Let''s talk airports
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by AdiS » August 6th, 2009, 9:52 pm
Oh, I''ll never forget the airport in Hurghada, Egypt. All of the information screens were in Arabic only so there was no way for us to understand which way to go, where to wait for our luggage and on top of that, the airport staff only spoke in Russian for some reason. Russian and Bulgarian have some common words, but not enough to have a real conversation. We were running around, absolutely clueless as to where to go and what to do. lol
The people there were actually really friendly and nice, even though they seemed to find our efforts to have a conversation in English really amusing. All in all, I have fond memories of that airport. 
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My favorite airport is Munich, Germany because it's super-clean, modern, and user-friendly -- and not too big. I'm not a big fan of Frankfurt airport at all.
I love Heathrow for the shops & food (hello, Gordon Ramsay!), but not at all for the long security lines and transfer times. Don't particularly like the Boston airport, mostly because of bad memories during Christmas travel -- nightmare chaos. I hate Newark -- what's good about that airport? |
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Worst airports:
Atlanta (seems like I arrive at Gate A, depart at Gate C -- but they''re ordered A, B, D, E, F, G, H, I........C!) Tokyo-Narita (hate how bright and sterile everything is) Bangkok (so dirty and hectic) Vegas (get sick of the sound of slots!!) Best airports: LAX (lots to do) Singapore/Changi (very relaxing) Zurich (the Swiss do everything right) Sydney (I know I''m almost back to Perth and can pick up some KK doughnuts on the way through!) Because I always fly the cheapest way possible, I''ve been through countless airports on massive layovers. Though some are more acceptable than others, I really hate them all. The next great thing to look forward to is the 14 hour layover I have in Auckland in October.  |
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That''s not quite right. Atlanta is my home airport and I fly out of there weekly. The gates go T, A, B, C, D, E. A transfer is really only bad when you"re tight on time and arrive in E and need to get to T or A. The train system is very efficient and unless you arrive after midnight, they''re running. I agree it''s huge and can be hard at times to navigate, but for as big as it is and as much traffic as goes thru there on a daily basis, they do a great job moving people around. |
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I''ve obviously not well researched it -- I was sure I was always going from A to C and it seemed like MILES away! I never saw any sort of train system though. Maybe when I was younger and traveling with my mother, she was too petrified to use it. Hence hoofing it all over Atl!
 I felt like I was preparing for a marathon every time I flew down south to visit my brother. Haven''t been through there in at least 8 years now though.
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I spent a LOT of time in airports. It''s insane really.
Most of my favorite airports revolve around where the car rental facility is in relation to the airport and what kind of food options there are for the inevitable layovers I seem to face. Favorites: Ohare: I like that they have a Garrett''s Popcorn. DH loves the stuff (okay, me too) and I don''t always have time to go get it for him from a store in town. Ridiculous reason to love an airport, I know. Reagan Nat''l: I love the proximity of the rental car facility to the airport and that I can walk it. I am forever running late back to catch my flight and know that I can get to the terminal after dropping off the car with a 5 min walk. I also like that they have a laptop area really close to my gate. I''ve spent A LOT of quality time with flight delays in Reagan and like that I can have a decent place to sit and work. I do HATE trying to drive out of the airport. I find it really confusing and even after flying in there about 15 times this year, I still get turned around from time to time. Detroit: I just spend several hours in Detroit. Lots of shops, lots of restaurants and I love that their train runs thru the terminal. I just think it''s cool. Seattle: Lots of shops, lots of food options and the food is at "street prices", so you don''t get gouged. I also tend to like any small airport where getting thru security takes no time at all..... Least Favorites: BWI (Baltimore): It''s an EIGHT minute bus ride from the airport facility to the terminal. Eight minutes! Craziness I tell you. That''s enough that I''ll avoid it at all costs. Unless I have business only in Baltimore, I will fly in elsewhere. I just don''t love them overall either. Kansas City: I loathe the fact that all food, restrooms, newstands, etc are on the NON-screened side of security. The have different points where you enter the waiting area for your flight, but the waiting area is rather small and only encompasses a couple of gates. The line to get thru isn''t bad if a flight has just boarded, but if it''s the prime time people are arriving, it''s backs up like crazy. They only have one person checking boarding passes/IDs generally, though they do have 2 x-ray machines. My gripe is that if you need to run to the restroom, you have to go back outside and then get re-screened. It''s just a pain in the neck. Peoria, IL: (I live an exciting life. Can you tell?) Small airport so they only open security right before a flight is going to leave, which I guess isn''t all that often! I got stuck there for five hours a few weeks ago after the flight I was trying to get on standby was overweight for the number of people and pieces of luggage they have. Don''t get me started on that nightmare- there were seats available.... At any rate, five hours in an airport that only had week old sandwiches and a couple of soda options was HELL. New Orleans: The food options are just awful. You''d think in a city known for food they would do a better job with this. |
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You have the option to "hoof it" thru the tunnels or take the train system, both of which run below ground. There are moving sidewalks if you choose to walk, but occassionally some of them will be down. We got a flight delay one year and landed around midnight in terminal E. And the trains were shut down. And they were doing flooring replacement work in the tunnels. The HVAC was shut off to minimize dust. And the water was turned off. It was about 80 degrees down there. And it''s 1.5 miles to baggage claim. Half of the moving sidewalks were shut down too. It was a HORRIFIC experience. I hope to never repeat it! |
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I like Heathrow - lots and lots of shops.
