Airports Thread

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 1:41 pm

Anything, everything, and everywhere comments on airports welcome.

Whenever I hear politicians bemoaning America's 'failing infrastructure,' it's often to set up a dollars and jobs handout for their district. But things do seem to be getting worse.

Take Chicago's Midway Airport for example. I used to use Midway to avoid layovers in O'Hare. Now it's just as bad, and maybe worse given my last two run throughs. Yesterday Midway misplaced plane-loads of baggage. When my plane landed to DCA-Reagan (delayed of course) half our plane had to wait into the evening on ensuing Midway flights for the rest of the baggage.

And the time before - I land in Midway and nearly all eastbound flights were cancelled because of a computer network meltdown. Rebookings took up to two days, and with me landing into Midway in the "extra innings" of the mess, I was forced to miss work Monday without any apology or hotel.

Even only three years ago travel seemed a lot less crowded and more functional, at Midway or just in general.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:25 pm

I'm going to love this thread

Personal top 5
5. SFO Terminal 2
4. Arlanda, Stockholm
3. EZE Buenos Aires, for the glorious shit-show that it is. Modern, great ways to kill time, but with a slight seedy underbelly especially on arrival, kinda captures Argentina is a nutshell.
2. Reagan National. bad ass approach, good amenities, incredibly functional, super close to downtown by metro.
1. Zurich.

Honorable mention: raleigh durham international, built by Norwegians and capture the look well. Similar to DCA, a good functional nice airport.

Bottom 5 and bucketlist airports will be posted after work...

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:30 pm

As far as ease of access since I don't have much international airport experience I always love the smaller ones (Monterey, Burbank, Tucson etc)...nothin beats the time I decided 80 mins before departure I wanted to switch flights when I live a good 25 mins from the airport and I still had a few mins to kill waiting in Tucson.

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:49 pm

CalStateTempe wrote:I'm going to love this thread

2. Reagan National. bad ass approach, good amenities, incredibly functional, super close to downtown by metro.

I definitely have a bit of a love & hate relationship with DCA, but it's definitely more the former. For a metro area of nearly 6 million, the location couldn't be better, right across the river from the bulk of the Capitol sights. Plus the views on approach or departure are fantastic; looking south you get not only the Pentagon and Arlington Nat'l Cemetery, but a lively view of the rows of new high-density residential towers following along the orange/blue metro line going into Virginia; northward has the more iconic view of downtown DC, and of course the National Mall with it's layout of the Capitol Building and the White House. The security lines move fast and they've surprisingly kept their prices low, lower than that of neighboring Dulles.

Downsides are no major international flights (have to use Dulles), overcrowding (though with no loss to functionality), and very little direct flights beyond the Rockies (again, use Dulles.) The West Coast flight limitations are the air trafficking gods attempt to drive business to Dulles.

One thing most won't know - nearly all departures "leave" on time. When DCA gets really busy and the delays start spilling in nationally (mostly due to Chicago or Atlanta) rather than boarding the plane right before a delayed take off they fill them up as scheduled and have the plane sit on the tarmac until cleared an hour or two later. I'm guessing this has to due with how compacted the loading areas are between the main terminals. I've spent more idle plane time waiting for takeoff at National than all other airports combined.

Post by **UAdevil** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:54 pm

Love Schiphol. So clean and airy. I've never seen it uncomfortably crowded.

Hate LAX (which is always under construction when I have a connection)
Hate Philly (though it's a quick hop to downtown for cheesesteaks and the Mutter Museum).

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 2:58 pm

CalStateTempe wrote: Bottom 5 and bucketlist airports will be posted after work...

Hehe, I absolutely know which airport has to make your bottom 5; it's my bottom #1.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 3:43 pm

CatsbyAZ wrote:
CalStateTempe wrote: Bottom 5 and bucketlist airports will be posted after work...
Hehe, I absolutely know which airport has to make your bottom 5; it's my bottom #1.

