Airports - Which Ones Do You Like or Dislike

[rob_just_rob]

Tampa has generally been a good experience.

YTZ (Bishop) is a wet dream compared with YYZ (Pearson).

 

[justmeincal]

I hate CDG and ORD. I don't mind SNA or SAN. I like the airport in Kona. It's a nice way to land in paradise.

Oh, and the old Hong Kong airport was a trip to fly into. I swear you could watch people eating dinner in their apartments as you descended between apartment buildings.

 

[SpeedoMike]

San Francisco is interesting. I think I rode that train atound the airport three times before I finally found out where I was supposed to get off to catch the BART downtown.

me too, and I live here!! yul get used to state-of-the-art futuristic transportation systems like AirTrain...

 

[vince]

Terminal 5 is great, especially if you are in Business or better. The rest of Heathrow is a rabbit's warren of long narrow corridors, bouncey rubber moving walkways, stairs, bad climate control.. it's a mess.

CDG Paris looks good but it's illogical. If you are in a hurry to get a connection, forget about it.

Milan is interesting and not so huge, but very confusing.

Schiphol is nice. Somewhat boring, but easy and it has good train connections and it's not too far from the city center.

The International Terminal at Vancouver is the most beautiful airport I've ever seen. The design and the native art make it a very relaxing and special place to pass through.

Istanbul is OK. It's is really good on the International side. Domestic not so wonderful, but it is easy. They recently banned smoking (finally).

Beijing's old airport wasn't bad in my experience. I have not been to the new one.

Nice is a favourite. It is small and light and has a happy feeling about it.

Dislikes-
Narita in Toyko sucks. It's really uncomfortable and I find it hard to navigate.

Dorval in Montreal.. horrible.

Terminals 1-4 suck at Heathrow.

Miami. Reminds me of cheap condo in S. Fla. and the security was stupidly incompetent.

Orlando. The pink and purple decor makes me want to retch and I hate the whole Disney thing they have going on.

Cairo Eygpt has one nasty dark hole for an airport. Avoid it.

Munich is cold and impersonal like most German airports and so far out of the city that I fell asleep on the train and woke up just as the doors were closing to head back to the city. LOL. I like the hotel there through.

Moscow's Sheremetyevo is very shabby and dark and the officials are the worst I have ever encountered. Rude, lazy, uncarring assholes. I think it is the worst I have ever been in.

 

[BiItalianBro]

PHL: ugh....shoot me
DCA: term A...this 'historic' building, pretty old skool, new main term: a mall with airplanes
ORD: i dont mind it...guess i'm desensitized to it
MDW: old term was a Mexican bus station. new term: a nice mall with airplanes
MIA: smells like pee...no forethought or planning to the layout, staff borders on outright hostile
PIT: a mall with airplanes...albeit many fewer airplanes
SLC: do you think you could make it more sprawling??
LAX: see PHL
MCI: great layout it you are starting or ending there...not so much if you are connecting
JAX: mall with airplanes, very user friendly
IAH:see MCI
ATL and DEN: so functional it hurts

overseas:
Moscow: I will take DME over SVO any day
AMS,FRA,BRU: fave European airports
FCO, CDG, LHR, LGW,: nightmare Euro airports
SIN,HKG,TPE,PVG: fave Asian airports
MNL: creepiest airport in the world...the old PEK term was runner up

BOG: easy arriving, nightmare departing
MEX: the new T2 is amazing, the original T1 can be an ordeal depending on time of day
MBJ: the new terminal is amazing, compared to what it used to be
SCL: best airport in South America, IMHO
GRU: worst airport in South America, IMHO
EZE: depends on the time of day and the mood of the staff at the time (just like the rest of Argentina)

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

Oh! I forgot, I liked Haneda and Narita in Tokyo, they're not necessarily the prettiest I've ever been in but they made sense and were easy to use and were ultra clean. Most other airports are just a blur to me.

 

[D_MisterBater]

like:

DEN
IND (home)
PHX
TUS (not really "international")
PDX
ORD (been there so many times, easy)
ATL
HOU


loathe(!):

DFW (something always goes wrong there)

 

[D_Portelay Porquesword]

Like:
LAX - easy to get around, walking is healthy!
John Wayne Orange County - Smaller, easy to get about
Toronto Pearson - I really loved it. Light and bright, easy to get around
Seattle SeaTac - The parking situation was a little confusing but otherwise logical layout.

