Worst & Best Airports

[I Skied Bandini Mountain]

Going through LAX right now but I've got an appointment at a ramen house in the sawtelle district.

[dtown]

O’Hare is hands down the worst airport I’ve ever been to


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You clearly have never been to the Kansas City airport before!!


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[ötzi]

I don't think there's been a day in my life when Boston Logan wasn't under construction.

TF Green Providence is kind of a model smaller airport, that place is still really good, it even has decent food.

[teleee]

The new Salt Lake airport is beautiful and it has by far the best Delta Crown Room in the country but logistically it SUCKS. I am hopeful that it gets a lot better when it gets done, from the B gates to the front curb is a solid 25 minutes of fast walking. Absolutely insane. The worst part is watching the elderly and handicapped painfully try to make the trek.

[schindlerpiste]

The worst part about Logan is the Exit. Every time I land at there, I have a tough time negotiating all those tunnels. OTOH, I do love the landing approach flying over the St. Charles.

[Art Shirk]

I don't think there's been a day in my life when Boston Logan wasn't under construction.

I was moments away from posting the same thing but realized that I hadnt been in years and maybe just maybe things had changed. What a circuitous mess of fucked up bullshit.

[Ted Striker]

I don't think there's been a day in my life when Boston Logan wasn't under construction.

A guy I used to work with said, "I've been flying for 30 years, and have never been to an airport that was finished"

[snowaddict91]

The new Salt Lake airport is beautiful and it has by far the best Delta Crown Room in the country but logistically it SUCKS. I am hopeful that it gets a lot better when it gets done, from the B gates to the front curb is a solid 25 minutes of fast walking. Absolutely insane. The worst part is watching the elderly and handicapped painfully try to make the trek.

I keep hearing similar things, which really sucks since it used to be such a convenient airport in many ways. I'm flying in/out in January so we'll see how it goes.

[snowaddict91]

O’Hare is hands down the worst airport I’ve ever been to


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It has to be my least favorite airport to get a connection in. I always have to walk across the whole damn place, and there is always some kind of bullshit involved.

[rideit]

The new Salt Lake airport is beautiful and it has by far the best Delta Crown Room in the country but logistically it SUCKS. I am hopeful that it gets a lot better when it gets done, from the B gates to the front curb is a solid 25 minutes of fast walking. Absolutely insane. The worst part is watching the elderly and handicapped painfully try to make the trek.

Just left there. Good experience, but our next gate was just two gates down, so it was easy. Food options were not good.

[Danno]

A guy I used to work with said, "I've been flying for 30 years, and have never been to an airport that was finished"

I think DIA was finished for maybe a couple of years before they started upgrading shit.

[zion zig zag]

I keep hearing similar things, which really sucks since it used to be such a convenient airport in many ways. I'm flying in/out in January so we'll see how it goes.

Other than the new Skyclub as mentioned, it's almost worse than the old airport. Most of the Delta gates are close and don't require the super long walks, which is good, except that everyone else going anywhere is moving through, making those gates feel extra crowded. It honestly feels more crowded than the old one, even with all of the extra capacity.

I think the best idea in airports is to have separate levels for arrivals vs. departures. So when you get off the plane you aren't wading through the hoards who are already crowding the gates waiting to get on.

[rideit]

Think we will try this for a light dinner at LAX

https://www.slapfishrestaurant.com/menu

[The AD]

Glad I'm reading this thread. I had no idea before today that SLC had gotten a new airport. How far from the old airport is it--or is it just a new terminal?

[zion zig zag]

Glad I'm reading this thread. I had no idea before today that SLC had gotten a new airport. How far from the old airport is it--or is it just a new terminal?

New terminal.

[Talisman]

Glad I'm reading this thread. I had no idea before today that SLC had gotten a new airport. How far from the old airport is it--or is it just a new terminal?

A new airport for SLC is a stretch as the runways are the same, but the old terminals are being scrapped and some of the new termical buildings (A+B) are in full operation. Some of the SLC commuter flights require deplaning onto a bus to the terminal, but construction continues.