Oh man...let's see if they add up.

So many great airport...princess Juliana in st Marteen is cool too with maho beach. However I don't remember much of my departure form there other then still wasted from the night before and trying to to breath on the security guards while walking a straight line. I remember starting to make a scene about them taking the conch shell I wanted to bring back, but fortunately fiancée(now wife) kept me in line. That is also when I started heckling the guy in a duke jersey ( before I ever thought I'd work at duke) in the jewlery store. Protip...they give free booze at the jewlery store.

Yay engagement trips.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 3:46 pm

Love airports...ill book a connection through one I've never been to just to check it out. Love getting early to one like JFK and o'hare just to start at the departure board to see what airliners are going where and the walk by the gate looking at German people getting on Munich bound, latin on Santiago bound etc etc. yeah I know I'm weird.

77HoyaCat4Ever · Post by **77HoyaCat4Ever** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 3:55 pm

Love Schiphol and Barajas-Madrid. Heathrow is fun to people watch if you aren't in a hurry, but not so much fun if you are tight with a terminal change and have to take the shuttle bus.

Hate Atlanta and especially Charlotte. Philly also on hate list. LAX as well.

BTW if you travel internationally, sign up for Global Entry. Makes return so much easier.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 4:14 pm

I hate all airports except TIA when I have returned home

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 6:32 pm

CalStateTempe wrote:Love airports...ill book a connection through one I've never been to just to check it out. Love getting early to one like JFK and o'hare just to start at the departure board to see what airliners are going where and the walk by the gate looking at German people getting on Munich bound, latin on Santiago bound etc etc. yeah I know I'm weird.

I'm right with you man. I'll look at the departure board, and whether I'm with anyone or not I play a game where I find the most out-of-the way or surprising direct connection and try to remember the airport for that very connection. For instance in Seattle I saw direct connections to all three smaller west Texas airports of Midland, Amarillo and El Paso (some cancelled since then.) In PHX I once saw a connection to Galesburg IL. In Midway to Manistee Michigan. In Minnesota to very little reservation towns in the north. And so on.

As for people watching, even as a little kid in the 90's picking up relatives in the St. Louis Lambert airport (back when you didn't need a ticket to be at the gates) I'd have my Mom walk the terminals with me and find the international points of arrivals just to see how or if the people coming off flights from London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt looked particularly different (back when St. Louis carried actual overseas flights.) And if not the international flights we'd watch flights from Miami empty just to compare the tans or the San Francisco arrival because of how diverse and well dressed the crowd was.

Even today I'll take note of the crowd according to their flight. Whenever flying through Houston or Atlanta I'll have a long drink in their International terminals just to people watch. The best is always spotting a grouping of international flight stewardesses, say from Quantas or one of the Southeast Asian providers. They always look so well done compared to those of the American carriers.

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 6:37 pm

77HoyaCat4Ever wrote: Hate Atlanta and especially Charlotte.

I understand hating Atlanta, but why Charlotte? When I've lately had to fly to the gulf coast/SE (Mobile, Biloxi, Charleston) it's required a layover at either Atlanta or Charlotte. Charlotte is by comparison much roomier, more walkable, and roomier compared to Atlanta where the lines for Chic-Fil-A go all the way back to Gate 40. Charlotte IMO is a breath of fresh air.

Chicat · Post by **Chicat** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 6:45 pm

CatsbyAZ wrote:Anything, everything, and everywhere comments on airports welcome.

Whenever I hear politicians bemoaning America's 'failing infrastructure,' it's often to set up a dollars and jobs handout for their district. But things do seem to be getting worse.

Take Chicago's Midway Airport for example. I used to use Midway to avoid layovers in O'Hare. Now it's just as bad, and maybe worse given my last two run throughs. Yesterday Midway misplaced plane-loads of baggage. When my plane landed to DCA-Reagan (delayed of course) half our plane had to wait into the evening on ensuing Midway flights for the rest of the baggage.

