In the vastly overrated cities thread, I mentioned that I have a weird fascination with airports. Anyone else? I like Reagan National here in DC, and I really dug O'Hare when I flew through on United (not so impressed with American). Cleveland is very easy airport to connect through, as is Memphis. My absolute favorite airport is Pittsburgh. Going to my connecting gate I found an arcade with Miss Pac-Man and Centipede. I was actually thrilled when my plane was delayed.

I don't like St. Louis - I flew through there over T'giving and it was old-looking and dreary. No wonder TWA went under.

I used to hate Detroit, but I haven't been through since they got the new terminal.

The best Airport I have been through is Schipol in Amsterdam.

You can get a massage & spend your extra Euros at the Casino...

Not in the order of preference:

1. Heathrow - Great Shopping & people watching; Love the Virgin Clubhouse
2. Narita (Tokyo) - Observation, great for plane buffs like myself
3. JFK/LGA - Nightmares
4. Newark - OK
5. Athens - Looks more like a carpark than an airport (No jetways)
6. Honolulu - Nice outdoorsy feel to it
7. Paris (CDG) - Very Odd Terminal
8. Miami - Air Condition is always on nice and a zoo
10. Kinston Jamaica - Small & efficient (no Jetways)
11. LAX - there are lots of movie stars - duh
12. SFO - nice and saw some cute guys
13. Schipol - well, the dutch know something the rest of us are missing:
13. Atlanta - a complete maze

[ February 13, 2003, 01:16 PM: Message edited by: kiperoni ]

Pittsburgh is my favorite for a long layover. It's like a little mall, and I love to shop!

The new and remodeled sections of Detriot are fantastic from an building aesthetic standpoint, and from a convenience standpoint during layovers. It is reminiscent of the sensuous curvy-yet-angular designs of French architect Philippe Starck (I believe John Portman's Atlanta firm was the actual architect). I love the long tunnel walkway between concourses. It has an eery light and sound show.

Since I live in KC, I must comment on it. It's the absolute worst if you're stuck there during a layover or a delayed flight. But it's the absolute best for departing/arriving. You walk from the curb right right to your ticket counter, and your departure gate is right next to the counter instead of being a mile away. When you arrive, the baggage claim is right next to your gate, and then you're out the door. The whole thing is undergoing a major renovation, which will drastically improve the situation for long waits, with new bars and shops.

I have traveled far too much for my job (all domestic) and have to say - the best airports:

Pittsburgh - not only does it have a mall - the layout works really well for changing planes

National - It's small, but has a lot of features and is a HUGE improvement over the old National

Denver - strictly for layovers, it is too far away from the city for my taste, but has a lot of options for killing time

Bradley (Hartford/Springfield), Manchester, NH and Providence RI - a trio of small airports that have figured out that the flying public absolutely hates Logan and LaGuardia - in the past decade or so all three have created wonderful modern, yet negotiable, airports that are real alternatives to the big guys.

Orlando - as efficient as the Mouse in getting you to and from flights, and in making sure bags are at baggage claim quickly.

The worst?

Atlanta - let's build a huge aiport, and make sure the concourses are laid on in a line - so getting from one to another is a huge chore (I was once told I had to run to make my flight, leaving in 20 minutes, even though my bag would make it, because I was "as far as you can be from the gate and still be in the airport")

Dallas - who decided to put the baggage claim directly outside the gate areas - you end up milling around a tiny space with the combined passanger load of 4 other flights

Logan - let's take the airport and put it on the other side of a major city from where all the people live - oh, and we'll make it accessible only by a narrow tunnel - good thinking there

Oakland - nice people, great alternative to SFO, but who picked those colors? - it's like the Great Pumpkin vomited all over the place

I like Denver because it has a neat bar upstairs in the central area where you can actually smoke (yes I still have that nasty habit). And they always seem to have a great sporting event on the TV. The drink prices are reasonable too.