[nickwm21]

A guy I used to work with said, "I've been flying for 30 years, and have never been to an airport that was finished"

- 2001 scramble to add TSA.
- 2010 scramble to add full body scanners
- current modernizations to make all the hastily installed security shit workwise
- DHS / CBP modernizations…. current trend is “facial recognition”
- Baggage modernization projects. Most airports still move baggage with humans and tugs, not belts.
- Sometimes new aircraft require gate modification: PLBs, fueling, striping, etc…
- All the airlines lease their gate, lounge and logistics space, so when there are mergers or expansions, there are TI projects that go along.
- All the vendors lease their space. The current trend is to drop national chains and go with local businesses. These all require TIs.
- General expansion… more gates, more runways, public transit, etc…
- Systems modernization. A lot of these airports have some bones that are 80+ years old…

When doing these projects you have to appease the airport authority, TSA, CBP/DHS, local building department, local fire, the airlines, and the vendors… Add into the fact that you can’t close the place down to do the work…. A 2 year project quickly becomes a 5 year project….

I’ve done a few airport projects. All the majors have development plans with 30-50 year timelines ahead of them….




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[AK47bp]

DFW is the worst.

Any airport where they change the departure gate on you at the time of check in and it requires and extra 20 minutes to take the shuttle bus to a new terminal is bullshit.

Used to fly to Dallas 3 times a year for 4 years and I swear half the time this happened. So much so I built in the wrong gate scenario into my itinerary as to when to leave the hotel.


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[dunfree]

- 2001 scramble to add TSA.

And enlarge secure area with food/drinks because security became a pita, and add stuff so people could transit without rechecking, and generalLy change the orientation of airports. Some of the best airports pre 9/11 sucked hard post 9/11.

[BmillsSkier]

The new Salt Lake airport is beautiful and it has by far the best Delta Crown Room in the country

That is a particularly nice Sky Club Lounge. I'll toss out ATL though for Sky Club options though, there's one on each concourse so if you're so inclined you can hit them up like a pub crawl, and the one in Concourse F has an outdoor patio where you can watch the planes that's really cool.

[The AD]

By the way, we've added a nice new option in the Seattle area in the last couple years: Paine Field in Everett. Unfortunately it opened for commercial passenger flights just before Covid hit, so the timing wasn't great. Right now only Alaska Airlines is flying out of Paine. Both Southwest and United were supposed to use Paine, but United ended their flights last month and I don't think Southwest ever started.

I haven't used it yet, but everyone I've talked to says it's literally five minutes from walking in the door to getting to your gate.
https://www.flypainefield.com/

[XXX-er]

Not that I fly or have flown much but IME Rapid Transit to/ from the airport is a game changer especily in a foreign country where you don't speak a da language, Barcelona & Lisbon were really easy & cheap to get into the city and for Vancover with which i am the most familiar the RT line with a 10$ all day unlimited pass was a game changer

[Ted Striker]

DFW is the worst.

You should see the runways

[Sluff]

VDZ (Valdez, AK), HNS (Haines, AK, and YBD (Bella Coola, BC) are all great. Feels like you have them to your self [emoji2], which you do. Love getting on and off the plane from the runway. I’ll be in YBD again in February.

As for real airports, MSP is pretty efficient for a big international airport. One big terminal. No shuttling around on trams to hyphen around.

ATL is a pain. It’s so spread out.

[Talisman]

Most US airports have the archetectual splendor, clietele, cleanliness and culinary inpiration of a 1970's inner city Greyhound Bus Station. As the scruffy US airports have aged poorly the airport benchmarks to beat air overseas. It is sad when the Dehli airport has a wow factor with the koi ponds and palm trees that is totally lacking at any US airport. The Incheon airport in Korea with the indoor pine forests is another stand out.

For all the La Guardia haters (including me), LGA does have nicer toilets than the Chitwan airport in Nepal, so there is that.