And the time before - I land in Midway and nearly all eastbound flights were cancelled because of a computer network meltdown. Rebookings took up to two days, and with me landing into Midway in the "extra innings" of the mess, I was forced to miss work Monday without any apology or hotel.

Even only three years ago travel seemed a lot less crowded and more functional, at Midway or just in general.

I love Midway. Easy to get to either through mass transit or via cab, Uber, driving. Cheap parking. Easy access to gates. Quick security. And cheap flights offered pretty much anywhere in North America via Southwest, Frontier, AeroMexico and other smaller airlines.

The computer glitch I believe was due to the airline, not the airport. As for losing luggage, I feel like that can happen anywhere.

Daryl Zero · Post by **Daryl Zero** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:04 pm

Santa Rosa is pretty nice. Very small. Simple to get into and out of.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:05 pm

O'hare terminal three really needs to step up its culinary game. Slop on a plate everywhere, surprising given its Chicago.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:18 pm

Bottom five.

5. O'hare. Delays delays delays, terrible food, not a lot of comfortable lounge space. I try to avoid connecting here when possible. I do like the array of international flights out of terminal 5, and always love visiting Chicago, I just feel ORD seriously lacks for being a worldwide destination. Could easily trade out for an honorable mention on another day.
4. London Stansted. A giant hanger, poor to no lines for check in, no amenities
3. San Salvador elsalvador, one giant rectangle, and the feeling like your gonna get shanked doesn't leave until your on the plane home.
2. Lax. It's been under perpetual construction for going on a decade now, and every flight seems to come in at terminal 7 with a connection at terminal 5. and the tram is always broken so you have to hoof it. With like 30minutes before departure.
1. LGA. Lagurdia...where to begin. Always delayed and left to sit on the Tarmac. Slop on a plate at NYC prices and decent food at even worse astronomical prices. The new delta terminal isn't bad but took small for capacity. Looks dingy. And going between terminals extremely difficult.

Catsbyaz...how did I do?

Honorable mention.
Philly. Crazy weird layout, bad food, dingy, lots of delays due to the flight patterns
Newark. Like if lagurdia won the lottery and went to a better neighborhood. Sit shitty but looks a bit nicer.
Pittsburgh. Omg. The equivalent of the dive bar...where airport development dreams go to die. Huge mall with empty stores. Huge intersection of concourses with no flights. Sad.

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:34 pm

Bucketlist, airports I want to visit.

Dubai
Singapore
Hilton head
JFK international (7?)
Imam khomani international
Fiji or Tahiti. (I wanna walk on the Tarmac at a beach location)

azgreg · Post by **azgreg** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:36 pm

I can't remember the last time I was in an airport to get on or off as plane.

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 7:51 pm

CalStateTempe wrote:Bottom five.

5. O'hare. Delays delays delays, terrible food, not a lot of comfortable lounge space. I try to avoid connecting here when possible. I do like the array of international flights out of terminal 5, and always love visiting Chicago, I just feel ORD seriously lacks for being a worldwide destination. Could easily trade out for an honorable mention on another day.
4. London Stansted. A giant hanger, poor to no lines for check in, no amenities
3. San Salvador elsalvador, one giant rectangle, and the feeling like your gonna get shanked doesn't leave until your on the plane home.
2. Lax. It's been under perpetual construction for going on a decade now, and every flight seems to come in at terminal 7 with a connection at terminal 5. and the tram is always broken so you have to hoof it. With like 30minutes before departure.
1. LGA. Lagurdia...where to begin. Always delayed and left to sit on the Tarmac. Slop on a plate at NYC prices and decent food at even worse astronomical prices. The new delta terminal isn't bad but took small for capacity. Looks dingy. And going between terminals extremely difficult.

Catsbyaz...how did I do?

