Worst airport in the U.S.? The rest of the world?

In My Humble Opinion
61

I’ve liked Denver International since it opened. At the time (and still?) it was the only airport in the world at which they could handle three simultaneous instrument landings in bad weather, because the runways are so far apart. Also, you never have to cross another active runway when taxiing to the gate. Decent restaurants, and (at least in B) extra-wide moving sidewalks.

Even if it really is in North Platte.

I also like our local airport - Lexington - because it is one of the prettiest settings you’d ever want to land in… horse farms, Keeneland, etc… Of course the recent Comair crash tempered a lot of people’s enthusiasm.

Aspen is breathtaking to land in, both because of the views and because of the dive the landing planes have to make to get down.

My least favorite used to be Detroit, but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt because I haven’t been through since they opened the new concourse.

So my least favorite American airport is LaGuardia - a dump made worse by all the USAir traffic there. What a shitty airline.

62

They just build a whole new terminal, and there’s direct, standard-fare metro access from Barajas to downtown. You can even check your bags at the downtown terminus if you want.

63

I don’t have that much expierence with Airports but I don’t enjoy flying out of Las Vegas, or transferring planes in Memphis.

The only non-US airport I’ve been to is Paris (CDG) and it was interesting. I like the hampster tube farm, and some of the connecting tunnels look like sets from 2001: A Space Oddessy, so that was kind of cool, but I bet it gets old if you use it frequently.

64

I’ve never had a problem with my home-town airports, except that for some reason we seem to have major issues with transportation to airports.

Realizing that Dorval (now Trudeau) was getting crowded, they spent fantastic amounts of money building a glorious airport - Mirabel - in the middle of nowhere. Having spent $2 billion to build it, they promptly failed to spend $20 million to, you know, make a train to it, so people could get there. It’s now the world’s most luxurious cargo terminal. It’s one of Canada’s biggest infrastructure débâcles ever.

Trudeau, for its part, can be gotten to by public transit. All you have to do is take the fairly frequent 211 from Lionel-Groulx (or the Dorion/Rigaud commuter train, should one of its 13 daily departures be convenient to you, which it won’t) to Dorval train station. Then, wait around for *a half-hour *for the 204 bus (pay attention to the signs – the layout of the Dorval Circle is so fucked that the stop switches to the other side of the train tracks at rush hour) so you can get to the airport. If you don’t want to wait for the bus, you can always dash across the highway offramp and walk across the brobdignagian parking lot, or take a taxicab. Coming back is the same, except that you can’t take a taxi because they charge $30 just to leave the airport.

It’s truly moronic and I think there must be some sort of a conspiracy.

(The Trudeau terminal itself is fairly nice. I especially like the new customs facility - eight bazillion lines, no waiting, assuming it’s properly staffed when you and seven other 747-loads get there. I’ve also never had any particular problems getting my luggage in short order.)

65

Oh, good grief! The Grand Lodge of Colorado has laid the cornerstone of every important building in Colorado for over a century. They were asked to provide something “aeronautic-looking” for DIA. Cornerstones long ago ceased to be structurally significant, and are only markers now used to solemnize the dedication of a building.

Anybody who thinks the Freemasons are part fo a plot to control the world has never been to a Masonic meeting. There are lodges in which physicians, lawyers and other professionals are members, but out here in the sticks, the Lodge is comprised of the biggest bunch of dufuses in town (maybe not as bad as the Elks, but close to it.)

The link Lamar provided is good for a chuckle or two, but little else. I’ts like a game of “Six Degrees to Kevin Bacon” gone bad.

66

I know that’s the theory behind the design, but my experience with DIA has been worse than with Stapleton (the previous Denver airport) and the Colorado Springs airport. One time I had to take a taxi to DIA, because my 1 hour layover wasn’t enough time for the snow, even though COS was doing fine in the same storm. Back in, let’s see, 84 or 85, my parents flew into Stapleton in the middle of a Christmas blizzard - somewhere around 30 inches of snow and high winds. The biggest problem was getting everyone back in my little Honda Civic because it was almost center lining on 36. Nothing like what happened at DIA last year with essentially the same storm - a three day closure. I seem to recall a study that showed DIA also had more delays to do thunderstorms than Stapleton.