Dallas Love Field is sooooo easy to get in and out of. But it's still in Dallas, which is a huge drawback....

I fly into Pittsburgh at least once a year since my parents live about 2 hours south.

I hate Dallas/Ft. Worth.

I like SFO because it's fairly cool to come in over the bay.

As a working traveler, I have visited most major airports in the US, and several overseas. Frankly, there are few that I would choose to spend much time in. However:

* Schipol is an excellent airport and the ability to access transit systems at the airport is exceptional.

* Heathrow is interesting, but a little massive. The security issue is taken very seriously there, so getting between terminals is an adventure. They have some nice shopping and food, and really nice airline clubs.

* Sydney International is a very nice airport.

Domestically:

* STL (home airport) is old and tired. They are about to invest $15MM in improvements that are long overdue.

* O'Hare's American terminal is completely revitalized and looks so much nicer these days. And it is setup so much better than the United concourses. It takes about 5-10 minutes to get anywhere in the American terminal and the new restaurants and shops are really good.

* Orlando is a nice airport. Lots of stuff going on in the main terminal, and then a little tram ride out to the gates.

* RDU is not the nicest airport, but one of the easiest.

* LaGuardia and JFK need the capital improvements that are going on. Talk about old and tired.

* Dulles and LAX are not the most convenient or interesting airports. I always seem to have problems in both places.

* And my least favorite airports are DFW and (sorry) the new Denver airport. Not very convenient, you have to take the tram to get between places, and the walks seem to be the longest of anywhere.

Years ago Delta's Toronto-Atlanta flight used to stop in Pittsburgh and I always got off the plane and walked around. Very nice place.

I am NOT one of those Atlanta haters. It's the busiest airport in the world and is quite decent, I think. I wish, though, they would bring back that cylon (as in Battlestar Galactica) voice on the train that takes you between the concourses. That was neat.

New York's airports are very disappointing for so important a city.

San Francisco has lots of nice Asian eateries.

Houston Intercontinental and Montreal Dorval are dumpy.

My home Toronto International is a dump... but is undergoing a massive redevelopment, replacing terminals 1 and 2 with a mega-terminal.

London Heathrow, Tokyo Narita and Haneda have great shopping. The Tokyo airports also have good eateries and observation decks for plane-spotting.

I can't say too much good things about Atlanta.

Sometimes my BF and I leave on different flights at about the same time but on different carriers. I like to have one see off the other since we're both at the airport doing nothing but waiting.
But in atlanta, delta flyers are separated from USAir from Northwest etc. LaGuardia is the same way.

I like the airports where after you clear security, you don't have to have a Delta ticket to go to the delta gate. I enjoy seeing my sweetie boarding.


as far as airports I like..... I like White Plains in west chester cty for when I fly to NYC. I like National (so convenient to DC) I like San Diego (all those hunky military guys) and I like
Barajas in Madrid (much better than DeGaulle or Orly) and Seoul's new airport. Great shops and layout.

Bill, I'm not sure why you think Dallas Love-Field is so easy to get in and out of. Parking is always a bitch there because of the vast number of daily commuters to other nearby cities and it's always stacked Johnson. BTW, I will never understand your disdain for Dallas. Not being from here originally, I think it's a great place.

I think D/FW has an intelligently designed airport. You don't have to walk a mile to your car, most gates are within minutes of the check-in, security screening is quick, and you don't have to walk for an hour to get to baggage claim, which most bags get there relatively quickly. I don't pick apart airports usually but others of positive note are Minneapolis, San Juan, Miami,

I agree that NY and Houston airports disappoint for the magnitude of the cities. ATL should have scrapped Hartsfield plans and started over. The revamped DET airport maybe better but I didn't think the old one was logistically sound. I had bad 'people' experiences at the San Diego airport.

Although it's a much smaller airport, Nashville has a very efficient system and always reliable service for me.

O'Hare is practically in my backyard, so it's the airport I know best. For flying to and from, it's OK, but for connections it's a headache.