I haven't flown thru LGA; I always use JFK for business in NYC, which I've heard is just as bad. The worst I've regularly seen at JFK are the families of pigeons I see camping out in the rafters above the Wendy's. Customs is a bad memory too. The thing I like about JFK is the unrivaled landing view. I usually pay $80 for a flight from Reagan Nat'l and always sit on the westward looking windows for the grand views of the Manhattan skyline. The views alone are worth the cost of the flight.

But...

I have LAX as far and away #1 worst. The Southwest terminal is awful, the regional terminal for smaller planes is bone bare, and above the thump of foot traffic and static of flight announcements is always the construction racket of hammering and sawing behind endlessly plywood-ed walkways of cross-terminal construction. And the crappy dining options carry high-maintenance prices. I never eat there. At least at SFO the high prices pack a culinary punch.

Newark would be a distant second, followed by O'Hare. New Orleans is somewhere down there too. A total, unvented, weakly lighted dump.

In short, bottom 5:

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

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 8:51 pm

Catsbyaz...that's a good list for me when I think of Dr appt airports. Especially Newark and New Orleans.

RichardCranium · Post by **RichardCranium** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 11:38 pm

LAX is far and away the worst airport in the world - especially Tom Brady which is just a shit hole pure and simple. It has no competition. And I say that with absolute confidence and I haven't even seen most airports. Anything worse is beyond comprehension.

Hanoi is pretty bad, true, but its a third world country with an airport built by the Soviets during a gawddamn war that they are still trying to recover from.

A friend whose opinion I trust and who is in a different international airport 6 or 7 times a month (she works all over Europe and the Mideast out of London) reckons Miami-Dade was #1 worst until last week when she was at Rome terminal "G". Her remark: 'what a dump'.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 1:13 am

Best:
1. Singapore
...
...
...
Zürich
Seoul
New Mumbai
Munich
Hong Kong

Worst Major:
1. O'Hare
1A. Charles de Gaulle
1B. Old Mumbai
4. LAX

Worst Developing:
1. Dhaka
2. Manila
3. Goa

Comments:
1. Singapore is far and away the best airport to fly from. They have everything there, transit in and out is cheap and efficient. Lounges are the best I've seen, and flying economy is never dull.
2. US Airports are ageing. Sad to see them get worse and more crowded year after year. I personally like Atlanta and Charlotte a lot, and Sky Harbor isn't too bad.
3. Mumbai used to have a terrible airport, but the new international terminal is one of the best I've seen. You still have to deal with the filth in and around, but if you're just connecting it's beautiful.
4. CDG is a piece of crap. Plan to spend at least an hour getting from one gate to the next, and two hours would be more safe.
5. O'Hare can't get a flight in or out on time. Ever.
6. LAX is okay unless you're going international. Then enjoy the walk... Who the hell designs an airport with so much physical distance between the terminals and forgets to put in a convenient mechanism to travel between them?
7. I don't have fond memories of Sao Paolo, but I've only been through once, and it was a long time ago, so I left them off the list. Ditto for Mexico City.
8. Airports in developing parts of the world are almost uniformly bad, but Dhaka takes the cake. Too many mosquitos hovering around at crotch level when you're trying to use the urinals. No beer.
9. Dubai is okay, but I usually flew through there between 3am and 8am. The Emirates lounge sleeping area is on a mezzanie overlooking a baggage screening area. Not the best location. So bottom line: nice airport, always busy and bustling (think US shopping mall in mid-December, but at 4am in Dubai), not a good place for a layover if you want to sleep.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 8:26 am

I find airports largely the same, but I favor some of the ones already mentioned above, plus Copenhagen for transfers and arrival (but not for checking in, which is among the worst).

Phoenix Sky Harbor is the best in the U.S. for free wifi, clean bathrooms, top-level airport foods (including frozen tamales to go from El Bravo), and access to the city. Basically one of the base airports in the world.

The big difference is international v. U.S. International airports are quiet, while U.S. airports are a stressful assault on the senses. Still, Istanbul is worse than any U.S. airport in that regard.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 8:30 am

Also, for U.S. airports, the TSA security isn't made for human beings to pass through. I need more arms and hands to undo, undress, set down, and adjust everything. I also need Kaleb Tarczewski to a set a screen on the guy behind me while I do all that.