O Hare is ok, sometimes I don''t mind it, other times I find it to feel kind of dirty. Probably depends where you are in the place. I like Pittsburgh, seemed clean and friendly, and had some decent shops to wander around through. I don''t much like Atlanta, but I''ve just never had any good experiences there. The staff there that I encountered were not very courtious to us at all, and after having to spend the night there last year, I''m just bitter. |
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Favourite airports:
Singapore! - Clean, interesting, loads of shops, friendly staff, and there''s always something interesting going on Inchon - It feels like a museum - high end shops, marble, high ceilings...it''s lovely Frankfurt - clean and efficient Schipol (Amsterdam) - clean, efficient, and friendly with good shops Copenhagen - a little confusing, but easy to get outside and get fresh air, and easy to take the train into town from inside the airport. Least favourites: Madrid - unhelpful staff, too big, too complicated, impossible to make a tight connection unless you arrive 30 minutes earlier than expected, only have carry on luggage, and RUN Charles de Gaulle - I am convinced this airport is actually the armpit of the world New Delhi - Too small. WAY too small Marrakesh - Feels like a bus station, not an airport JFK - Is this where the drunks and crackheads hang out instead of on the street? Seriously, I watched a woman (a very, very high woman) pee in a corner while waiting for a flight. |
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OooOoOoO... I am with you on ALL you have said... I am going to Germany in 3 weeks and will go through Frankfurt and I do not like that airport at all, but Munich is really nice!!! Boston is alright, but unfriendly.... and Newark, nothing good to say about it. Montreal airport is really confusing... Heathrow is terrible, when I went through last time, they "lost" my luggage and was missing for 4 days!!!! ruined part of my trip :P |
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LMAO! Can''t say I''ve had the honor of witnessing that in JFK before. Which terminal was it in? Delta terminal is fairly nice, but there are many more I''ve never seen. I hate JFK just for the pain of having to drive there ... and for how far away the parking garage seems to be from the Delta terminal. Not very well designed. For home airports, I like things that are easy in and out. For some weird reason, I love flying out of LGA in the Continental terminal. It''s always totally dead and has zero lines. It''s great! No restaurants to speak of, but that doesn''t matter when you''re just waiting for your flight at 8am. LGA does tend to have delays, but they''re usually only 15-20 min, so I don''t mind. I just love how easy it is to get in an out (and driving there isn''t that bad either; you tend to miss much of the traffic). But I''m weird, because most of my co-workers hate LGA. I just say it''s because they''re not flying Continental. Detroit: All my lay overs there are short, but I always want to stop at some of the restaurants, which is a good sign. Especially the wine bar that I''m always running by  Pittsburgh: Was my home airport growing up and they did a really good job on this airport (they built it when I was a kid, so it''s pretty new). People in the area used to use it as a shopping mall until the whole rule about going through security came up. White Plains: Tiny airport, two gates, super easy. Though it''s been crowded lately, and they cancelled the flight to Cleveland, so I never go there anymore  Honestly, I fly LGA to Cleveland 90% of the time. Cleveland is a huge pain with long walks, a 10 min ride to the rental cars, and poor food (used to be better). I really only fly there for the Continental miles at this point. Columbus is much better, though food quality isn''t great. |
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Ditto, and the first class lounge there (combined for all airlines) is gorgeous! Amsterdam also has a really nice airport IMO. Domestically, I like Denver a lot. While it's large, I feel like they are generally very efficient. Boston is my local airport, and I never ever check luggage anymore because they have the slowest baggage claim ever. I also fly in an out of O'Hare a lot for work, and while the airport itself isn't awful, the amount of time I've spent delayed there is pretty high. I also hate Charles De Gaulle, and try to avoid it if at all possible. |
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LAX is my home airport and it''s an awful one, IMHO. International terminal sucks once you are past security. I also fly out of United and American a lot and for a big airport, these terminals suck too.