Actually, I much prefer United's terminal over American's. Better everything, IMO. But then I've had generally good experiences with United and generally bad with American, so that may be skewing my perceptions.

Speaking of connections ... most of the alleged O'Hare congestion (the supposed reason for the expansion push) is due to the hub-and-spoke system, which routes everyone through airports like O'Hare, DFW, and Atlanta, regardless of their start and end points. Alternate airports like Milwaukee have tons of capacity and are much more flyer-friendly than O'Hare ... but United, American, and the City of Chicago (which owns O'Hare and Midway) collude to make O'Hare \"the only way\" from Point A to Point B. Direct flights are the solution, but they \"won't fly\" politically.

Orlando is the most passenger-friendly airport I've ever seen, bar none. They took the landside/airside model from Tampa and improved it (and then cornered the theme park market so everyone would fly there anyway). I used to have family near there and actually enjoyed the flights (especially in winter).

As for Reagan National ... I'll stick with BWI.

BWI for someone who lives in the area is an absolute nightmare. it's extremely slow driving and will be a traffic jam up until midnight on some nights. I stood in the parking lot for 1.5 hours waiting for a shuttle and almost missed a flight. I actually will never fly out of there evn though it would often save me $150 or more.

And the construction's a mess ... especially when returning a rental car. And the layout's weird.

However, it's a half-hour from my relatives, and National is at least twice that (and way off the I-roads).

Every time I fly into Dallas, I have to haul my ass halfway to Oklahoma to get to my departure gate. And since I usually fly American, I have to fly into either Dallas or Chicago. O'Hare is much better.

I flew into Detroit about 10 years ago and was appalled at the place. Did see Jay Leno though

Another problem with BWI - which I used to fly out of a lot, but won't now, is the baggage claim - I have never waited as long to get bags as I have at BWI. One flight I was on was the 2nd to last of the day (got in at 2AM) - there was a 45 minute wait for the bags! We were the only plane unloading at the airport! Absolutely horrible. With the construction the parking problem is actually worse, and their economy lots fill up far too quickly and too often.

As for Dallas - I understand the concept of putting baggage claim so near the gates, but it just doesn't work on a functional level. Those long walks at other airports serve a purpose - they cut down on your wait for the bags. I have waited a very long time when DFW is busy, and there's no where to go. Of course I may be projecting my hatred of DFW because I once had a 4 hour layover there, and it turned out my flight to DC was full of Mary Kay saleswomen returning home from their national convention - that was a real travel nightmare.

[ February 13, 2003, 01:02 PM: Message edited by: CPT_Doom ]

As bad as Houston - INtercontinental is, Hobby is even worse! That place is tiny and scares me!

Trevor

Las Vegas' McCarran Airport...enough slot machines -to keep you busy during those long lay-overs.

Best airport: Vancouver
Worst: Athens, Greece (scary scary scary)

My favorite is West Palm Beach.

The only good thing about St. Louis (which is a dump) is it's rather central location to the metro area unlike KC, Denver, and Atl to a lesser degree.

Actually, since I-90 and the Ted Williams tunnel are now one, access to/from Logan has become incredibly easy. In fact, from the Fenway, it's quicker for me to go out to Allston and get on the Pike, and from there it's like five minutes 'til you pop out in the center of the airport.

And we have all of you to thank... You and your $12b contribution to the Big Dig. It's mahvelous. YOU'RE mahvelous.

As maxallen noted, Kansas City Mid-Continent International is a great design. Part of what makes an airport NOT work are the endless treks to, from and between concourses, e.g. PHL, CLE, many others. I get tired just thinking about it.

[ January 23, 2004, 09:01 AM: Message edited by: redsoxbreath ]

What an interesting thread!

I will start with home.

SEA - The best thing about this airport is how close it is to downtown Seattle, and the numerous coffee stands in each terminal.

