MY Favorite or Worst Airports! and WHY!

[tete]

The baggage area of T2 at CDG is some kind of hell - just got back from there yesterday and when we flew in a couple weeks ago, I couldn't believe how small and dingy and non air conditioned the baggage retrieval area was, considering these were all international flights coming in, so usually 200+ people. There were also so few places to sit in the departures area, which sucked.

Winnipeg's new airport terminal is quite nice - very bright, a good number of places to eat for the size of the terminal, I quite like it. I used to fly out of the Saskatoon airport frequently and although the lack of food on in the departures area is annoying, it's still a pretty nice little airport.

[saskflames69]

I really don't understand the hate for LAX. Yes, switching terminals is a PITA but I liked it. So much hustle and bustle you're not used to at Saskatoon's or Calgary's or Edmonton's. Lots of shops and restaurants past security. Yes the terminals are 40+ years old but they're still attractive buildings. I guess wifi is a bit of an issue but when you're only there for two hours it's not that bad.

[FurnaceFace]

9/11 probably improved LAX because before that anyone could go through security and get to the gate areas. There used to be piles of gypsy looking women begging for your change. Only airport I ever witnessed that in.

[EYE_Overstand]

I LOVE visiting NYC as much as the next man.... but its funny how many people hate on all their airports

[OffsideSpecialist]

I've been to two that I can remember (I can't remember the airports in Calgary, Edmonton or Vancouver well enough)

I hate Pearson because it seems every time I go there our plane is delayed by 5+ hours.
The other airport is Charlottetown. It was about the size of a grocery store, but at least I was able to find my luggage without a problem.

[Bigtime]

Originally Posted by saskflames69

I really don't understand the hate for LAX. Yes, switching terminals is a PITA but I liked it. So much hustle and bustle you're not used to at Saskatoon's or Calgary's or Edmonton's. Lots of shops and restaurants past security. Yes the terminals are 40+ years old but they're still attractive buildings. I guess wifi is a bit of an issue but when you're only there for two hours it's not that bad.

Is LAX the largest airport you have been to? Thus the "hustle and bustle" comment? LAX is a dump, and much larger airports do the hustle and bustle a million times better, some while being perpetually under construction (Frankfurt).

[EYE_Overstand]

i never want to leave or arrive at this airport. i believe its in the carribean somewhere. i stumbled across it on tumblr. i don't know if its functioning or not.

[FurnaceFace]

^
The above is Saba. It's 1300 feet long which is fine for prop planes. They aren't landing jets there.

EDIT: Saba is on this list. It seems pretty pedestrian compared to a few others. http://blogington.com/9-most-insane-airports/

[TheCommodoreAfro]

Do a fair bit of travelling in APAC so most of my choices reflect that:
1) Haneda (Tokyo) - Just a couple of years old with it's brand new international terminal. Clean, modern and laid out in a way that there is enough to do see without it being disorganized or in your face. And the most efficient airport I've been to - average of not more than 12 minutes from arrival to check in to security clearnace through immigration to gate (or lounge if I'm lucky). Free wifi.
2) Hong Kong - would fly there specifically for the shopping. Huge, but efficient with good food options. Free wifi.
3) YVR international. Just very well laid out and nice. Expensive duty free though.
4) YYC - but for more sentimental reasons as I'm not there as much as I'd like to be.

Worst:
1) Manila - Just flew there a couple of weeks ago. A dive.
2) Shanghai Hongqiao - It's like flying into the service wonderland of 1970's communist China. Even the lounge there is like a glorified sitting area with a fridge serving mostly inedible grub.
3) Seattle - Really poorly laid out, completely dicky immigration staff and just a general old, underdeveloped feeling to the amenities. It's like they tried to make the innefficiencies of LAX on a slightly smaller scale.
4) Do they still have that Edmonton airport in Leduc? Don't like that at all....

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Best.....

LaGurdia: Yeah it's ugly as hell and I always think the plain will miss the runway and plunge into the water......but its way faster than JFK (it ALWAYS has delays and even taxiing can take 30 minutes), and really convenient compared to the other two.

