Bear Down Wildcats

VoltronX wrote:Incheon International Airport in Seoul is the best airport I have ever been too. By Far.

I quite like Singapore Changi Airport.

I haven't seen the new Hong Knng Airport yet; last time I was there they were about 6 weeks from opening it. I have heard nothing but good stuff about the facilities, but landing is apparently just as scary as the old one, not because of the buildings you can reach out and touch (at the old one), but because of the cross winds you get out in the harbor.

Because it can't be said often enough, I will do anything to avoid LAX, especially for an international flight. I will pay extra to fly in or out of San Francisco instead, and I even went through Vancouver once on my way from Melbourne to Tucson (and that was routed through Singapore, and then from Vancouver I went through SLC, IIRC). I hate LAX.

Enough subjectivity here, lets have some objectivity.

How has this thread gone this long without anyone linking this:

Bloomberg: The Airport Frustration Index

lol. LGA sucks everywhere.

Flying through Minnesota/St. Paul this week. Honestly my favorite US arport for a layover.

VoltronX wrote:Incheon International Airport in Seoul is the best airport I have ever been too. By Far.

Free WiFi, showers, clean, staff were top notch, relax/sleep areas..

Too industrial. Top 5 for sure, but I like Singapore, Hong Kong and Munich better.

EDIT: I don't think I mentioned this before, but the ability to go to the train station in Hong Kong, check in your luggge there, and then catch the train to the airport is super cool.

flying from LAX to Seattle on friday.

97cats wrote:flying from LAX to Seattle on friday.

Which airline. Really love Alaskan.

Daryl Zero wrote: Which airline. Really love Alaskan.

Delta -- i use them for business all over the country so i get terrific perks.

taking my son (5yr old) on a boys weekend of football gluttony....UW vs Oregon on Sat night and Seattle vs Carolina on Sunday afternoon.

he knows hes going somewhere solo with dad but no idea where; im pretty excited.

SFO to Puerto Vallarta 10/18-10/25.

On Alaskan, never been on them before. Looking forward to it.

CatsbyAZ wrote:Flying through Minnesota/St. Paul this week. Honestly my favorite US arport for a layover.

Flown into and out of Minneapolis this week. Was in the smaller terminal 2. Been there multiple times and never had any negative to say. However, had my longest wait ever to get through security yesterday afternoon. Once TSA checked ID and boarding pass there was no wait to get through the screening. The problem was getting to the screening.

I have to say, I like calling Alaska, you can actually talk to an agent within 2-3min without press 1 press 2 then being on hold for ever. It's nice.

Went thru Kansas City airport last week. Short lines, quick to the curb but someone needs to tell them that we aren't in the 70's anymore. Terminal A was abandoned. Not sure if they are remodeling or what. For a major city, it is a piece of shit.

I remember thinking that Kansas City Airport terminal is outdated 20 years ago

Frybry02 wrote:
Flown into and out of Minneapolis this week. Was in the smaller terminal 2. Been there multiple times and never had any negative to say. However, had my longest wait ever to get through security yesterday afternoon. Once TSA checked ID and boarding pass there was no wait to get through the screening. The problem was getting to the screening.

Also used Terminal 2, for first time, flying in last Thursday and out yesterday. Did not like the isolation from Terminal 1, which IMO is the best Terminal for layovers in the USA. That's what you get for flying Southwest - time in second rate terminals. Also true for flying Southwest through Washington Reagan, San Diego, Raleigh-Durham, LAX, St. Louis. Cramped, separated stays.

84Cat wrote:Went thru Kansas City airport last week. Short lines, quick to the curb but someone needs to tell them that we aren't in the 70's anymore. Terminal A was abandoned. Not sure if they are remodeling or what. For a major city, it is a piece of shit.

Kansas City and St. Louis Lambert are right down there with LAX for worst looking terminal interiors. I noticed the abandoned KC terminal too. St. Louis has the same problem, with half of Terminal E boarded up and the lights dimmed.

edit: for anyone flying through St. Louis Terminal E, the bar scene there is pretty good. Try a place called the Pasta House. Surprisingly good Italian dishes and serving their own micro-brews from the tap.

Puerto Vallarta is your typical Mexican airport.

Customs was nice and updated, past that, the morass of society.

CatsbyAZ wrote: In short, bottom 5:

5. Midway
4. New Orleans
3. O'Hare
2. Newark
1. LAX

Overdue for Top 5:

Honorable mentions Indianapolis, San Diego and Las Vegas.

5. DFW - 10 years ago I hated this airport but it's gotten a lot better in terms of roominess, on-time departures (especially compared to the weather afflicted North & Northeast hubs), and ease of getting from terminal to terminal via the Skylink.

4. Oakland - Surprisingly clean, roomy, and efficient. BART access helps too. My favorite way of getting into the Bay Area.

3. Honolulu Hawaii - Right as you deboard the plane it feels like you've been in Hawaii for a while. The open-air terminals allow the salt rich Pacific air to really wake you up from those long Mainland flights. And, appropriately, it's about the friendliest airport.