Heathrow - I can only speak about terminal 4. I love this place it is a shopper's paradise! They even have a mini Harrod's there.

SFO - This is the most convenient airport to fly into the bay area, the layout is fairly easy to navigate. However of the 3 bay area airports this one is closed the most due to it's proximity to the bay and shuts down for fog frequently.

BUR - Burbank is my airport of choice for flying into the LA area. It is a very small airport, and we always see celebrities there, due to it close proximity to several of the big studios. Not all of food choices here however.

DEN - Denver is a nice airport with lots of shops. The main drawback is the airport is literally in the middle of nowhere! We visit my partners sister here frequently, and it takes a little over an hour to get to Denver from the airport.

BOS - Boston has to be one of the worst airports around. I have had nothing but problems everytime I fly there. Not alot of shops and poor food choices, plus the big dig has made navigating outside of the airport a complete nightmare.

LAS - Las Vegas is another airport that is ver convenient to downtown. The food choices are somewhat lacking but the availability of the slot machines make up for it. I do think this airport needs to be aired out though, it always seems to have some strange musty old smell in it.

LAX - Los Angeles is a complete disaster. I only use this airport if I am flying international and need to connect from SEA.

MIA - Miami seemed a bit run down for a city that size, I couldn't really find any sort of shops when we were there.

I could go on and on, but I don't want to ramble on forever!

Have a good weekend!

Munich's new airport is beautiful and well thought-out. I also love Schipol in Amsterdam.

Domestic airports, I like airports that have rail or subway service into the city. Washington National (Reagan) is close, convenient, and attractive, and it is on a subway line. Boston is close enough to catch a shuttle bus to the subway. And SFO has great food and has BART service now, not the fastest way to get to the city but convenient, much cheaper than a cab unless you are with a group, and it connects with MUNI. Just wish it had a stop in Castro!

Worst airports, Atlanta (even with its MARTA connection) and Cincinatti (absolutely nothing to do between flights). But does anyone remember the old Peoples Airlines terminal in Newark? Absolutely the worst terminal experiences possible, your worst nightmare of a bus station with thousands of people. eek!

Charles De Gaulle International(Paris) is huge. If you are flying into Paris on the national French carrier, Air France, as opposed to an American air carrier, you will be flying into the nicer terminal. The wine shops and gift shops are fun to browse and you can get fresh French pastries in the food halls.

Knoxville, Tennessee, (TYS) finished the two-year-long renovation of its AIRPORT back in 2001 and I think it is much improved from the old design. In the airy hallway between the terminal/security checkpoint and the baggage claim/ticketing areas, there is a waterfall that runs down the center of the entire length of the hallway. It is beautiful.

I am going to toot my own horn here, and say Spokane International Airport. WE have only 3 terminals, and from the end of one to the street in front, takes all of maybe 1-2 minutes! Thats it. In addition it is only 8 miles away from downtown. After traveling across the country, it is always so nice to come home. Rarely if ever any kind of delays too, which is a big point with me.

Worst: Paris/CDG. And not just because it's in France. When using it to make a connection, the plane usually parks at a remote location, you take one bus into the terminal, then change to a second bus to go from that terminal to the one your next flight leaves from, and then climb on a third bus to go from that terminal out to your departing aircraft. More often than not, checked baggage doesn't make the connection, even if it's one of those rare days when the French baggage handlers aren't on strike. There's a reason the hub carrier at CDG, Air France, has earned the nickname "Air Chance" throughout Europe.

Second worst: Astana, the new capital city of Kazakhstan. Flights can only operate before 9 am and after 9 pm. The rest of the day, the airport is closed so they can repave the runway. But I won't complain, the repaving is badly needed.

Best airports: Singapore/Changi, & Dubai. Both have great duty free shopping & unique amenities for travellers making connections. I like the new Northwest terminal at Detroit, too.

HulaBoy, I have never had to connect through Frankfurt, Germany, but I have friends who have. They tell me Frankfurt's airport is too large and disorganized. The advice they gave me is to try to avoid connecting through Frankfurt.

