Airports

For as big as Hartsfield-Jackson is, it is amazingly efficient and easy to get around. Quick, too. You had better hold onto something when that tram starts and stops or you will be picking yourself up off the floor. I, too cannot stand to fly out of IAH - and I have to do it every single week. It takes an hour to get there and another hour to get to my gate. That tram is worthless, too. Exactly how does it benefit anyone by going 2 mph?
 
I also dont understand the hatred for MCI. MCI isn't a hub, its a come or go airport.
yeah, the gates are different from the shops and things, but I guess some of you must be spending 2-4 hours just waiting at MCI to be unhappy with it.

If you screw up and oversleep you can drive up to the terminal, park in the circle parking for $18 per day and STILL get inside the security gate in less than 10 minutes- as long as you use the e-ticket counters.

Yeah, it wasn't designed for post 9/11, but MCI is not a hub, so if you are there, you are either coming or going, and thats what that airport does best.

I remember one flight that I got off the plane (1st out), and walked the 40 feet to the curb, caught the shuttle bus to the long term parking as it was leaving the curb- got taken directly to my car (because no one was on the bus) and was out of the airport in less than 10 minutes FROM LANDING. Thats super fast.

And as Mic said, the longest drive shouldnt be more than 45 minutes to your house.

Anyone been to Providence, RI recently? Now THATS a great airport- very small, but you can get anywhere you need to and very few issues like Logan has.
 
Regarding DFW Terminal D, I have flown out of it once and I think it was a huge improvement over the DFW domestic terminals. I hate walking around the curvilinear Terminals at DFW – hoping to find the newsstand. Plus, the food options suck in the DFW domestic terminals (Dickey’s is good if you are in proximity).

I do know the airport is moving more domestic flights to Terminal D. They do not have the international volume that they want and the merchants are getting upset and were threatening to close up shop.
 
ScoPro,
It's sort of hard to describe, and I haven't been in two-three years, so I'm not sure how accurate it is. The way I remember it is that when you get out of a cab and are facing the main terminal, instead of going in, turn to your left and walk down the sidewalk about 100-150 yards to the next terminal. I'm not sure if that is SWA's "main" terminal or not.
 
I posted your question on the Las Vegas Talk board a while ago. One guy answered that he believed that security check line was closed earlier this year. Dunno if it'll get any more replies.
 
dammit. I'm going with my wife for her 40th birthday early next month, I was hoping to use that. That said, we're coming back on Monday, so the crowds shouldn't be so bad.
 
I flew out of SeaTac yesterday and thought it was definitely one of the better airports that I've ever been in.

Also was in DFW's D terminal for the first time yesterday and loved it. Most everything was closed when I was there, but the food options looked fine to me.

ABIA is the best when it comes to food. Especially now that I see they either have opened or are very close to opening a Mangia Pizza.
 
i flew amsterdam to berlin recently, no customs.

exited the plane, luggage carousel was right there, 30 feet to the cab line.

seemed strange, especially coming from amsterdam.
 
Hartsfield sucks giant rancid donkey ***, trains good? **** that, the last time I was there, trying to connect from DFW to MCO the ******** closed down for fog and they cancelled my flight to Orlando, in fact they cancelled ALL the flights and there was NO places to eat open in any of the terminals and you couldn't catch a train because EVERY ******* TIME THE WORTHLESS PIECE OF **** WAS PACKED WITH OTHER POOR DUMB ******** WHO HAD ALSO HAD THEIR FLIGHTS CANCELLED.

Since there was nothing available to eat and since if I don't eat I get a migraine headache, I had to head off the airport to a hotel so I hoofed it to the front terminal which was about 17 miles away in a crowd that was about the size of the runners in the Boston Marathon, and went to the bus stand where there was like 87 million of us trying to catch a bus and it was foggy and raining and there was an inadequate roof so we were all getting wet at 1am and trying to catch a bus to a hotel ANY HOTEL.

and I finally caught one to a hotel that was like 400 miles away on the other side of the airport ( I think we passed Stone Mountain 3 times getting there on the bus) and thank god there was an Ihop next door so I could get a hamburger after I checked into my $150 a night room to get a NAP of about 2 hours cause the airline booked me on a 6:00 am flight to MCO and I had to get to security an hour and a half ahead of time because of the fact that the dumbass cracker moron georgia hillbilliy Jethro Clampett ******** that "designed" that ******* piece of worthless **** only allowed for about 6 security checkpoints and because the abortion of a design has all 56 concourses perpendicular to ONE spine where that ******* worthless train that so many of you love runs that it takes for ever if you have to come into the airport instead of just making a connection and so that everybody that had left the airport the night before was trying to get back in that it took ******* forever.
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********!!