2. PHX Sky Harbor - Good location in the greater Valley, easy access between terminals, lot's of options, lot's of scenic walking in view of the mountains around the area.

1. Minneapolis/St. Paul (Terminal 1) - Scores high in about all categories an airport can be graded (see below). Really lives up it's region with plenty of Great Lakes eating options, easy access between the Lettered terminals, it's open square shape is good for walking all the way around, very roomy and so much a better layover option than the usual midland hubs like Ohare, Midway, and Houston. If your layover is +5 hrs take the tram down to the Mall of America.

The better an airport the more it will:
-represent it's location well (Minneapolis, Las Vegas, PHX Sky Harbor, Honolulu) rather than look more like a nearby warehouse fashioned obligingly into a terminal (Newark, LAX, New Orleans, both Kansas City).
-have good access to the city (PHX, Washington National, Minneapolis, SFO, JFK) rather than be so far out of the way you'll pay higher ticket prices to a more accessible competitor (Washington Dulles, Houston, Denver, Newark).
-have good inter-terminal access especially in terms of walkability (Minneapolis, PHX Sky Harbor) though a tram system works too (Dallas, Atlanta) rather than require you to go wait on buses back and forth from terminals (LaGuardia, LAX) or worse, require you to go back through security between terminals (Kansas City, SFO).
-roominess; can't stand how overcrowded Washington National, Chicago O'Hare, and LAX can get because they plain and simple didn't care to widen their terminal spaces.
-weather and other delay risks; O'Hare is the worst for delays, but anywhere in the northeast turns into a battle when the snows hit. I try to route winter layovers away from Chicago through Dallas instead.

Someone looking for attention?

A flight attendant started a fire in an American Airlines plane's lavatory and then pretended to discover and extinguish it, the FBI said Wednesday.

Johnathan Tafoya-Montano is charged with "destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities" and lying to investigators, investigators said in a news release.

A court document states he was working on Flight AA1418 from Dallas-Fort Worth to Detroit on Feb. 1 when he reported there had been a fire in a rear lavatory and that he had extinguished the flames.

The captain notified air traffic controllers and declared an emergency but the plane, which was already on approach to Detroit, landed without incident and all passengers safely disembarked.

NTSB investigators later concluded that the fire was started deliberately and that nobody else had been in the lavatory for at least 15-20 minutes prior to the blaze.

http://www.nbcnews.com/business/travel/ ... bi-n530841

Never trust a stewardess named Johnathan

Sometimes when I'm having a bad day at work and things start going wrong all around me, I go light a fire in the bathroom and run out waving my arms and shouting, "Let's get out of here! Everybody out of the building! Shooo! Shooo!"

I have had several bad experiences at Dallas and Chicago, so they are on my list of airports I do not like flying to. Next month I am flying to Miami, is that a nice airport and are delays common?

Miami is the biggest shithole of an airport I've ever been to, but it might not be so bad if you don't have to go through customs.

Miami is Latin America's best airport.

CalStateTempe wrote:Miami is Latin America's best airport.

Sorry, but I've flown in and out of Punta Cana and I have to call bullshit on that one.

ASUCatFan wrote:

CalStateTempe wrote:Miami is Latin America's best airport.

Sorry, but I've flown in and out of Punta Cana and I have to call bullshit on that one.

Sorry, that was an attempt at sarcasm, along the lines of "Miami is the best South American city", etc, etc. CST Fail.

CalStateTempe wrote:

ASUCatFan wrote:

CalStateTempe wrote:Miami is Latin America's best airport.

Sorry, but I've flown in and out of Punta Cana and I have to call bullshit on that one.

Sorry, that was an attempt at sarcasm, along the lines of "Miami is the best South American city", etc, etc. CST Fail.

No, I was trying to play off of what you said. Miami is so bad, I didn't think you were giving underdeveloped Latin American countries enough credit.

When I was leaving Miami there were long lines of people flying to Cuba. I think if a few years I will take a trip there.

Anyone else truly fucking hate that United moved their p.s. service from JFK to EWR. EWR is absolutely disgusting, has insane security lines, and the cab ride in to midtown costs twice as much.

United LAX-JFK was my old ride. Sorry it's gone.

EWR is garbage and United is a joke of an major airline.

I can always get better flights routes and timing, for cheaper, with American. Delta isn't bad if you can avoid connecting through Detroit or MSP. Helps that I have status on American.

CalStateTempe wrote:EWR is garbage and United is a joke of an major airline.

I can always get better flights routes and timing, for cheaper, with American. Delta isn't bad if you can avoid connecting through Detroit or MSP. Helps that I have status on American.

Flew American last year for the first time in a while (firm "strongly prefers" United so I use it for everything outside of the Southwest wheelhouse). LAX-JFK-EDI was absolutely atrocious. No IFE on the A321 flight from LAX-JFK and the piece of shit 757 from JFK-EDI only had overhead tvs straight out of 1995 and were selling narrower exit row seats as Economy Plus. So they did not do much to sway me. Flight back from LHR-LAX on a brand new 777W was pretty nice though.

eek, thats bad.