Perhaps if you're taking a cab at non-peak hours, otherwise it's a nightmare. Try getting to LGA at 5 on a friday, it's impossible. Both JFK and EWR offer great public transit connections, which is particularly great at peak hours as it takes the 'is there an accident on the bridge?' aspect out of it.

Not to mention the cost factor, a trip to JFK via subway is $7.50, EWR via subway and NJ Transit is $15.00. There's really no public transit option to LGA, so you're looking at a $30+ cab each way to get to and from Midtown.

Sad moral of the story, they all suck in their own way

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Bigtime

Is LAX the largest airport you have been to? Thus the "hustle and bustle" comment? LAX is a dump, and much larger airports do the hustle and bustle a million times better, some while being perpetually under construction (Frankfurt).

I just did LAX this weekend and have done so a few times in the last 2-3 years. I think it's improved quite a bit since even 5 years ago. It's not pretty, or the most efficient, but it didn't seem as chaotic or congested as before. Definitely not as terrible as I remember it to be 10 years ago. You want to see stupid chaos, visit Logan!

I love those giant glass tubes they have outside, and the LAX sign is great too.

[Superflyer]

Came across these from Frommers

World's 10 Most Beautiful Airport Terminals
1. Bilbao Airport Main Terminal
2. Carrasco International Airport, Montevideo, Uruguay
3. Madrid Barajas Terminal 4
4. Marrakech Menara Airport Terminal 1, Marrakech, Morocco
5. Singapore Changi International Airport Terminal 3
6. JFK Terminal 5, New York, NY
7. Wellington Airport "Rock" Terminal, Wellington, New Zealand
8. Seoul Incheon Airport, Incheon, South Korea
9. Leif Eriksson Air Terminal, Keflavik, Iceland
10. Jeddah Hajj Terminal, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia


The 10 Worst Airport Terminals
1. JFK Airport Terminal 3, New York City
2. Manila Airport Terminal 1, Philippines
3. Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport Terminal B/C, Russia
4. Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi
5. Paris -- Charles de Gaulle Airport, Terminal 3
6. Amman Queen Alia Airport
7. LaGuardia Airport US Airways Terminal, New York City
8. Newark Airport Terminal B
9. "Paris" Beauvais Airport, France
10. Chicago Midway Airport

[Acey]

Terminal B at EWR is disgusting. Surprised it's not higher on the list.

[Neeper]

I really liked Barcelona. I thought that was a beautiful airport. Hong Kong was nice as well. All the airports in Hawaii are awesome, because well.... it's Hawaii.

I hate Newark, NJ's airport. LAX is too dated now. Denver was nice.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Worst airport

1) Worst of all time. Nairobi. What a craphole considering it is East Africa's main airport. And this was the nice side - the "international terminal". Only had crappy benches for about 25 people, and 1 lousy coffee shop. About 6 places to buy smokes and booze though. Dirty, hot, and jsut crappy all over. Agents have cardboard signs they stealthily put up over the gate with no annoucements. Hope you like lines, as you can spend hours if you want get to the Kenyan Airways counter for help. Place was tiny too - About the size of the main floor at the Bay in Downtown Calgary except in a 25 foot wide strip. It's a circular building like the old Toronto T1. It's a major hub into Kigali but the Mountain Gorillas in Rwanda were worth it though. Oh and they lost my backpack here right before I went on a 15 day safari....I was luck to get it back as lost luggage here tends to stay lost....

Here's some pics:

yes it's that's narrow. Notice the lack of seats...anywhere. That plasma is bogus, none were working when we were there 2 years ago.


Seats are these weird roll around on your own deals. Usually all pushed into a corner. Note the everpresent unfinished construction:

Update: Nairobi (NBO) burned to a crisp yesterday. Hopefully they bulldoze it and replace it with something better, but my guess is that it'll take 5-8 years to replace what was the (pitiful) hub (or armpit) of air traffic in Eastern Africa. While something is better than nothing - if you've been through NBO, you do contemplate if nothing would be better....

Hopefully something temporary can be setup.







I think this was right by the Kenyan Airways counter:



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-23598012


This sounds distinctly....about right.