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 5:10 pm

Chicat wrote: I love Midway. Easy to get to either through mass transit or via cab, Uber, driving. Cheap parking. Easy access to gates. Quick security. And cheap flights offered pretty much anywhere in North America via Southwest, Frontier, AeroMexico and other smaller airlines.

The computer glitch I believe was due to the airline, not the airport. As for losing luggage, I feel like that can happen anywhere.

In this case it is a Midway problem. Southwest explained to me that because so many flights flow to the same set of destinations each day - DC, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Detroit, MSP, LGA, and Charlotte to name to most common - many of their busiest routes are scheduled so close that baggage often ends up getting put on the previous or proceeding flights to those cities. In my case baggage was sent to the wrong flight going to the right destination. Two times now.

It used to be that Southwest spread their mid-country layovers amongst St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Midway, but with Southwest now relying more and more on single regional hubs everything gets bottle-necked through Chicago, similar to when their bigger named competitors over-relied on O'Hare.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 3:38 pm

I actually thought New Orleans was pretty cool, seems they updated the terminal I came in on, once I went to baggage claim it got weird. Also a fan of Denver, Charlotte (people watching), Portland, Maine (purified water fountains and hazardous needle disposal boxes are a nice touch), San Diego.

Hate LAX and Philly. Cleveland is an absolute dump, terrible food, filthy, rude people, wifi charge, etc. was stuck there four hours once due to weather.

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 3:44 pm

Cleveland was pretty low on the list if I remember. and I will do anything to avoid LAX.

legallykenny · Post by **legallykenny** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 4:41 pm

Puerco wrote:Best:
1. Singapore
...
...
...
Zürich
Seoul
New Mumbai
Munich
Hong Kong

Worst Major:
1. O'Hare
1A. Charles de Gaulle
1B. Old Mumbai
4. LAX

Worst Developing:
1. Dhaka
2. Manila
3. Goa

Comments:
1. Singapore is far and away the best airport to fly from. They have everything there, transit in and out is cheap and efficient. Lounges are the best I've seen, and flying economy is never dull.
2. US Airports are ageing. Sad to see them get worse and more crowded year after year. I personally like Atlanta and Charlotte a lot, and Sky Harbor isn't too bad.
3. Mumbai used to have a terrible airport, but the new international terminal is one of the best I've seen. You still have to deal with the filth in and around, but if you're just connecting it's beautiful.
4. CDG is a piece of crap. Plan to spend at least an hour getting from one gate to the next, and two hours would be more safe.
5. O'Hare can't get a flight in or out on time. Ever.
6. LAX is okay unless you're going international. Then enjoy the walk... Who the hell designs an airport with so much physical distance between the terminals and forgets to put in a convenient mechanism to travel between them?
7. I don't have fond memories of Sao Paolo, but I've only been through once, and it was a long time ago, so I left them off the list. Ditto for Mexico City.
8. Airports in developing parts of the world are almost uniformly bad, but Dhaka takes the cake. Too many mosquitos hovering around at crotch level when you're trying to use the urinals. No beer.
9. Dubai is okay, but I usually flew through there between 3am and 8am. The Emirates lounge sleeping area is on a mezzanie overlooking a baggage screening area. Not the best location. So bottom line: nice airport, always busy and bustling (think US shopping mall in mid-December, but at 4am in Dubai), not a good place for a layover if you want to sleep.

LAX is a very good airport for what it is designed for - O&D. It wasn't intended to be, and doesn't want to be, a connecting hub, which is why there is no smooth connection between terminals - though AA is building an airside connector from T4 to Bradley as they're moving their international flights over once the construction is done. 4 runways, good weather and no airline running a large banked hub operation so there are basically never delays.