Yeah, I try to avoid Frankfurt as well. The flights from there to Geneva almost always involve a bus ride from the terminal out to the plane, and sometimes the ride is so long, I start to think they decided to cancel the flight and drive us all the way to Geneva in the bus.

My favorite route between Europe & the US is to connect at Heathrow to Virgin Atlantic. Even though Heathrow is a piece of work, the Virgin lounge, which they call the "Clubhouse" is pretty special. You can get a free oil massage in a private room, haircut, order food from an extensive menu, play on the ski simulator & other video games, listen to CDs in the music room, etc., etc. I usually try to schedule extra time between connecting flights just to take advantage of it all. And on morning arrivals into Heathrow from the States, they have a separate "Revivals" lounge, where you can get a free facial in addition to the usual showers & breakfast.

Best and Most Efficient: McCarron/Las Vegas -they know the concept: Time is Money.

Honorable Mention: Austin (Bergstrom Internaitonal) clean, good food and friendly

Worst: DFW and Atlanta. DFW -you always need to hike 30M gatew to your next connection. Crowds are unfriendly and Customer Service Sucks. Atlanta is the dirtiest airport in US. Do they ever clean the floors and restrooms?

AND there's DIA- Denver largest Public Works fiasco in the history of the Centenial State. They still say DIA never closes. Right? Liela,Liela,Liela,Liela,Liela- Lie,Lie,lie and it's contagious- all the airlines that service DIA usually make up some lame excuse "oh the service is stuck in Chicago so we have to cancel your flight. Or the crew is beyond their log time so we have to re-schedule your flight" Why can'tyou jsut fly across US and not stop in Denver? It's a conspiracy.

Surprised I haven't seen anyone mention Charlotte (of if it was mentioned, I missed it!). It's a very nice/modern airport, a good number of shops/restaurants and although it is big......you can get around pretty quick. I also like that you can go from terminal to terminal without going through security over and over (at least the last time I was there it was like that).

I keep hearing wonderful things about the Virgin lounge. I may have to look into it more seriously for our next trip to Europe. I usually fly British as they have a direct from SEA.

KC looks great ... but how do you get between terminals without calling a cab a la DFW?

I still prefer Orlando and its landside/airside trams (copied from Tampa).

Free internal shuttle busses that run on a continuous basis, just like most airports, in the rare event you're making an inter-airline switch.

Best:
TPA- Tampa, FL is the best airport, always clean, nice shops & restaurants, extremely easy to get around and the baggage claim is usually fast. Rates as the top ranked US airport, and only second to Vancouver in North America.

LAS-Las Vegas/McCarren. Ok any airport that is huge, effiecient, and has slots in it definantly makes the list.

Worst:
PHL-Philadelphia... it's improving with the new international terminal and new US Air terminal, but it still a mess, and it takes them forever to get the bags on the belt.

DTW-Detroit... it's been a few years since I've been there, but has anyone else noticed there are no signes for the baggage claim? Took my an hour to find the baggage claim and another 90 mins for my bags to actually get to the belt.

And what about Phillys' airport? Since some will be flying in for the convention in May. Ease of the layout, delays? Any thoughs.

I travel a lot for ACC football games so my favorite airports to fly into are Tampa, Orlando, and Charlotte, NC. Nice, clean, and modern terminals that you can travel directly to your gate with very few hassles. Plus, they have several cool shops and restaurants with good food at reasonable prices while you are waiting. When you are flying into these airports, their main purpose is to get you out to your rental cars or buses with ease and onto the your final destination.

The worst airport in the world must be Miami International Airport (MIA). It fits the image of Miami being a banana republic with its continuous construction since 1970's when I was growing up in Miami. This "third world" airport with its brown and beige interior has dirty bathrooms, dirty floors, high prices, corruption image, and non-friendliness from its employees who are snaring at you. I have said that they should have hired the mafia and blow it up and start all over again. If you fly into South Florida into MIA, you pay the "corruption tax" on your airline ticket because all of the airlines that fly into MIA passed along the corruption tax (i.e user fee) in their ticket price. When I go back home, I always try to fly into Ft. Lauderdale or West Palm Beach and avoid MIA like the plague.

