Letters to the Editor
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Just came back from Charles de Gaulle
It really does deserve its own Wall of Shame. Endless tram rides from the plane to the terminal, then to another terminal (I was transferring), then to another train. Long security line in between run by slow, rude people. I had a layover of over an hour, yet never had a moment of down time as I raced to avoid missing my connecting flight.
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I meant plane, not train
That's what I get for not previewing before I submit. :P
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Leava Las Vegas
I would like to nominate Terminal 2 at McCarran in Las Vegas. You go to Terminal One and it's all glitz and clittering slots, sullen casino losers (which is most of us) and excited bachelorette party groups. Then roll into Terminal 2 and it's like the third world. Nobody speaks English. The place echoes in its emptiness. It's filthy. Add a few chickens and some salsa music on an ancient boom box and it would be a bus in Honduras.
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ONT's not that bad
I totally agree about Key West, you have no where to wait when standing out by the curb, it's hot and crowded.
But Ontario is pretty damn decent. In the area, Long Beach is by far my favorite as far as "ambience", but they just don't have the flights.
ONT is easy to park at (and cheap), you can wait by baggage (with seats!)for waiting to pick up any arrivals. It's clean does lack some amenities, but is a very decent option for coming or going out of Southern California.
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IAH Terminal B
I agree that IAH's Terminal B leaves a LOT to be desired, but it's actually a great improvement over the old set up.
Continental's regional planes (jets and prop planes) used to go out of a bullpen area below terminal level. The rectangular glass walled room had "gates", really just glass doors around the walls on three sides. When it rained heavily, which it's prone to do on the Gulf Coast, water seeped in under the doors and soaked the carpet giving off a delightful odor. Of course, rain would mean that the hopper flights would be delayed. So, in addition to the smell, you'd be stuck in essentially a glass box with hundreds of other people with inadequate air conditioning. Lots of bodies, close together, increasing heat, and moisture rising from the carpet. Oh, then there were the missionaries. Lots of perky kids flying to places like the Rio Grande Valley to save souls, and possibly saving a few in the airport, as well. There was one small set of restrooms back by the escalator and you didn't dare leave the area in case your flight was called.
Speaking of the calling of flights, the departure times were just sort of rough guidelines. You sat there until a gate agent hollered the name of your destination, then you rushed the indicated glass door. One thing that was kind of fun, though, was seeing what your fellow passengers would be gate checking. I saw LOTS of car parts, including but not limited to a variety of car seats and even a chrome bumper.
Terminal B is pretty bad, but it doesn't get wet and I can find a seat most days.
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my two cents...
I agree with anything anyone has to say criticalabout Heathrow. One should also mention the horrible lines for passport control, manned by universally unfriendly people (however, I'm sure coming to the United States is a far worse deal thanks to the mayhem of the Bushists)... If I don't have to stay in London, I will avoid flying through there...even if tranferring to another flight there would save me money. Just not worth it.
...and how did Miami's airport escape the thumbs down list?... oh never mind...
For international airports, I have to say that flying into Iceland is EXTREMELY pleasant (and from the air it appears there are no trees in Iceland)... The passport and customs is unharried, people are nice... and because it's not a humongous international hub, it's quite small. I felt like I was waiting for my connecting flight in an Ikea showroom. Makes me want to visit Iceland. Truly.
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Lahore?
I have been through the Lahore Airport twice last year and found it to be way better for travel to Pakistan than Islamabad's old, fume-filled airport. Islamabad's Airport reminds me of Newark Airport circa 1965. Lahore is rather new and seemed to be run fairly efficiently. On the other hand, both airports have waiters serving tea in the lounge while waiting for your flight. Very convenient!
I was also surprised to not see Dubai's Airport on the best list. It is clean, has leather lounge chairs for those long waits, and various food venues. Plus the best security I've seen in an Islamic airport.
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Airports named after crash dead
Barrow Alaska - Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport
Oklahoma City - Will Rogers World Airport
I haven't been to Barrow, but Oklahoma City isn't bad (so long as they finally finished the construction which seems to have been going on for the last 3 years).
Worst: I nominate Dehli International. I also second the comment about the mosquitoes in Mumbai...
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Frankfurt is quite OK
Clean, efficient with a few exceptions (I remember not being able to get a cart that we packed with gate stuff, stroller etc., down to the baggage claim, we had to het another down there), with excellent connections by rail. Or you can just walk over to high rise parking building to pick up your rental car, which other major airport offers that? Good shopping opportunities incl. the famous Dr. Mueller Sex Shop eloquently praised by, I think, PJ O'Rourke. And good bakeries. And yes, trips start and end there. There is a whole country called Germany, which both attracts and more so, sends out lots of tourists.
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sorry, i second the vote against IAD
I know Dulles is a work by a master and looks pretty from afar, but it's built on a totally inhuman scale. When you're waiting out on the roadway for a taxi or a shuttle, the whole structure just feels like it's looming over you, waiting to crush you. Inside, the huge high ceilings have the effect of dwarfing all of the check-in desks and other quotidian structures -- it's like you're living in a shanty town built in the shell of an abandonned cathedral. Plus concrete does not age well. I do love the "mobile lounges", though, inefficient as they are, and will miss them when the new underground rail system goes into operation.
Two really schizophrenic airports are BWI and SFO. SFO's new international terminal is airy and gorgeous, whereas the older wings are ratty and grubby. BWI's newer terminals (the barely-occupied international terminal E and the brand new Southwest A/B terminal) aren't masterpieces, but feel spacious and comfortable, while the rest of the airport is a crowded warren. I like Buffalo -- the whole terminal is practically brand new, built in 1997, but some of the paneling and other materials are already showing their age -- not a good sign.
jf
PS to one of the complaints about Heathrow: If you take a cab from Heathrow to the center of London, you're a sucker. You can take an express train for less than $40 or the subway for less than $10. You have to walk forever to get to the station, but you have to walk forever to get anywhere at LHR, including the taxi stands, so it's not that different...