The problem is they put DIA in a spot that is much more likely to get intense weather than almost anywhere else in the surrounding area. (I’d call it the Denver metro area, but that would put Kansas City in the Denver metro area.) So, even with three well spaced runways, they still have more delays. On top of it, they really can’t handle all three runways in bad weather.

67

The only quibble I’d have is saying Denver and Colorado Springs have the “same storm.” The Palmer Divide is enough of a wall between the two that it mitigates systems massive enough to cover both cities.

Y’know, people make jokes about how far east DIA is from Denver, and all kinds of hyperbole is used to make the point; I drive in from Sterling, 120 miles northeast of Denver on I-76, and it takes me almost an hour less to get to DIA than it did to get to Stapleton, and I NEVER use E-470 (for locals, I go the 120th Ave. - Tower Road - Pena Blvd route.) So joking aside, the damn thing really is out here on the prairie!

68

The really disappointing thing was that the only heavy snow was on the Palmer Divide. Neither DIA nor COS had more than a couple of inches.

69

I think I 'll just stay home. :frowning:

70

I travel a lot both personally and for work.

Airports I hate with a burning passion [ul]
[li]Chicago O’Hare - Flew in could not find how in the hell to get to my BA flight. No Information at all. When I finally get to where the flight wil leave from it is in a tiny cramped edge of no where with no restaurents or amenities unless you went back out of the security line[/li][li]San Fransico - Having to leave the secure area first of all then the signage is unclear and you take an elevator and end up in the parking garage with no signs on where to go not to mention the 10 mile hike towards the rental cars to get on the damn train![/li][li]Newark - huge cavernous and rude people[/li][li]Paris CGD - dangerous, no signs, bags don’t make it, old dirty and smelly[/li][/ul]

I like both Heathrow and Amsterdam Schipol mainly because I have travel through them so many times I know them both really well but my favourite by far - Singapore. Those free hot showers and towels saved my life on the way to Australia and back

71

I pretty much hate all large airports, as nearly every one of them is just such a complete pain in the ass to get to, navigate through or, in many cases, to find food in during a layover (Atlanta, I’m looking at you). And even if the airport itself isn’t that bad, there’s always the opportunity for yet another round of abject humiliation by the security Nazis. Having my druthers, I prefer to fly into smaller airports when possible, so, it probably is no surprise that I pick Santa Barbara as my all-time favorite domestic 'port. I once lived in Oxnard, and I hated driving to LAX so much that I’d routinely fly there from SB if I could manage it.

Best large domestic? Er, Pittsburgh, probably, but part of that is because it’s currently so underutilized.

Worst domestic? I haven’t been to 'em all, but Philly really pissed me off every single time went there. For a time that was my home airport, but now that I live elsewhere, I’ll go anywhere to avoid it.

Favorite foreign airport? Edinburgh. Smallish, friendly staff and decent amenities, you see.

Worst foreign? Again, limited experience, but nevertheless it’s hard to pick just one. Luanda or Cairo definitely qualify for the third-world horror aspects. Guatemala City was the worst for frightening approaches and departures, and Toronto Pearson gets the nod for being so freaking sprawling that it seems to take close to an hour simply to change terminals. OTOH, I know there’s plenty of hate for CDG, but I’ve never really had any trouble getting through there, and I lived in France long enough, I guess, to get used to the sneering French disdain for customer service.

72

Fair enough - I can’t argue with what your experience with DIA has been. But back when Stapleton was the airport (and I lived in Denver and flew in and out of it every week), it was routinely one of the top 5 airports in the US for delays. I haven’t seen DIA ever crack the top 10. (Doesn’t mean it hasn’t - I haven’t researched this…) Back then, Delta did a major ad campaign about Stapleton, making fun of a guy who was late to a meeting because he had booked his flight through Denver instead of Salt Lake.