San Jose airport sucks too...I hope the new overhaul is a huge improvement. Right now I like any airport with a Vino Volo in it. It''s just so civilized and gets me away from the hub bub. |
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Ditto there! I used to visit my cousin often, and always hated that airport |
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Oh LORD, the Kansas City airport is AWFUL! I can't imagine having a layover there. There's absolutely nothing to do and the security checkpoint and barrier from restrooms and restaurants is ridonkulous.
I've never been a fan of the Atlanta airport, maybe its improved recently though. In the past, I've waited 2-3 hours just to check-in (Thanksgiving holiday) and the trains have smelled of urine for years. Although, the last time I flew through Atlanta, about a year ago, the smell had significantly improved and the airport seemed much cleaner. I've never NOT had a delay when connecting in O'Hare. Much prefer Midway Airport. JFK and LaGuardia are both just fine in my book. I don't love them, but I don't have any real complaints (never been delayed flying through either). Pittsburgh airport is great! Great food, bars, and shopping. Very clean. Detroit airport was surprising really nice and clean. The teeniest airport I've flown through is Bloomington, IL. It has a total of 4 gates, LOL. Amsterdam airport is lovely! Open, clean, and beautiful! |
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The music that goes along with the Denver airport train cracked me up every time I heard it. My care-free friend would do a little cowboy dance every time it came on. I laughed every time. |
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 lol...
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ATL takes the cake for me on most-hated airport: I spent 8 hours with delays there once, as flight after flight after flight was overbooked. The only reason we got out of there AT ALL is because my husband''s company stepped in. And in the meantime, the food was wretched, the layout was done by Escher''s dyslexic cousin, and the general ambiance was one of despair. Bleh. I will go out of my way to avoid ever having to spend time there again.
I think airports are like the opposite of pizza, in that even when they''re good, they''re pretty bad, but I will say that O''Hare, the Dallas airport, whatever it is called, and the JetBlue terminal at JFK all stand out as being better than the rest. Everything in between the two extremes is ... eh. |
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Re: the highlighted part: No way! That''s where I saw the crazy lady peeing in the corner. I guess that''s what I get for being there at 11 on a Friday night, but still.... |
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I agree I was in shock that people didn't throw their trash away like they were too inconvenienced to do so. I even sat next to a guy that was eating and drink and left his trash right on the chair next to me and it wasn't just one isolated case, so many people did that. It was almost as if others saw someone doing that that they thought it was okay to do the same. Ick and so rude!  
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As soon as I got off the plane I noticed the floors were really dirty. In the bathroom a lot of the stalls had no tp, doors didn''t lock etc.. We went into Baja Fresh to get lunch before taking off & there was slop all over the prep area, floors oh my.. - they needed to be inspected. I could not wait to get on my connecting flight, lol. |
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So freaking true. I hate the Charles de Gaulle airport like burning. Its quite the torture if you''re incredibly jet lagged. I found the train stations to be, incredibly, worse however. Nothing like being mugged at 3AM at Gare du Nord after getting off a train. Schipol was much better; everyone was polite and it was clean and stuff. I remember mostly that Heathrow was dirty, dirty, dirty. Grubbiness everywhere. I actually missed most of the airports in Europe. We did much more travel by train and bus than airplane. My local airport is Seatac, and it''s actually OK. Clean, OK food selection, moderately polite workers (I always beep at the gates, so consequently I always get wanded, which makes my bra underwire beep, which means I get my boobs grabbed every time I travel. Seatac employees are the only ones who regularly WARN me at least.) The Vegas airport almost made me lose it. I don''t do real well with loud repetitive annoying noise, and the slots just about drove me nuts after a few hours. I vaguely remember the Houston airport to be fairly decent, good food and clean. The airport in San Jose, Costa Rica wasn''t bad, considering. It was quite clean. Some woman''s child was running wild there, and I wanted to hogtie the bratling before he killed someone with his little rubber bouncy ball he kept rolling under people''s feet, but that wasn''t the airport''s fault. Nice employees. |
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Wow that seems really random! Anyone have an idea why? Are there a lot of Russian tourists in Egypt? Business people? |
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Yes, in fact there are. Later on we found out that maybe 80% of the guests staying at our hotel were Russians. Probably that''s why many of the locals, not only the ones at the airport, but also in the towns we visited, spoke the language pretty well, as far as I was able to tell. |