MY Favorite or Worst Airports! and WHY!

[EYE_Overstand]

So after getting in a debate on the "YYC Airport Updates" thread, it occurred to me that many people on these forums have travelled quite a bit and can provide some decent insight to where their Favorite or Worst Airports? are... and WHY!

I thought this thread might serve as a reference to where some of us want to choose a layover or simply just a list of entertaining, efficient, passenger friendly, etc etc etc Airports.

Favorite Airport:

Beijing:

Big + NEW + Impressive that this emerging market made such a massive airport that transits SO MANY but has never seemed to be FULL or over whelming. Maybe it is because the ceilings are ridiculously high in 90% of the areas. I was in shanghai once and the taxi line up was over an hour long...... NOT because of the lack of taxis but because sooooooo many passengers had arrived at the same time and leaving the airport became a major headache. Coming back to Beijing... i really liked taking a train from the landing and immigration gate to the baggage claim. it takes about 3 minutes total but just a fun ride and a big finger to the world and saying that this airport is BIG NEW and designed well.

Vancouver:

Besides constant issues with the air canada and west jet local baggage claim wait times (i come to vancouver 4 times a year and travel through vancouver another 4-6 times a year).... this airport is very nice and has a very western Canadian feel. Its a place that i feel happy where so many new tourists first get welcomed to Canada. Sometimes it seems to take so long to taxi, after landing, to the gate. Regardless, Vancouver airport feels new and fresh. Very friendly staff and decent food choices.

Honorable Mention:

Hong Kong.

Just liked the to and from accessibility and the views from waiting areas. food was decent and things seemed and felt very organized.

Worst Airport:

Chicago Ohare:

Passenger wait area and Baggage claim. The wait area was soooo small that most people who were on my flight were standing or were forced to look at the sh*ty souvenir shops. The airport was so busy and even the chills wait was 30 minutes. I do love that they had a mcdonalds in the terminal.... better than burger king airport options. The Baggage claim area was so small and took so long that i had time to go to the washroom, go buy a drink, and mess around on my phone for 15 minutes before anything came out. Also when visiting the GREAT city of CHICAGO, be sure to budget enough time for travel from DT because the traffic to and from is ridiculous.


Most Recent Layover Experience:

The Good

Minnesota

Felt kinda like a shopping mall. Rows of shopping and quite a bit of food choices. and those food choices had small lines. I hate when i need food fast and everything is under employed or just flooded with people looking to order or pick up an order. i had a late dinner at one place and a few beers at another establishment. Both not bad for the price but the bar i sat at had like 30 beers on tap, and 10 of them were local. kinda nice.

From my arriving flight to my connecting flight i had to walk what seemed like city blocks hahaha. not that i mind that BUT keep in mind if your layover will be short.

The Bad:

Portland and Seattle

For how under rated these 2 cities sometimes seem to be... their airports are so small and out dated. I had to spend 6 hours in seattle (weather issues) and 3 hours in Portland, and both seemed to lack in quality food and drinking holes and just sheer comfort.



* i went from start to finish on this thread in about 10 minutes so please ignore spelling mistakes and grammar mistakes. i just indulged in some rolled goodness and didn't feel like proof reading hahahaha. Thanks.

[saskflames69]

The Best:
1. Vancouver - amazing airport, everything was fresh and new.
2. LAX (can't remember which terminal) - awesome.
3. Minneapolis-St. Paul - 7 hour layover? Mall of America is across the street.

The Worst:
1. Winnipeg before renovations - my god.
2. Honolulu - Such a dated airport, and I'm not too keen on the whole indoor/outdoor thing.
3. Hamilton, ON - not sure why we even ended up at that airport in the first place.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by saskflames69

The Worst:

2. Honolulu - Such a dated airport, and I'm not too keen on the whole indoor/outdoor thing.

And for me, the Honolulu airport is one of the best because of the indoor/outdoor thing. But it was a big mental adjustment coming, as I do, from Canada, a place where indoor/outdoor buildings aren't the best of ideas.

[evman150]

I'm going through SeaTac, O'Hare, Logan (Boston), and JFK in the next four days. Oh god.

[saskflames69]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

And for me, the Honolulu airport is one of the best because of the indoor/outdoor thing. But it was a big mental adjustment coming, as I do, from Canada, a place where indoor/outdoor buildings aren't the best of ideas.

It was an okay airport in terms of layout, accessibility, food options etc, but still pretty dated and it was difficult to tell whether or not I was indoors or outdoors, especially when checking in. There's carpet on the floors, but there's no wall on two sides!

[Nammer403]

One of the nicest I've been to is Heathrow and Barcelonas airport

[Yasa]

Good: Bangkok Suvarnabhumi. Clean, easy to navigate, good food. Denver is also good.

Decent: Singapore. I only spent time in the budget terminal. It was dated, but quick and easy to get through. Good internet spots after the security checkpoint.

Hobart, Adelaide, Melbourne Tullamarine. Nothing special about either. They did their job. Hobart had security beagles though, so +1.

Phoenix is also alright.

Worst: St. Louis, LAX. Both of them are dirty and outdated. Busy and expensive with terrible food options. Going through customs in LA was annoying.

[ben voyonsdonc]

I actually really prefer the smaller airports...it is so nice to avoid the lineups and stresses of the big airports. I travel a lot for work and the less time I'm in an airport the better.