Disliked:
Detroit - Just didn't care for it.
Denver - the old one was horrible.
Dallas Fort Worth - Just didn't care for it.
Minneapolis - more walking than LAX

 

[lopo2000]

Have you guys tried Malaysia's airport?

 

[D_Tim McGnaw]

Have you guys tried Malaysia's airport?

Yeah I was in Kuala Lumpur once, the shopping was good there.

 

[D_Harry_Cojones]

Miami has been redone and there is a brand new terminal that is state of the art, check in out

 

[eurotop40]

Like:
Zurich
Amsterdam
Copenhagen
Budapest
Vancouver
Denver
Orlando
Ft. Lauderdale

Dislike:
Milan Malpensa
Rome Fiumicino
Chicago O' Hare
Frankfurt
Munich

 

[TomCat84]

San Diego! The busiest single-runway airport in the United States, and second in the world after London Gatwick (even though they arguably have two runways.) It's small, convenient to downtown (landing aircraft come interestingly close to the high rises), and easy to navigate. The only downside is a runway that is constrained, so there are no long haul trans Pacific or Atlantic international flights- the only international flights are to Mexico and Canada.

 

[ColoradoGuy]

air travel is not much fun these days. but some airports can make it easier and more relaxing. my experiences, but some are old and things change. basically for me, if they have trains to run between terminals, the place is too big and i try to avoid it....

Did I miss something here? You hated every one you listed except Kansas City, or should I say found something to hate about every one you listed except Kansas City. Here's three you should check out since it appears aesthetics are high on your list:

• Frankfurt (FRA)
• Singapore (SIN)
• Hong Kong (HKG)

If you like small facilities, I think you'd enjoy:

• Page, Arizona (PGA). No real terminal to get in the way.
• Papeete, Tahiti (PPT). Ditto.

Despite your dislike of them, "trains" between terminals are just about a necessity for modern aviation facilities.

I'm sorry you didn't like Denver International and found it "too big and looks weird". We'll be sure and ditch the internationally recognized architects next time around and have you give a go at designing the replacement. Haha. No seriously... what would you have proposed for the only major airport to be built in the US in the last 25 years?

Here's a fun fact: did you know it's one of the world’s greenest airports with the largest solar farm in place at a commercial airport in the US? That ought to count for something, huh?

 

[TomCat84]

Did I miss something here? You hated every one you listed except Kansas City, or should I say found something to hate about every one you listed except Kansas City. Here's three you should check out since it appears aesthetics are high on your list:

• Frankfurt (FRA)
• Singapore (SIN)
• Hong Kong (HKG)

If you like small facilities, I think you'd enjoy:

• Page, Arizona (PGA). No real terminal to get in the way.
• Papeete, Tahiti (PPT). Ditto.

Despite your dislike of them, "trains" between terminals are just about a necessity for modern aviation facilities.

I'm sorry you didn't like Denver International and found it "too big and looks weird". We'll be sure and ditch the internationally recognized architects next time around and have you give a go at designing the replacement. Haha. No seriously... what would you have proposed for the only major airport to be built in the US in the last 25 years?

Here's a fun fact: did you know it's one of the world’s greenest airports with the largest solar farm in place at a commercial airport in the US? That ought to count for something, huh?

I like Denver's Airport. It's very well-designed, if a little far from Denver itself. The runway /terminal layout has been VERY well-thought out, and the main terminal is beautiful inside. Again, my only beef with it is that it's a long slog from Downtown, and the freeways in Denver aren't particularly well-kept. Wouldn't hurt to pave them once in awhile. If there's one thing California does well, it's freeway paving.

 

[TomCat84]

And Denver is a pretty fun city. Went there last year for the Chargers/Broncos game. Invesco Field is an amazing stadium- and the trip was a blast, considering my Chargers beat the Donkeys :biggrin:

 

[ColoradoGuy]

And Denver is a pretty fun city. Went there last year for the Chargers/Broncos game. Invesco Field is an amazing stadium- and the trip was a blast, considering my Chargers beat the Donkeys :biggrin:

We let them win... it's part of our multi-season strategy to seduce Chargers fans into a dull complacency. Then we'll whoop up on 'em. :wink:

But Invesco is pretty nice... it ought to be for what it cost. We still call it "The Diaphragm" because of its unique cervical shape, but we say it in a good way.