If Sherman came back to Atlanta and burned it again he should capture the idoits that built that worthless ******** and crush their tiny little heads very slowly and then tear that place down.

Hartsfield is the WORST ******* AIRPORT I HAVE EVER BEEN TO and I have been to Lambert in StLouis. 8 billion people go through the place and you would think that they would have at least one 24 hour eating place in there and signage that directed a hungry traveler to it, BUT NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! they got NOTHING! ********! Oh and **** that train, it's worthless. If Hartsfield disappeared off the face of the earth tomorrow it wouldn't bee to soon. I avoid Hartsfiels like the plague.



The only good part of that travel day was flying into MCO and breezing from the plane to baggage pickup and then 10 feet to the elevator up to where my car was parked on the roof. MCO kicks ***!! They even have it so that if you have any of the Florida toll passes you can breeze right out an exit and the parking fee is deducted from your toll pass. SWEET!

I also like going through MSY to connect cause of the food and it's pretty easy to get out and back through security with a bag of fresh hot beignets. YUM!!!


MIA is pretty cool if you don't have to fly in there and deal with the terminal and parking and all that **** cause the approach to one of the runways goes right over the parking lot of the Sam's that I shop at and you get to see all sorts of planes close up when they are on final approach. 747's are great fun.


and speaking of Tampa their airport isn't the only transportation facility that is pretty well designed, their Cruise Terminal kicks *** too. It's easy to get to at Exit 1 off of I 4 or an easy drive from the airport. Parking garage right there, it's easy to drop off your bags with a porter before you go park, you walk a few feet to the entrance, ride the escalator up and check in and get your sail and sign card, go sit down until they call your group in a few minutes and then walk another 40 feet to where they photograph you and then walk to the skybridge to the ship and WALLA! you are cruising, just like that. Once onboard, it's 15 feet to the first bar, and the party starts. Debarkation is almost as easy (except that I never want to get off the ship and they have to strong arm me
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). Beats the hell out of Miami where you have to walk 18 miles up and down to get to the ship.
 
CDG is fine if you are in Terminal 2D or 2F, the rest seem to be total shitholes. Although 2F is a pain is you have a remote stand because the bus leaves the terminal for your plane like 20-25 minutes before the flight is scheduled to depart and you can easily miss the flight (like I did yesterday) Traffic to/from CDG is nothing short of a disaster at any hour of the day. Train is definately the way to get into town.

Domodedova is a nice airport too but seems to be way too far from town...

London City Airport > Gatwick > Heathrow.

Best Airports:

AUS - love the layout, and am a huge fan of walking (as opposed to taking a bus) to your rental car. Food is great, lots of space, not too noisy, and great Texas pictures everywhere.

LCY - you simply can't beat the location, the size, etc. I have walked into LCY 10 minutes before the scheduled departure, made it through security and arrived at the gate with a couple minutes to spare. Rail connection into the city is great and a taxi won't kill you either.

DEN - although its big, it's always efficient. Trains run frequently, never really had more than a 10 minute wait at security...

AMS - I always had good luck at the Amsterdam airport. Quick checkin, short security lines, never too far to walk to the gates...prefer it to CDG or LHR for connecting flights

Worst Airports

ORD is tolerable in non-winter months especially wtih lounge access. But I hate connecting through ORD in the winter, especially after having been stuck there overnight during Thanksgiving 2 years ago.

LHR is a disaster. aside from the fact that it has a horrible layout and that you have to have a minimum 2 hrs connection time between flights if you have to change terminals, they only have like 2 runways, so 95% of the time you end up circling the airport waiting for your landng slot.

