for over
6 months!
Then there's the link to the
"CBD Heliport" in the footer of every single page.
I guess the folks at the HAS feel that lots of travelers take
a helicopter from the airport to downtown Houston. Just one problem:
The heliport has been closed
since mid-1999. Oops.
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I'm not the only
one who feels this way.
From:
"Robert M<deleted>"
Subject: Houston airport
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 21:11:36 -0000
Hi
Lou
I came across your website after after a fruitless attempt to
find details of flight arrivals at Houston Airport (the George
Bush one). I was curious to track the progress of a flight from
the UK - my brother has been over here (in the UK) for a couple
of years - but he and his family were going back to the States
today for good. I've always lived this side of the pond and I'm
used to using the internet to check up on flight departures and
arrivals, so I was astounded at not finding any useful information
at the Houston site. I live in Aberdeen, Scotland, so most of
the bumph on the site is just irrelevant. Even good old BAA's
information about humble Aberdeen airport is light years better.
From:
"Sylvia <deleted>"
Subject: Wow!
Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 08:27:04 -0500
Dear
Lou:
Greetings! My boss forwarded your critique of Houston's International
airport and I congratulate you on making such an audible noise
about this website. The poor quality of this website is indeed
beyond comprehension! I had to go to the site last week to look
for lost and found--and I initially thought that I was looking
at a second-rate advertisement not even associated with the airport.
As a website content editior/content organizer, I indeed know
the importance of a website that is useful, informative, and
up-to-date.
From:
"Jordi" <deleted>
Subject: HIA web site
Date: Sat, 25 Jan 2003 11:04:26 +0000
Hi
Lou,
My
wife is travelling to Houston next Monday for business, and once
there, she has to meet a colleage that will drive her to the
downtown.
We´ve
been surfing internet to find a meeting point and I can´t
still believe that the best I could find was a ´4 years
old quality schema´ of the terminals which is absolutely
useless.
I was
in Dallas FW airport few months ago and I told her yesterday:
"this airport is huge but I found almost everything in internet,
so tomorrow (today), we will log in and look for the same info
about Houston´s"
As
we say here (Barcelona, Europe).... Sweet mother of God !!!!
To be honest, I personally enjoy each time that I have to travel
to the US, ´cause coming from the old Europe, America never
stops to surprise me. This is the first time the surprise was
negative. Please forward my "congratulations" to those
HIA´s web site guys.
Best
regards from Europe, and my congratulations for your webpage.
Why don´t they get rid of these %#%!"*#& and hire
you ????
(Lou's comment: Thanks for the compliment, but I'm not an
expert Web designer. They need to hire a professional firm.)
Jordi
P.S.
Probably there will be several typos in this email, but english
is not my native language (I speak 2 more ones). And the most
important I´m not making money by writing this email. Can
they say the same ? |
Updates? What Updates?
As of October 25, 2000, a graphic
right on the home page proudly proclaims that IAH is "Celebrating
30 Years 1969-1999". Yes, the folks running our airport
are really with the times!
One of the biggest projects at
IAH last year was the completion of a new inter-terminal train.
Traveling from Terminal C to Terminal B, this train carries thousands
of Continental passengers each day. Surely this train is on the
terminal map. Nope! See
for yourself. Nothing speaks "Web professionalism"
like a scanned 70k jpeg of an old brochure!
How Much Useless, Misspelled
Information Can Be Packed Into A Major Website?
The folks running IAH's website
can tell you. The IAH website is jam-packed with information
that's totally useless to the traveler, right from the home page.
Stuff like a 200kb+
photo saved at 143
pixels per inch of a cute
couple standing in the control tower in 1969. (That is sure
to impress out-of-town business people.) Then there's the "About IAH"
page. Evidently the folks running the IAH website feel that it's
very important, because it's the first link on the home page.
There you'll learn important information like "Often termed
a city within a city, IAH has its own water, emergency and police
services, as well as facilities, structures and roadways,"
and "At IAH you're always greeted with a smile." Actually,
at IAH you're greeted the same way you're greeted at any other
large commercial airport: "Has anyone you're not familiar
with given you any items to carry on board?" (The folks
running IAH should hire a copy editor. "IAH has its own...
facilities"?)
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Letter To The Houston Airport
System Management:
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2000
20:45:08 -0700 (PDT)
From: Lou Minatti <louminatti@yahoo.com>
Subject: Is anyone at the HAS spell-checking their website?
To: "Desoto, Ernie" <edesoto@has.ci.houston.tx.us>
CC: Jim.Barlow@chron.com, rtodd@cnl.ci.houston.tx.us
Hi Ernie,
I keep running across
really blatant spelling errors on the IAH Web site. I have to
wonder: Does anyone at the HAS really care? I mean, it seems
a little weird that a multi-BILLION dollar organization that
employs thousands of people can't seem to get their act together
on something so simple as correct spelling on a Web site.