 

[TomCat84]

We let them win... it's part of our multi-season strategy to seduce Chargers fans into a dull complacency. Then we'll whoop up on 'em. :wink:

But Invesco is pretty nice... it ought to be for what it cost. We still call it "The Diaphragm" because of its unique cervical shape, but we say it in a good way.

The Chargers do a fine job of choking on their own in the playoffs. We dont need help :frown1:

 

[gymfresh]

I live in airports, with the insane amount of flying I've been doing for the past 15 years or so (about 300K BIS miles a year). I can size up an airport pretty quick. I'll mention a few that stand out in my mind.

The best ones seem to be the ones designed and built ergonomically; some of the worst are the ones that have grown through slapping on additions and twisting roadways to accommodate. JFK is a prime example of how NOT to do an airport; the Delta terminal there makes me want to scream. Boston Logan is another mess.

My last home airport, SFO, is actually very sensibly designed, particularly once you get to know it. It has possibly the best international terminal(s) in the US.

My current home airport, FLL, is very manageable, and it will be generations better when they finally redesign and rebuild T3. In fact, if it had 5 terminals in the mold of T1, it would be awesome.

I don't consider MIA to actually be a part of the United States. It's a hideous hybrid of the worst Latin America has to offer, coupled with Guantánamo and a splash of JFK. It deserves to be nuked. But since they seem to be trying to make it over organically, the whole damn thing should take its cue from the stunning new Terminal J.

PBI is small but gracious. It reflects what the ladies who shop Worth Avenue expect in an aeroport. I love, love, love RSW, the new Ft Myers terminal. Orlando makes me crazy; security takes forever.

I may be alone in really liking Chicago O'Hare, but it gets done efficiently what almost no other airport could carry off. ATL is designed like a giant zipper and has the flaw that even if you're on one airline (Delta) you may have to hoof it for miles to connect.

It took a while for the new McNamara terminal at DTW to grow on me, but now I love it. The mile-long train actually works well.

Some airports tried to do things differently, and failed. I find SEA too broken up to be efficient, and the int'l airport where I grew up, IAD, very mistakenly envisioned back in 1962 that the future of air travel would revolve around planes staying way out on the field and mobile lounges ferrying people to and from the terminal. A charming idea when there were 3 flights an hour, but Dulles has been trying to dig itself out of that hole now for 40 years and it's only just starting to make sense. An airport embodiment of the federal bureaucracy -- and they can't even manage to build a rail line to it.

The redesign of Washington National was genius.

I like Kingsford Smith (SYD) a lot, LHR isn't bad once you get used to it, MUC and AMS are models of efficiency. My recollection of MEL Tullamarine was that it was practically in Ballarat. Seemed like hours to get to town, compared to every other major airport in Oz.

The new Hong Kong airport is ginormous and stunning, if a crazy distance from downtown. It strikes me as a gargantuan shopping mall at which planes happen to stop (that was my first impression of PIT, too). Never did get to fly into Kai Tek, with its legendary heart-stopping landings.

On my current wish list to experience are the new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and the new Indy terminal. I was last in IND just 2 days before the new terminal opened. My most frequently visited Asian airports are SIN (very easy and logical) and Tokyo NRT (far more sterile and dull that I could have imagined).

Vancouver added its international terminal brilliantly a few years back -- all airports should take a cue from them on how to modernize. And I've watched Cape Town grow from a quonset hut to a real terminal with jetways (well, for a long time it had only 4 of those). But I hear that they've made remarkable strides at CPT for FIFA 2010, so I'd love to see it now.

I love seeing all airports from the air, but two of my favorites have to be DFW (just massive, with a very unique terminal design) and HNL with its reef runway. I also love lying on Queen Surf beach and watching the planes come and go, knowing that for many of the passengers a lifelong dream is just beginning or coming to an end. I'm always happy to see Diamond Head on the approach, and sad to see it pass as we leave.

Last month I flew into Stewart Newburgh, and the gigantic runway does look incongruous -- at 3600 meters (11,800 feet) long, it is fully 800 feet longer than Newark Liberty International's longest runway.