I don't really understand people who complain about the state of airports or their amenities. Who the fuck is looking to spend time in the airport? Get in and get out. For example Burbank is a decaying shithole but my favorite airport to use because you can go from parking to the gate in 5 minutes.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:03 pm

I love airports like Tucson, Burbank, long beach and Monterey.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:00 am

legallykenny wrote:
LAX is a very good airport for what it is designed for - O&D. It wasn't intended to be, and doesn't want to be, a connecting hub, which is why there is no smooth connection between terminals - though AA is building an airside connector from T4 to Bradley as they're moving their international flights over once the construction is done. 4 runways, good weather and no airline running a large banked hub operation so there are basically never delays.

I don't really understand people who complain about the state of airports or their amenities. Who the fuck is looking to spend time in the airport? Get in and get out. For example Burbank is a decaying shithole but my favorite airport to use because you can go from parking to the gate in 5 minutes.

Lol, don't have connecting flights much?

I'll have to take your word for what LAX wants or doesn't, but the fact remains that LA is the major point of transit for flights to and from East Asia.

scumdevils86 · Post by **scumdevils86** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:03 am

It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities

KingG · Post by **KingG** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:24 am

I second Zurich as my favorite airport. Very modern, clean and not overwhelmingly busy. I found the holy grail of airport restrooms there too. The views of the City and snow capped Alps upon take off and landing are also incredible.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:22 am

scumdevils86 wrote:It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities

You're lucky. Only bad things can happen when you connect. But the quality of your connecting airport is more important than either your departing or eventual arriving one. Three hour layovers in O'Hare usually turn into ten hour layovers or even unplanned nights spent in Chicago.

Alieberman · Post by **Alieberman** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:33 am

scumdevils86 wrote:It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities

Flying out of Tucson? There are only about 5 cities you can get to directly from Tucson!

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:45 am

Puerco wrote:
scumdevils86 wrote:It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities
You're lucky. Only bad things can happen when you connect. But the quality of your connecting airport is more important than either your departing or eventual arriving one. Three hour layovers in O'Hare usually turn into ten hour layovers or even unplanned nights spent in Chicago.

exactly.

For O&D, what I care most about is time from parking lot to gate (Origin), or if at destination, gate to baggage (if checked) or gate to rental car/easy transit to wherever I am staying. European airports generally have it down with good train connections to the city/satellite cities.

LAX has the location I guess, but whenever I fly to LA, I use the smaller airports, Burbank, John Wayne, Long Beach, Ontario depending on what I am doing. All of them are garbage (except John Wayne), but are small and convenient. However, by virtue of its size and destination LAX ends up becoming the west coast's premiere connecting hub for Asia and Central/South America, and in that role, for which I have primarily used LAX, it blows.

When connecting, I look for interesting local restaurant options, decent spots to have a beer/glass of wine, and get work done on FREE wifi. ORD and LAX fail miserably in that regard.

Charlotte isn't that bad, other then all of my flights to the west are out of C/D, and all my flights to the Caribbean and Southeast are our of B, so it can be a hike if pressed for time. The white rocking chairs are a nice touch in the main concourse, which I have never been able to partake in because they are always in use.

Lastly, yes on arrival, get out of the airport as fast as possible and start enjoying the city or getting about business asap. Nevertheless, airports can be great marketing for municipalities and represent the first impression many will see when the visit a new place. Heathrow is a nightmare especially between terminals, but terminal 5 represents a grand entrance to London; the new international terminal at Atlanta as well; compared to JFK and ORD international terminals which seem to represent the greatness of bygone and largely more economically sound eras in the US.

Next tier airports that I enjoy in no particular order

Bangalore
Montreal
PHX-Mesa (Williams Gateway)
Tucson
Sea-Tac
Indianapolis

Sky Harbor Terminal 4 is nice, Terminal 2 and 3, need work. Nevertheless, Terminal 2 is an interesting look at 1970's airport architecture. I vaguely remember terminal 1, which is now a parking lot I believe.