Their IFE (or lack thereof) does suck relative to other airlines, but luckily, I've been getting their newer planes lately. I have the points card and rack up a ton, so the occasional bump to first class on a off schedule flight is a perk enough to stick with them plus I like the hub in Miami for flights to the Caribbean or South America. Also they've expanded operations out of terminal 2 at SFO which can get me basically everywhere without having to stop in ORD or DFW. (SMF is a terrible airport for connectivity and price. Its more cost effective for me to just drive early in the morning and flyout of SFO in the AM)

I'm a holdover from the AW and USair days, I guess.

I'm a holdover from the days when you at least got an in-flight drink included in your airplane ticket.

With that gone and baggage fees a lost cause, I'd rather drive anywhere and everywhere I have to on this continent unless I have to pay more in gas than total for two tickets.

It would probably be different if I were a full-time business traveler, but hey, I can't write off my miles, so if I have to fly, I go cheap. Even Allegiant cheap if I have to.

DCA straight to SeaTac (and back next week) for work. Alaska Airlines, which seems to have really fallen into a generic state since I last flew Alaskan in 2010. SeaTac a very refreshing Airport compared to its major California counterparts (looking at you LAX).

Great news, beginning in October you will be able to fly non-stop from Tucson to New York(JFK).
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/3204 ... son-to-nyc" target="_blank

Thats huge! Congrats TUS

Irish27 wrote:Great news, beginning in October you will be able to fly non-stop from Tucson to New York(JFK).
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/3204 ... son-to-nyc" target="_blank

If only they started that route tomorrow!!!!

Irish27 wrote:Great news, beginning in October you will be able to fly non-stop from Tucson to New York(JFK).
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/3204 ... son-to-nyc" target="_blank

There used to be a Continental flight to EWR. Did United kill that after the merger?

Alieberman wrote:

Irish27 wrote:Great news, beginning in October you will be able to fly non-stop from Tucson to New York(JFK).
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/3204 ... son-to-nyc" target="_blank

If only they started that route tomorrow!!!!

You coming or going?

So with recent developments and under suboptimal circumstances, one dream will not be met but another dream will come to fruition soon.

No longer flying on Lufthansa (one dream of mine, never been) or its A380 (another dream to ride the whale jet) to Frankfurt.

Instead flying Emirates (a total dream of mine) on its A380 ( yes please) to Dubai.

I guess I'm going to fly next week, 16hours there, have about 36hrs, and the fly back 16 to SFO. It's going to be whirlwind but I'll definitely squeeze in some good exploring time.

I've heard killer things about Dubai International, looking forward to checking it out.

Hong Kong International is pretty great. You can even check in for your flight at any of the Hong Kong Metro stations. They will check your luggage there and give you your boarding pass. That way you can ass around in Hong Kong before getting on the train to Lantau Island (where the airport it).

Shanghai Pudong International has a pretty good setup with a lot of restaurants and bars before and after you clear security.

Chicat wrote:

Alieberman wrote:

Irish27 wrote:Great news, beginning in October you will be able to fly non-stop from Tucson to New York(JFK).
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/3204 ... son-to-nyc" target="_blank

If only they started that route tomorrow!!!!

You coming or going?

Going to NYC and DC with the family!

Anything special to know about Seattle's airport?

azgreg wrote:Anything special to know about Seattle's airport?

The announcements are in English, Russian, and Japanese.

Holy shit Emirates is a sweet airline.

And I'm in economy.

Puts British and Swiss long haul to shame, which up till now was my gold standard.

Choose of three selections for three meals, free decent booze/wine, election of global newspapers on entry, and an inflight entertainment system that is the bomb and cameras to see the pilots view and land gear views.

Emirates hires some fine help too with their sexy Emirates uni.

LaGuardia is such a shithole . . . literally (see: Sitters vs. Standers thread).

10mb of free wifi.

1 dollar for 500mb.

Next time I'm ordering a special meal (Halal, Indian Veg, Seafood, etc). Looks damn good, and they get served first.

Currently somewhere over Idaho.

CalStateTempe wrote:10mb of free wifi.

1 dollar for 500mb.

Next time I'm ordering a special meal (Halal, Indian Veg, Seafood, etc). Looks damn good, and they get served first.

Currently somewhere over Idaho.

Being served first is one of the reasons why I don't order a special meal. I once got Halal on Turkish Airlines and felt like all the hungry people were staring at me. Or maybe they were staring because I ordered Halal but still insisted on drinking alcohol. Then they don't take away your tray until everybody is finished with the meal service. Too much claustrophobia with my tray down, unable to get up and move past people while they're eating.

Very good point LH.

The economy space is generous, but with all the stuff they give you, it does get a bit tight.

My Arabic style cod with couscous was delicious. So was the Savignon blanc.

About to enter Northwest territories. Going to fly over north pole via the polar route. Maybe I'll see Santa.

Hate Emirates.

No, not really. Pretty good airline, but having a 2am-6am layover in Dubai is horrible. They have a gigantic second floor mezzanine for their business class lounge. The 'quiet' sleeping area is strategically placed right above the carry-on x-ray area. Can you imagine trying to sleep with all that madness going on down below? Ugh. Bad memories.