As much as I love it, I am convinced DEN is possessed by demons. I really did like the old Stapleton.

And as I tell everyone I know, my favorite words in the English language are, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our final approach into the San Francisco International Airport."

 

[TomCat84]

I live in airports, with the insane amount of flying I've been doing for the past 15 years or so (about 300K BIS miles a year). I can size up an airport pretty quick. I'll mention a few that stand out in my mind.

The best ones seem to be the ones designed and built ergonomically; some of the worst are the ones that have grown through slapping on additions and twisting roadways to accommodate. JFK is a prime example of how NOT to do an airport; the Delta terminal there makes me want to scream. Boston Logan is another mess.

My last home airport, SFO, is actually very sensibly designed, particularly once you get to know it. It has possibly the best international terminal(s) in the US.

My current home airport, FLL, is very manageable, and it will be generations better when they finally redesign and rebuild T3. In fact, if it had 5 terminals in the mold of T1, it would be awesome.

I don't consider MIA to actually be a part of the United States. It's a hideous hybrid of the worst Latin America has to offer, coupled with Guantánamo and a splash of JFK. It deserves to be nuked. But since they seem to be trying to make it over organically, the whole damn thing should take its cue from the stunning new Terminal J.

PBI is small but gracious. It reflects what the ladies who shop Worth Avenue expect in an aeroport. I love, love, love RSW, the new Ft Myers terminal. Orlando makes me crazy; security takes forever.

I may be alone in really liking Chicago O'Hare, but it gets done efficiently what almost no other airport could carry off. ATL is designed like a giant zipper and has the flaw that even if you're on one airline (Delta) you may have to hoof it for miles to connect.

It took a while for the new McNamara terminal at DTW to grow on me, but now I love it. The mile-long train actually works well.

Some airports tried to do things differently, and failed. I find SEA too broken up to be efficient, and the int'l airport where I grew up, IAD, very mistakenly envisioned back in 1962 that the future of air travel would revolve around planes staying way out on the field and mobile lounges ferrying people to and from the terminal. A charming idea when there were 3 flights an hour, but Dulles has been trying to dig itself out of that hole now for 40 years and it's only just starting to make sense. An airport embodiment of the federal bureaucracy -- and they can't even manage to build a rail line to it.

The redesign of Washington National was genius.

I like Kingsford Smith (SYD) a lot, LHR isn't bad once you get used to it, MUC and AMS are models of efficiency. My recollection of MEL Tullamarine was that it was practically in Ballarat. Seemed like hours to get to town, compared to every other major airport in Oz.

The new Hong Kong airport is ginormous and stunning, if a crazy distance from downtown. It strikes me as a gargantuan shopping mall at which planes happen to stop (that was my first impression of PIT, too). Never did get to fly into Kai Tek, with its legendary heart-stopping landings.

On my current wish list to experience are the new Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport and the new Indy terminal. I was last in IND just 2 days before the new terminal opened. My most frequently visited Asian airports are SIN (very easy and logical) and Tokyo NRT (far more sterile and dull that I could have imagined).

Vancouver added its international terminal brilliantly a few years back -- all airports should take a cue from them on how to modernize. And I've watched Cape Town grow from a quonset hut to a real terminal with jetways (well, for a long time it had only 4 of those). But I hear that they've made remarkable strides at CPT for FIFA 2010, so I'd love to see it now.

I love seeing all airports from the air, but two of my favorites have to be DFW (just massive, with a very unique terminal design) and HNL with its reef runway. I also love lying on Queen Surf beach and watching the planes come and go, knowing that for many of the passengers a lifelong dream is just beginning or coming to an end. I'm always happy to see Diamond Head on the approach, and sad to see it pass as we leave.

Last month I flew into Stewart Newburgh, and the gigantic runway does look incongruous -- at 3600 meters (11,800 feet) long, it is fully 800 feet longer than Newark Liberty International's longest runway.

As much as I love it, I am convinced DEN is possessed by demons. I really did like the old Stapleton.

And as I tell everyone I know, my favorite words in the English language are, "Ladies and gentlemen, we have begun our final approach into the San Francisco International Airport."

I love flying too actually. Ever flown into SAN at night while riding on the left side of the plane? A-freakin-mazing!