Its gonna get some haters, but I love Miami-Dade. Coming in on international is a shitshow because you have to follow these weird yellow, green, and red paths based on your next flight AND you have to recheck your luggage yourself, AND then go back in through the general security check point which is ALWAYS long, but for some reason, I really like it. Maybe its the connections, maybe its the fine latin women, maybe its the collection of international branded duty free shops, and unique restaurants, but I love connecting through Miami-Dade. I can see why people hate it though.

Other dumps:
San Antonio
Louisiana-Lafeyette
Tampa
Orlando. Such a pit and check in is a nightmare with all the rug rats running around.
Denver. Hokey cowboy music, plays up the stylized cowboy west, weird train, and can be shutdown at a moments notice due to wind/weather

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:45 am

Alieberman wrote:
scumdevils86 wrote:It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities
Flying out of Tucson? There are only about 5 cities you can get to directly from Tucson!

LAX
DFW
PDX
ORD
DEN
?

Yeah, scum, did you get a direct flight to DC or did you fly out of Sky Harbor

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:47 am

Alieberman wrote:
scumdevils86 wrote:It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities
Flying out of Tucson? There are only about 5 cities you can get to directly from Tucson!

14 actually. Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Vegas, San Francisco, LA, San Diego, salt lake, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago and Minneapolis

CalStateTempe · Post by **CalStateTempe** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:49 am

ASUHATER! wrote:
Alieberman wrote:
scumdevils86 wrote:It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities
Flying out of Tucson? There are only about 5 cities you can get to directly from Tucson!
14 actually. Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Vegas, San Francisco, LA, San Diego, salt lake, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago and Minneapolis

Wiki is our friend right?

http://www.worldairportawards.com/Award ... rport.html
Discuss.

I would love to go through Munich someday.

ASUHATER! · Post by **ASUHATER!** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:52 am

And no wiki, I knew all of them except Minneapolis. I mean, I do know about the airline industry after all.

SCCats · Post by **SCCats** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:59 am

CalStateTempe wrote:I would love to go through Munich someday.

The Kempinski Hotel at the Munich airport (well formerly the Kempinski, just bought by Hilton I think) is very interesting. The all glass hotel is itself very nice and is right there at the airport. And as direct flights to Munich can be had from all over western, central and eastern europe as well as Russia and even Africa whenever one wants one, the hotel is a super, super, super convenient spot for people to fly in, fuck for a day, and then get home quick.

And speaking of Munich I'm flying there in a week, not to fuck in the airport but for Oktoberfest which should be...dizzying.

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 3:49 pm

Puerco wrote:
scumdevils86 wrote:It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities
You're lucky. Only bad things can happen when you connect. But the quality of your connecting airport is more important than either your departing or eventual arriving one. Three hour layovers in O'Hare usually turn into ten hour layovers or even unplanned nights spent in Chicago.

Has this actually happened to you? I'd be reluctant to believe, but after myself spending unplanned nights in Chicago I dread flying through there. O'Hare or Midway.

Thankfully, tomorrow I fly to Chicago rather than through it. Maybe they'll lose my bags for good measure.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 6:52 pm

I've had countless overnights at O'Hare. One exception is when an American Airlines agent got me on an alternate flight to Phoenix through Des Moines with a connection on another airline. When I arrived at Des Moines, I was informed that American Airlines had no authority to issue me that ticket, and so I spent the night in Des Moines.

beames · Post by **beames** » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:55 pm

I will always have a special place in my heart for Tucson International, simply because of the non-stop to Vegas. There was one time when the wife and I were running late and from the moment we left our house, drove 15 minutes to the airport, parked, boarded, and eventually ended up in the lobby at Monte Carlo, a total of about an hour and 45 minute had elapsed. The lousy wait time for baggage on arrival back home was always worth the quick security, etc. Since moving to Phoenix I find it makes more sense to drive the 4 hours to Vegas rather than deal with 2+ hours at PHX, an hour in the air, then who-knows-how-long getting a rental or waiting for a cab.