Worst airport - Pearson...by a wide margin.

[Komskies]

EYE_Overstand, ever been though Atlanta? I once read that it's the busiest airport in the world (or at least it was at one point).

[GreatWhiteEbola]

As a person with reduced mobility, O'Hare is a nightmare.

[EYE_Overstand]

Originally Posted by Komskies

EYE_Overstand, ever been though Atlanta? I once read that it's the busiest airport in the world (or at least it was at one point).

Yes i have!..... it was amazing how i went on the gate 2 gate tram and went from like B gate to J and it took so long! i couldn't imagine walking that. we were flying from Houston to Chicago with a 30 minute layover in atlanta. when we arrived to atlanta and to the time we made it to our gate.... our connecting flight was finished boarding 1st class.

ATL's airport is BIG!

[Acey]

This is pretty subjective. I've only ever been to terminal E at IAH, had a quick taxi, and we were firing off runway 9 heading to YYC. But I've heard horror stories about terminals A + B. Same with DFW's new terminal. My ORD experiences have also been fine. A poster above stated that Heathrow is nice, but I recall reading a thread on airliners.net called "Heathrow is hell on Earth" a little while ago. Major airports have good days and bad days... unless it's EWR or PHL, in which case every day sucks.

[EYE_Overstand]

Originally Posted by Acey

This is pretty subjective. I've only ever been to terminal E at IAH, had a quick taxi, and we were firing off runway 9 heading to YYC. But I've heard horror stories about terminals A + B. Same with DFW's new terminal. My ORD experiences have also been fine. A poster above stated that Heathrow is nice, but I recall reading a thread on airliners.net called "Heathrow is hell on Earth" a little while ago. Major airports have good days and bad days... unless it's EWR or PHL, in which case every day sucks.

i had a good experience there as well.

it is a pretty subjective and broad topic but its nice to hear from everybody. its like reading the Yelp and/or trip advisor comments and forming some sort of reason for picking that place or passing.

[Cheerio]

My favorite airport is Kahului in Maui. Just something about getting off the plane and immediately having the humidity and beautiful smells hit you

[Buff]

Originally Posted by saskflames69

It was an okay airport in terms of layout, accessibility, food options etc, but still pretty dated and it was difficult to tell whether or not I was indoors or outdoors, especially when checking in. There's carpet on the floors, but there's no wall on two sides!

I would have to disagree with what you say about Honolulu's airport. It is probably my favorite. Who cares if you are indoors or outdoors, you're in freakin' Hawaii. I just love how open everything is there and the airport is one of those places. I don't really agree on it being dated either. That is what Hawaii is about. It does have the places that attract the ridiculously rich, but it doesn't need to have the latest and hottest designs and materials in their buildings. Go to Vegas if you're looking for that.

[EYE_Overstand]

Originally Posted by Buff

I would have to disagree with what you say about Honolulu's airport. It is probably my favorite. Who cares if you are indoors or outdoors, you're in freakin' Hawaii. I just love how open everything is there and the airport is one of those places. I don't really agree on it being dated either. That is what Hawaii is about. It does have the places that attract the ridiculously rich, but it doesn't need to have the latest and hottest designs and materials in their buildings. Go to Vegas if you're looking for that.

Have you been to the old Vegas airport. Now that place was SHHH*T.

[saskflames69]

Originally Posted by Buff

I would have to disagree with what you say about Honolulu's airport. It is probably my favorite. Who cares if you are indoors or outdoors, you're in freakin' Hawaii. I just love how open everything is there and the airport is one of those places. I don't really agree on it being dated eitherI. That is what Hawaii is about. It does have the places that attract the ridiculously rich, but it doesn't need to have the latest and hottest designs and materials in their buildings. Go to Vegas if you're looking for that.

I get what you mean. It shouldn't matter since it's Hawaii, it's just that it was extremely windy when we got there and raining hard when we left. Definitely not the best experience at that airport, especially at night and in lousy weather. Had we arrived and left during the day when it was nice and sunny, my opinion of the airport would be more favorable.

The dated part was the fact that it was all concrete. I mean, it didn't feel like I had arrived at a place like Honolulu. They were in the process of renovating the place when we were there so hopefully they brighten things up a bit.

[IgnitedSoul]

When I was 12 we had a layover in Frankfurt, and at the time they had those hanging bubble chairs, which I just thought were the coolest things ever. Then last year, my mom had a stop there while they were celebrating the airport's 75th 'birthday', so FRA gets extra brownie points, as I was brought back a little thing of birthday cake.

Flown through Denver multiple times, and overall it's a really nice airport I'd say; however one time we got stuck with a short layover, ran across the whole airport, and then when we got to our gate we got attitude from the lady there. I get why she was grumpy, but it was obvious we hadn't dawdled our way over there.

Speaking of running, and the size of the Atlanta airport... I once sprinted through there, too, only to miss my connection. Had to stay over night and was freezing cold where I was, but every staff person I spoke to was great, and really helpful.

Once flew out of LaGuardia and got the impression that their flights are constantly delayed.

I was also hit with the unexpected joy of walking through "The Tunnel" in Detroit. Definitely did not expect to like that airport so much.

[Manhattanboy]

Worst: New York La Guardia.

[Caged Great]

I've only been to two airports (Pearson and YYC)

They both suck