Few comments on other airports not mentioned:

DUB is a small airport that can be hugely crowded in the busy times (namely early mornings during the week, and Fri-Sun). Waiting areas are WAY too small (sometimes smaller than the ones in ORD). If you are flying in from the US during tourist season, the immigration lines can be very long.

Otopeni Airport is small and also very easy to get through. Good wine shop in there as well. Otherwise not too exciting.
 
OK, time for my rant about why Charles de Gaulle is the worst airport I have experienced. First of all, the place is a zoo. Every time I've been in there (6 now, I guess), it's almost impossible to walk because of the people. The concourse outside the gates is way too small in Terminal B. Second, Terminal 3 is pretty bad as well. It's a warehouse with doors. Third, the train station is terrible. You have to wait in line to buy tickets with the rest of your flight, and they're horrible understaffed. What's worse, you can't avoid it because the machines don't take US credit cards. That took me 45 minutes on Sunday. Fourth, I don't mind the driving to a plane if it's reasonable. However, when I arrived two weeks ago, my plane had to park on the other side of the airport from the gate. I had to wait on the plane for 20 minutes while the bus arrived, then the bus ride in a sardine can took another 20 to the gate. Plus, it smells horrible.

Prague's airport is surprisingly nice, very clean and well-signed in English.
 
My favorite airport in America is John Wayne in Orange County. The last two times I flew there, we won the Rose Bowl.

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Seriously, this thread is a perfect example of why hornfans rules. So much good info.
 
any comments on BWI in Baltimore? i flew into there last yr and had one HELLUVA time gettin to a spot for my bro to pick me up. part of that was it bein 2 AM and raining like a mofo.
 
I like Ams airport as well. Lines move quickly, nice lounge chairs, and they have a casino too. If you dont fancy any of that, they have playboy, hustler and any other adult magazine you can think off right in the open. .
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Its the only place where you can see a kid and his dad checking out porn in the stores
 
I cant believe no one has brought up MCO....it is a freaking zoo trying to leave that place.....not bad arriving but departing is always a zoo...
 
I have no problem with Hartsfield (ATL), perhaps because I'm so used to it. If you live in Atlanta or can ride Marta in/out, it kicks ***. Even as a hub it's ok. The tram takes you to each terminal and you arrive/depart at the middle of each terminal to cut down on walking distance to your gate. However, if there's a delay involving ATL, that place is ******.

BWI is alright except for the construction and the fact you have to ride a bus to the rental car area. The rental car area is very nice though. My favorite DC airport if staying in the district is Reagan-National. It's right on the Metro which makes things so easy. Dulles sucks balls (or did when I was there last). It's way the hell out there, the main terminal sucks ***, and you have to take those stupid busses to the new terminal (the new terminal was very nice though).

Charlotte's airport sucks wang. It's arranged like a hand with the fingers splayed out which only serves to guarantee maximum walking distance from your arrival to departure gates.

I wasn't too impressed with San Antonio's airport, but that was due mostly to the construction as well.
 
Seattle has really improved SeaTac. First, they expanded the Terminal A gates which is a serious improvement for American. Second, they have connected most of the terminals with a great shopping/restaurant complex. Very good regional restaurants instead of the standard Sbarros or Burger King. Third, large security check-in locations.

If flying to Asia, I would certainly rank SeaTac over LAX. I still think SFO has a superior International Terminal compared to either – but SeaTac has really improved.

One other note about SFO – the only really troubling security entrance is to the main UAL Terminal (Terminal 3). Recently, they connected all of terminal three, linking the American ad UAL gates. If the UAL lie is bad – walk five minutes to the American Security station that is significantly shorter. Once you have cleared security, just walk back to the UAL gates. Much faster.

I really like SFO – it is my home airport – but it is easy to get around and rarely has long security delays. The only problem is winter storms that reduce the number of landing runways.
 
I think the reason they don't announce gates sooner than 20 minutes at LHR is that if they did, everyone would be crammed in a tiny little gate area waiting to board - they would prefer you stay in the shopping area so the gate area is not overcrowded. The airlines know the gates well in advance. When I am connecting through LHR from DUB or elsewhere, they usually have the gate number already printed on my onward boarding card.
 
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