73

AFAIK, multilateral pissing match between Ports Authority, franchisees, providers of support services and unions. Most terminal services open only “regular” shop hours even though there are flights all night, because everyone demands to get paid more or charged less, as the case may be, to work the nightshift, and nobody will compromise.

Kilvert’s Pagan, I have always liked LEX Bluegrass, myself.

Approach/landing/TO at BOS Logan has tended to be, um, exciting; somehow I always am flying there on the day of the stiff crosswinds. Or that Cap’n Jack just makes it to a stop an apparent car’s length from putting us in the harbor.
PHL annoys me. And it’s probably a combination of both PHL itself AND USelessAirways. There’s potential, and it’s wasted. In the baggage handling, in the confusing road layout, ins how the guys at the jetbridge are never ready to dock your plane. At least with the new concourse they have *slightly * de-choked up the terminal, but not THAT much.

BWI/Friendship/Thurgood Marshall/We Swear We Serve Washington DC/ aka Baltimore is not too bad in a utilitarian sense, though pier D has a chronic security line backup that winds its way past Airport Administration, and the removal of all the rental cars to a facility out in the middle o’ nowhere took a lot of convenience points away. Agree on the limited concessions airside (and I don’t believe the airside piers all connect with each other).

EWR Newark/Liberty can be quite good at the Continental terminal off-peak, but that could be seen as damning with faint praise, by comparing to the quite dingetastic AA area (somethign they share with PHL). (And may the Powers help you if there’s even so much as a whisper of thunder anywhere within 50 miles, you’ll get a weather hold.) The real horror comes if you try to DRIVE between the airport and the nearby hotels yourself. You’ll never make it. Exponentially worse road layout than PHL.

Redeeming quality for BWI and PHL: availability of *direct * rail transit into town, even if PHL’s SEPTA uses quite well-seasoned rolling stock.

If they ever finish building the MIA terminal, I may be able to say something about it, besides that whoever books me through there is not my friend. Heck, maybe then they can get around to freshening up the actual piers and the restrooms, which probably were already well broken in back when Tubbs and Crockett first showed up.

NY JFK… well, that depends on what part of JFK. AA Terminal 8 needs a rain of fire from the heavens, or for the maw of Hell to open and swallow it. Cramped, dingy, horrid services, every-which-way layout. I only use it if I have to and am travelling on the company dime, and you bet I’m claiming everything. Yet AA T9 (the new one) is so sleek you wonder if you’re still at JFK. Meanwhile Delta’s Terminal 2 leaves me baffled as to why Delta could not run a cut-rate operation (Song) when they obviously run a cut-rate terminal.

I actually liked the newer part of BDL Hartford Bradley (CT). Was able to get in and out smoothly and find a place to sit before going through the checkpoints, and the new terminal is reasonably comfortable, if a bit sterile.

Was satisfied also with Halifax, except for that it’s one of those that’s nowhere near town.

Toronto-Pearson gates were a bit of a maze and the gate area for the Regionals is nowhere near adequate for accommodating passenger backlog if more than one plane is not exactly in and out on time. But the check-in area worked very efficiently both there and in Halifax.

74

Worst - Delhi. Ugh - filthy, crowded, people shoving. My coworker had an absolutely surreal experience with some misdirected baggage that involved outright bribery on the part of the KLM staff (he was so happy to have his bags back, he didn’t care).

Best - Hong Kong, Singapore and I have a soft spot for the Burbank airport (it was sooo much nicer to fly into Burbank than LAX when I used to have to travel to Valencia every few months. Tiny, terrible places to eat, but so easy to land, get bags and get a rental car).

75

Funny story. I was flying out of DIA once with a friend. There are two sets of security lines starting at opposite ends of a large “pit,” and after the security check, they merge in the middle, where you can take escalators and such. My friend and I stand at the balcony overlooking the “pit” and see a very clear scene. To our left, the security line is PACKED TO THE GILLS with people. All the bends are absolutely full.