See http://www.ci.houston.tx.us/has/iah_intl.html
I've been after this
now for over half a year. Nothing has changed. I work in this
business, and I know there is no possible excuse for the lack
of progress. I can only conclude that the folks at the HAS simply
don't care.
I've created a new
Web site detailing my attempts at getting the folks at the HAS
off their duffs. In the past few days the traffic has started
picking up, and I expect it to pick up more as the various search
engines I've added the URL to log it in to their systems.
Here's the URL if you're
interested:
http://www.watchingyou.com/houstoninter.html
Lou
Date: Tue,
24 Oct 2000 12:44:59 -0500
From: Rob Todd <rtodd@cnl.ci.houston.tx.us>
Organization: City of Houston
To: Lou Minatti <louminatti@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Is anyone at the HAS spell-checking their website?
Dear Ernie:
Can you please provide
a response the to the attached constituent concern.
Best regards,
Rob Todd
From:
"Desoto, Ernie" <edesoto@has.ci.houston.tx.us>
To: 'Lou Minatti' <louminatti@yahoo.com>, "Desoto,
Ernie" <edesoto@has.ci.houston.tx.us>
CC: Jim.Barlow@chron.com, rtodd@cnl.ci.houston.tx.us
Subject: RE: Is anyone at the HAS spell-checking their website?
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2000 12:52:04 -0500
Dear Mr. Minatti,
Yes, someone at the Houston Airport System does care. I appreciate
your concern about the web page and we are taking steps to update
the site.
Currently we are meeting
with web designers to have the page redone. We have also been
meeting with officials from thirteen airports across the world
to see about developing a uniform web page format with links
between our airports.
I appreciate your concern
and I have applauded your suggestions in the past. I will make
sure the errors you have pointed out are corrected. 1
I must add that you
have made several incorrect comments in your web page
"www.watchingyou.com".
1. Our address is easily accessible. Try www.houstonairportsystem.org,
www.bushintercontinental.org,
hobbyairport.org or
ellingtonfield.org.
2
2. The weather link has not been broken for six months. You even
mention that it was one of the first things fixed. 3
Also Mr. Minatti we
are not "a multi-BILLION dollar organization that
employees thousands of people." The
Houston Airport System revenue is
in the millions and we employ approximately 1200 people. 4 Also, there are
no local tax dollars used at the airport. We are an enterprise
fund.
Funds for planning, development and operation of Houston's three
airports are
generated through landing fees, lease/concession agreements and
parking
to name a few. We do not receive any money from the City of Houston
General Fund. 5
Mr. Minatti, I do value your concern and your comments about
our page. As I explained before, we are making the changes to
update the web site and those will be coming soon, even though
I know you are anxious to see immediate changes.
I genuinely appreciate
your interest. Please work with us to make the Houston Airport
System web page the best site possible. Give us constructive
suggestions and examples, point out our short comings and our
errors. Help us make the process positive and productive.
I say this with sincerity,
I have read many of your comments and postings on
the internet. Your Psychic Visions page, the famous Lou Minatti
UFO picture
you snapped as well as your SpOOk Central page are all extremely
creative
endeavors. You have an exceptional knowledge of the internet
and its creative uses.
Thank you.
Ernest DeSoto
Senior Executive - Media Relations
Houston Airport System |
But This Is Nitpicking.
I've cited only a handful of
the blatant errors and useless factoids contained on the website.
So what useful features does the site desperately need? How about:
- Real-time flight information.
No need to develop this - there are already Web companies out
there you can license this stuff from.
- Information on local traffic
conditions. Is the Beltway backed up at I-45? Tell us about it.
- Updates! Keep the content fresh.
No one cares about ancient history.
- Weather information right on
the home page. Is a thunderstorm moving through the area, grounding
flights? Tell us about it.
- Parking information. Is Terminal
C parking full? Tell me on the web page so that I don't waste
my time driving all over the place trying to find a spot.
- How about something unique like
a pager alert service? Frequent flyers would appreciate a free
alert service they could subscribe to that would be triggered
whenever serious flight delays are expected. Sure beats driving
to the airport only to find your flight has been delayed 2 hours.
- A good URL that is easy to remember.
Then promote the URL to travelers. Print ads, billboards, radio,
whatever. But get the word out.
What I've Done.
Beginning in May of this year
I began sending e-mails to the folks at the HAS. I copied Houston
Mayor Lee Brown, who was courteous enough to respond. The folks
at the HAS were less responsive, though. So I wrote Jim Barlow,
a business writer with the Houston
Chronicle. Jim explored the site and reached the same conclusion
that I did about the site. He wrote a great piece about the website,
"Airport should join Web's virtual world," and
it was published in the May 28 issue. Jim quoted one official
with the HAS as saying something along these lines: "We
can't update the site faster because we are a government organization
and we have to move slowly due to the rules." (Unfortunately,
I can't quote the article since the Houston Chronicle is very
picky about copyright issues. If you are a Chronicle subscriber,
you can find his article by going to the Chronicle
archives.)