I don't have quite as many experiences in the air as a lot of you, but I have a relative newb's Top 5, based mainly on the view:
1. Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands
2. PDX
3. TIA (not based on view, but ease of access)
4. JFK
5. SLC

Honorable Mention:
Dulles, people of the crazy show of international arrivals.

Puerco · Post by **Puerco** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:43 am

CatsbyAZ wrote:
Puerco wrote:
scumdevils86 wrote:It's been years and years since I've had a connecting flight. Hate them. Last 30 flights I've been on were all non stop. Course it was all domestic travel to fairly large cities
You're lucky. Only bad things can happen when you connect. But the quality of your connecting airport is more important than either your departing or eventual arriving one. Three hour layovers in O'Hare usually turn into ten hour layovers or even unplanned nights spent in Chicago.
Has this actually happened to you? I'd be reluctant to believe, but after myself spending unplanned nights in Chicago I dread flying through there. O'Hare or Midway.

Thankfully, tomorrow I fly to Chicago rather than through it. Maybe they'll lose my bags for good measure.

Yep. I've spent a couple nights there. The last time they blamed weather even though the reason we couldn't connect was because a plane had broken down in our gate and there were no others free. Sat on the runway for 90 minutes and watched the last two Lufthansa planes push back while we were stuck. Airport Hilton only set us back $300.

One other time in Paris, but otherwise lucky.

Post by **UAdevil** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:48 am

After spending a week in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2011 I was going to fly back to the US from Schipol. I'm in line waiting to board and a KLM staffer came down the line asking if anyone would like to fly out 32 hours later instead. So...they paid for an extra night at a Centrum hotel and gave me 500 Euros to extend my vacation. You bet. Lol.

rgdeuce · Post by **rgdeuce** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 7:55 am

I've always avoided any stops in Chicago. I know countless people who have been stuck there for hours and/or had to stay the night.

The airport in Portland, Maine, is almost exactly like Tucson International. Easy in, easy out, shorter security lines if you can believe that. Slightly better amenities. But its a modern looking airport, really nice. And of course, you leave the airport and immediately get to drive through beautiful green grass and trees, not the south side.

Longhorned · Post by **Longhorned** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 9:17 am

My university (Illinois) has its own campus airport. We used to have American and Delta, but now just American. I use that airport as often as I can with connections through Dallas. That saves me the O'Hare delays.

gumby · Post by **gumby** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 11:48 am

Spokane International, which has no flights international (not even Canada), is a piece of cake. Love it.

Sea-Tac is nice, I think, as airports go. Light, airy food court with clam chowder from Ivar's.

Portland has the light rail right outside baggage claim. Very cool. Plus, the carpet is so famous it has it's own Facebook Page.

https://www.facebook.com/The-Carpet-at- ... /timeline/

Sky Harbor works for me, and I love that El Bravo is there.

La Guardia, ick. Newark, oof. JFK, so far away.

Denver, too far away.

CatsbyAZ · Post by **CatsbyAZ** » Wed Sep 23, 2015 6:47 pm

Flew through La Guardia for the first time earlier today.

I've never seen an airport where one terminal (D gates) was an utter dump while the next terminal over (C) was among the best I've walked through. Obviously major renovations were at play, and wisely, they've added expansive sports & wine bars all across the terminals. At least 7 I counted. For once the designers realized, especially for the rush-rush New York demographic, that if people have to wait more than an hour they want a few drinks. Right near the 38-42 gates two big bars were waiting and on the other end (gates 10-12) gate seating was fitted with tables so alcohol could be served via waitress from the island bar directly to the gate areas. There was a local wine wholesaler too, plus an organic foods market in the center of the terminal. Good décor and bright colorful new carpeting too. Surprisingly impressed.

VoltronX · Post by **VoltronX** » Fri Sep 25, 2015 7:19 pm

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..

Login • Register