To our right, which the people to the left could not, of course, see, the line was near non-existent. Almost empty.

It’s obvious which one we took. We wondered then and afterwards just how that odd state of affairs came about.

76

Mostly ‘user-friendly’; it’s pretty sprawling and I’ve found the signs a little bit sparse. Then again, my most recent memory of flying through Denver consist of having an airline hold a flight for me (as the first leg had been drastically delayed), resulting in my hobbling as fast as humanly could across the entire airport on a badly-sprained ankle. So I’m possibly a bit biased.

And living in Santa Fe (altitude 7,000+ feet) I scoff at your “oooh, mile-high city” claims. :slight_smile:

77

Indeed. Albuquerque, too, is a mile high at it’s lowest point (the city slopes), but I always found it odd that no one seemed to mention it.

78

What’s a good place in the Philadelphia airport for a cheese steak sandwich?

I ask because I flew through Philadelphia about six months ago and, since I had a long layover, went looking for a cheese steak sandwich. But neither of the two security staffers I asked for recommendations was able to suggest anything good. Eventually, I found one somewhat dreary restaurant with cheese steak sandwiches on the menu. But it seems to me that every airport ought to have a couple of well-located restaurants offering the local specialties.

That said, I recommend SFO as a good airport, as its management made a point of featuring local restaurants in the new international terminal. It also has interesting museum exhibits in the terminals. On the other hand, because the parallel runways are so close, they sometimes need to close one during inclement weather or fog.

79

Jet Rock will do a cheesesteak. I think they are in C and F. Chickies n Pete’s will open in B or C soon and they will definitely do cheesesteaks. I am not sure if the bar in E has them. I can’t speak for quality. But if you have never had a good one before then you won’t know any better and should be happy.

80

Sorry to bring this back up…I have to update my new worst airport. This has to be the most terrible experience ever. So apparently Kennedy was a total mess tonight. I nearly lost it. So I had a flight from Atlanta to Kennedy. Scheduled to leave at 4 and arrive at 7. No big deal, sounds pretty normal. Here is the list of things that went wrong…

So after taking off, the captain gets on the horn and says, “For some reason, we’ve been put into a holding pattern as they are allowing no traffic into Kennedy at the moment” We stay there for about 20 minutes and then move up and hold again over Virginia for a while. Eventually we land and the captain informs us, "So we need to get to the other side of the airport, but there’s traffic in between here and there so it may take a while. We waited and hour and a half…

Oh and did I mention that there was a screaming baby directly in front of me? I was seriously fucking mad, oh jesus I was peeved. I wanted to scream it was so bad. So anyway, get off the plane. Now at this point, I feel, “okay, at least the bad part is over, I’m going to get my bags and get a cab and be home in an hour, tops” No it didn’t work that way, we probably waited about 20 mins by the baggage claim conveyor belt. So the conveyor belt starts… We all get excited and watch the little door intently. Then it turns off…Jesus I was ready to punch someone.

So somehow, the bags come off at the slowest rate I’ve ever thought possible. It was as if there was only one person unloading the bags. This was a huge flight too, btw. It was a full 777.

The worst part was that this baggage claim area was pitiful. There were no people working there to explain anything. However, apparently there was a clog in the system (?!) and that was causing problems. Eventually I learned that my bags weren’t there. It’s not the fault of JFK though, they bags got lost in Atlanta. Now, I was actually very satisfied with Delta, btw. They seem to have gotten a lot better. Plus I flew on some kind of air-link to atlanta. But it was a jet, so starting the flight at my local airport was amazing. It was very relaxed. I have to say that the problems only started once we got to JFK.

BTW, I heard someone say about the situation. Apparently a 747 had a failed take-off attempt on one of the runways and that was a problem because it was hindering the take-off of all of the planes which caused traffic problems. But the problem was…What would have happened if the weather were not perfect as it were today…

It was pathetic…