This article finally triggered
a response from Ernest DeSoto, Senior Executive-Media Relations,
Houston Airport System. (Rather than fix the problem, the folks
running the HAS would rather send a PR person out to explain
why they can't fix the darn thing.)
His response to me? Basically,
"we're working on it." OK. That was in May. It's now
almost October. So what's changed?
Changes So Far.
Here is a list of changes made
to the IAH website since I began my campaign to have the site
fixed:
Yup, that's it. No actual changes
to the site that would benefit the traveler. The design, look
and content remains the same. Let me ask those of you who are
familiar with building Web pages: Should simple fixes and changes
to a website, especially changes for a multi-billion dollar organization,
take six+ months? |
New! 5/25/03
Does this actual screen capture
of the Houston Airport System Web site make you want to visit
our city? Probably not! Good job, Houston Airport System! (WARNING:
Lots of colors ahead!)
TYPO COUNTDOWN!
Number of days the HAS has
had "accomadations"
featured on their Web site (as of 1/29/01):
FIXED
after
149 days.
STUPID HEADER
COUNTDOWN!
Number of days the HAS has
had an image of an Eastern Airlines 727 on every single page
of their Web site (as of 5/6/02):
Fixed as of Nov. 2002.
My Proposal For A New IAH
Web Site
Click
here to see it. There is one graphic on the page, about 70k
in size.
Aren't You Being Petty? Why
This Rant?
Simple. The site is a
downright embarrassment to my hometown, and is utterly useless
for travelers. I also think it's damaging to local business.
If you were thinking about expanding a high-tech business, what
would be your first impression of Houston based on the the IAH
website? Not exactly cutting-edge high-tech stuff, right? What
if you were the president of an airline or air freight company
looking to expand into a new market? Would the IAH website impress
you?
Oh, Come On. Few People Are
Gonna Recognize That Plane As Belonging To Eastern Airlines.
You're Nitpicking.
I strongly disagree.
We should never settle for "yeah, it's a problem, but not
many people will notice." That's half- assed. I call this
the "GM Attitude." Do it right or step aside, especially
if you're responsible for a multi-billion dollar budget, funded
by tax dollars.
We have millions of people coming
through our airports each year, many of them international visitors.
We have an important resource to showcase our city's assets and
we're not using it! What's the point in building a website for
our airport if it's useless? Why bother with expensive print
media campaigns and PR spending to promote our city when something
that could actually be useful for our out-of-town visitors (as
well as current residents) is thrown together by what appears
to be amateurs? I've had many out-of-town business people comment
to me about the mediocre condition of the website.
A website is often the first
impression someone gets of an organization. Considering our airports
are multi-billion dollar organizations employing thousands of
people, shouldn't we strive to do a better job?
The citizens of Houston paid
for this site. It's time to fix it.
Examples of Great Airport
Web Sites:
San
Francisco
Dallas-Ft.
Worth
Frankfurt, Germany
Boston
Logan
Who Are You? A Web Designer
Looking For Work?
Hell no! One quick look
at my home page (or this page, for that
matter) can tell you that. Good Web designers are
a rare breed. But I do travel a lot, and I work with people who
design web sites as their profession. I may not be a good Web
designer, but I know what works and what doesn't. I also know
what is and isn't valuable to travelers.
Who To Write:
Mayor
Lee Brown
IAH
Management
Me
NOTES:
1 As of 8:00
PM Oct. 25, "accomadations" was still prominently displayed
on the International
Terminal
page.
2 As mentioned
below, this appears to have been done only after I wrote to Jim
Barlow of the Chronicle and he wrote a story about it. The point
being that the folks running our airports should have already
thought about this. Years ago. I'm glad they made this change,
but still, why not something like "Iflyhouston.com"?
3 Only after
literally months of prodding did the HAS get around to fixing
the simple busted Weather Channel link that was on the IAH home
page.
4 Perhaps my
point wasn't clear enough. From their 1998
Annual Report
(no telling where the 1999 Annual Report is - it
ain't online!),
an annual economic impact of "$2.3 billion is directly attributable
to on-airport activities..." Further, it states that there
are "19,000 employees of on-airport businesses." Point
being, this is a tremendous enterprise, one of the most critical
to Houston and Harris County. So why the third-rate Web site?
5 OK, but I don't
recall making an issue of this. What does it have to do with
broken links, misspelled words, and missing data? Making minor
fixes is a budget-buster? HTML ain't rocket science. Anyone with
PageMill or FrontPage can make the fixes in literally minutes.
Why does it take the HAS weeks, if not months?
Take me
back home!
Created 9.23.2000
Last updated 2.22.2003
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