Fire engines did not begin to arrive for one to two hours after the fire broke out, witnesses told our correspondent - by which time the blaze was ravaging the cavernous and ageing arrivals hall.
Kenya's police and fire units are poorly resourced and the state response was supplemented by the Red Cross and private security firms including - airport authorities said - the British multinational company G4S.
One witness told AP news agency she had seen soldiers and police trying to douse the inferno using buckets of water.


Got any AFFF foam amigos?

[Cowperson]

Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania . . . . both the best and the worst.

Pretty funky to get off the plane in a place like that at around midnight, go through an indifferent customs pretty fast, miss the group you're supposed to hook up with and step outside into the night and find yourself alone with bats madly circling all around you. I remember thinking, "That's Africa baby!!!" Then I went back inside and eventually found where I was supposed to be. But there's not a lot to do at Kilimanjaro airport if you have to wait there a few hours before you leave.

I like most airports, good or bad, just because they're warrens to be explored.

The monorails in San Francisco, Las Vegas and at Newark make them pretty interesting. San Antonio is apparently highly rated but I never figured out why after passing through there a few times. Old and boring.

Rome seems like a pretty horrible airport. Like something out of the 1950's.

Milan was nice and modern. I liked Amsterdam's airport. Ditto Seattle. I liked O'Hare, Phoenix and Vancouver.

I can't remember much about Denver and Orlando. Toronto seemed septic and boring. Heathrow and Newark - also with a monorail at the latter - seemed to be dated.

Kona, Hawaii is too small for what it does. Departures can get very crowded there. The open air theme is cool, like Kahuluia on Maui, but the latter does it much better.

Calgary is probably one of the best airports I've seen.

I like airports though. Ultimately, they all do the same thing but they can be quite different. Most of them are interesting if you only have to be there two or three hours. Good or bad.

My two cents.

Cowperson

[Huntingwhale]

The Las Vegas airport a couple days ago really frustrated me. None of the employees soom to know where anything is, and I was mislead every single time I asked someone a question. It was only by fluke I was able to find where l was supposed to go.

[Barnes]

Pittsburgh is an interesting one. A large airport with a land side terminal for check in and security then a underground train ride to the air side terminal with an air mall. Easy to navigate but since the decline of USair, an empty 90's relic. Some of the concourses have been permanently sealed off.

[valo403]

Originally Posted by Cowperson

Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania . . . . both the best and the worst.

Pretty funky to get off the plane in a place like that at around midnight, go through an indifferent customs pretty fast, miss the group you're supposed to hook up with and step outside into the night and find yourself alone with bats madly circling all around you. I remember thinking, "That's Africa baby!!!" Then I went back inside and eventually found where I was supposed to be. But there's not a lot to do at Kilimanjaro airport if you have to wait there a few hours before you leave.

I like most airports, good or bad, just because they're warrens to be explored.

The monorails in San Francisco, Las Vegas and at Newark make them pretty interesting. San Antonio is apparently highly rated but I never figured out why after passing through there a few times. Old and boring.

Rome seems like a pretty horrible airport. Like something out of the 1950's.

Milan was nice and modern. I liked Amsterdam's airport. Ditto Seattle. I liked O'Hare, Phoenix and Vancouver.

I can't remember much about Denver and Orlando. Toronto seemed septic and boring. Heathrow and Newark - also with a monorail at the latter - seemed to be dated.

Kona, Hawaii is too small for what it does. Departures can get very crowded there. The open air theme is cool, like Kahuluia on Maui, but the latter does it much better.

Calgary is probably one of the best airports I've seen.

I like airports though. Ultimately, they all do the same thing but they can be quite different. Most of them are interesting if you only have to be there two or three hours. Good or bad.

My two cents.

Cowperson

Wait, what? I was going along with the whole thing and then you drop that Calgary is one of the best airports you've seen? How? Unless the rest of the airport is light years ahead of the US departures, which it wasn't the last time I flew out of the WJ wing, that's crazy talk.

Minneapolis is a good place to have a layover, as is Detroit. JFK can fall at either extreme depending upon the terminal, the same goes for Newark. LAX is possibly the worst airport in North America.

[jofillips]

Kuala Lumpar was pretty stunning - I remember in one of the terminals the atrium was was an open air jungle, very well done indeed.