Philly's airport is a mess. Everytime I fly into or out of Philly (when I'm up there visiting family and friends), my plane is late 30-60 mins about 75% of the time. If you come in during a busy period, the walkways are packed with people and you have to dodge the motorized carts. The mall area and food court that is in the airport is pretty nice I must admit. Also when it comes to your getting your bags, you are going to want to stop by the mall area, get a cup of coffee, and maybe a magazine, especially if you are flying in US Airways. You will be at the baggage claim for a while, generally that's a half hour if not more wait for the bags to get to the belt. Also the parking rates are exorbitantly high, it's something like $4 or $5/hr or something like that for the short-term garage. The only really good thing about the Philly airport is that you can get decent rates there, one of the USAirways hubs is Philly, so you can get good rates thru them. Also Southwest starts flying into Philly in May, will probably have some good rates.

Don't you have people packed in walkways in ANY airport when it's busy?

As for the lateness, I'm not sure of the stats, and I haven't done a ton of flying but most of the time my plane has left/arrived within a few minutes of schedule or earlier...which helps when you have to wait for your luggage.

A couple of bad domestic airports: Atlanta, JFK
Good domestic airports Pittsburgh, Orlando, Charlotte.

As far as flying into Philly, their terminal A (new)is big improvement over the other terminals that were basically retrofitted. I rarely check baggage domestically as I pack light on short trips. My experience for getting baggage quicker is to be on one of the first or last flights arriving at the airport.

I agree about DFW...I don't like that airport so much that it is usually my last resort for a connecting flight. For pure convenience when connecting, I much prefer Atlanta. I guess it's pretty obvious that I am a card-carrying Delta boy.

I flew to England last Thursday for my uncles funeral, and flew back yesterday. Yes, my body clock is totalled, but here's my impressions of the Airports. I've also based it on a business trip to Atlanta in October.

Heathrow: Arriving at the international terminal is great. Connecting to a domestic flight in Termainal 1 is a pain. Terminal 1 is old and tired, and needs to be re-done. Terminal 4 to depart was great. My only complaint? British Airways staff who don't give a damn. But I wrote a VERY nice letter (NOT) to BA about that little gem on the plane. And the bitch when I landed who told me, when I complained about the lack of service, (I had to walk to the galley to get my meal), who replied "so what". ARRGH

My only complaint. How about having an area in the arrivals area where someone who has been on a plane for 8 freakin hours can have a smoke before transferring terminals.

Toronto: (my home airport). If at all possible, avoid Termainals 1 and 2 like the plague. This will change in April when the new mega-terminal opens, but even then, the old terminal 1 will need to be torn down to finish the gateways for the new terminal.

Atlanta: Not bad, but way to spread out. Subway to the baggage terminal was fast, but hot and stinky.

LaGuardia: All I can say is I would rather be strip searched by a sadistic lesbian that go through that Airport again. Old, dirty, crowded, smelly, surly staff, etc. the best thing for that airport would be to tear it down and start over.

Newark: Pretty good actually, but not conveniant to get into Manhattan.

You know i always like chicago and denver.

Detroit has to be the WORST EVER.

I had no idea people hated philly's airport so much but i've only gotten off the plane there and never switched planes... so i dunno. Flying into Bmore was pretty good last time.

Newarks freeway system really sucked though. I got extremely lost getting in and out of there. Coulda hung out with the home boys in downtown Newark, but decided i should try and get tot he airport instead.

Havent any of ya'all been to wonderful sky harbor airport in PHX? Geez, comeon ....

I think the following airports are nice and or convenient:
Santa Barbara(nice and convenient)
Burbank(convenient, especially compared to LAX)
Kansas City(very convenient)
Savannah, GA(it was very new several years ago...I don't know what it is like now)
Houston Hobby(very convenient when compared to Houston Intercontinental)
Dallas Love(very convenient when coompared to DFW)
Denver(nice because it is relatively new)

For hub terminals, Detroit & Minneapolis are nice to fly into. Rather mellow places I've found and you can't get lost.

Vancouver was nice to fly into, but paying C$10 to leave. ummm.... whatever!

I also enjoy flying in and out of Albany, New York when I can. The terminal in only about 10 years old, comparable to NYC in ticket cost, easy to get to and from, and parking is $5 a day. Yes it's a 3 hr drive from me in Connecticut, but I have family there too.

Worst to fly from... Westchester County Airport. (HPN) eek! I got a 24 last minute flight to Green Bay on Thanksgiving. The runway is a postage stamp and I swear we were going to die on landing, and then it cost me $38.50 for the 24 hours of parking. There is no cheap long term parking there. :mad:

Zurich, because of its connections (there's a train station at one of the lower levels, and baggage can go straight from the plane to the train) - and there are great shops.

Heathrow because it's like a small city and because ground transport is so logical and easy.

St Marten, because it's the gateway to my spring vacation.

Seattle is close to the bottom of my list because of how invonvenient - imposible - it is to get baggage from or to limos or the parking garage if you have much more than a crry on (I'm in the ski business: can't carry it all, can't leave it an make two trips... )

Zurich (Kloten) has been made much worse by the introduction of "Dock E". This new councourse is isolated from the rest of the terminals, and even if you are connecting on the same airline, everyone has to clear security a second time. The train-plane integration is nice, though.

Heathrow will be a mess for the next few years, until Terminal 5 is buil (they say 2008, but 2009 or 2010 are more likely). BA will move 100% of their operations there, opening up space in T4 and allowing T1 to get that major remodel it so sorely needs. BAA runs the airport like a dictatorship and has some stupid rules, but the lounges are indeed nice (if you can get in).

CDG is probably the worst. If Paris is your final destination, the RER and TGV stations mitigate things. But T1 (the giant doughnut) has got to be one of the most bizarre terminals anywhere (Delta, American and Continental hae escaped the doughnut and are over in T2, but the other United and USAirways are still mired in T1).

No one has mentioned Berlin Tegel - TXL is small and compact and has easy express bus connections to the central city. It's calm because the big tour groups use Schoenfeld.

And my other European favorite is CPH. Kastrup is like a more compact version of Schiphol - excellent shops, and nonstop train goes in one direction to central Copenhagen, and in the opposite direction to Malmö, Sweden in just a few minutes.

Has anyone been to the new Athens airport (the comments so far seem to be about the old one) - I haven't been there since it opened.

Domestically, there is not all that much difference (except for Miami, which is to be avoided at all costs).

I hate the places where you can't make same-airline connections without going through security a second time such as Newark if you're on Continental and have to change from Terminal A to Terminal C, or O'Hare from T1/2/3 to the T5 international terminal.

I've found that terminals or concourses that house Southwest and the other LCCs seem to always have some of the worst security line backups (fly sometime out of Terminal 1 at LAX and you'll see what I mean - or BWI).

LAS is a mess on heavy travel days, because of there only being two access points for TSA screening. A few weeks ago, on the Sunday that the CES trade show ended, there were 3-4 hour waits in the security lines.

[ January 27, 2004, 01:34 AM: Message edited by: LGator ]

Louis Armstrong International(New Orleans)is small and a bit outdated, but easy to navigate. Britney Spears sightings are frequent there since her hometown is Kentwood, Louisiana, which is not far from New Orleans.

Not to get too far off topic, but today's NY Times has the following report on the latest in travel comfort.

Flat beds @ 35,000 feet

Free buses are good, but I prefer trams, especially if the platform is enclosed.