Best/worst Airports

[ajetrumpet]

Yeah, I have a couple of airports to add to the bottom of the list...

1) Detroit, Michigan, USA
2) Mexico City, MEXICO

I could say why they are on the bottom, but maybe some of you already understand...

 

[Pat Hartman]

JFK takes the cake for bad airports where I come from. Signs are almost non-existant and the arrivals and departures use the same driveway making for a traffic mess also (at least at the Delta terminal).

I comuted to Birmingham, AL for 6 months last year from LaGuardia in NY. Birmingham is very convenient with excellent signs. LGA isn't bad considering how old it is but the Starbucks serves stale pasteries. It is hard to believe with all the people going through that stuff would hand around long enough to get old but it does.

I'm glad I don't smoke any more. Going to an airport would just p--s me off. There are no accomidations for smokers any more. Personally, I think people were a lot more mellow when everyone smoked.

 

[ajetrumpet]

I'm glad I don't smoke any more. Going to an airport would just p--s me off. There are no accomidations for smokers any more. Personally, I think people were a lot more mellow when everyone smoked.

Pat,

If you go to a place like O'Hare, smoking can almost kill you, because if you're not standing next to an exit (literally), you have to walk a mile just to get outside!!

I remember listening to Dennis Miller's "All In" stand-up routine in '06. His sophisticated nature tells him that the reason there is a hole in the ozone layer now is because we make everbody step outside to smoke at work....TRUE??

 

[GaryPanic]

I wasn't a big fan of the airport at Frankfurt, Germany. Everything was dark and dirty looking, and like Bob said about the airport at Kansas City, we ended up having to go through security gates again to make our connecting flight.

Here in the states I would have to say one of my least favorites is the airport at Orlando, FL. It is pretty and modern looking, but the two times we've flown in there it has taken forever to get our bags and rental car and get out of there. In the meantime, we flew into the airport at Tampa, FL once and we had our bags and car and were out the door within 30 minutes of our flight being on the ground.

which airport - theres 2 of them - i been to both wasn't that impressed with either but been to worse ..

 

[GaryPanic]

I have always used London Gatwick airport when I am going over seas, I have two small children and we have never really had to wait too long, amenities are good, security process has been slowed down a touch since the attempted plane bomb attack but is getting better.

On the flip side, my worst airport used is Corfu airport, check in is a joke, large hall numerous check in desks, no defined queues everybody just milling around jostling for position. On the day that I used it, we had a four hour delay, some bright spark at the airport decided to tarmac the runway using the wrong tarmac which subsequently melted in the heat and got all the outbound and inbound flights cancelled due to wheels getting stuck.

Absolute nonsense.

I try to use Gatwick - its local clean and as scot hasmentioned easy on the eye - but we always try to fly Virgin going stateside - so osmetimes we have to go to Hreathrow - not so pleasant-
virgin on the other hand - hve been very good -when a planes been delay - we have been told and given an estimated time and also vouchers to spend

A friend of mine was double book so the bumped him off onto another flight and gave him a free flight any where vigin goes - (not bad for a 6 hours delay )

flown in to Newark - and thats a bump ride ( a bit weird when you can see the Freeway and it looks like its above you)

Customs was a shit , but no more than anywhere else (I must admit do they employ people without humor - or personality ) in the UK and Spain I like to have a bit of a laugh and a giggle with people but everytime a real sour faced arse asking stupid questions.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Hi, Pat. Birmingham, AL airport was pretty good the last two times I used it. My aunt used to live under the glide path for that one. Many's the night we would be at her house visiting when a low-flyin' jet would come in over the roof. They eventually bought out some of the houses and more went to expanding a school. But I'll tell you now, the worst flight I ever had in terms of total disappointment was from N'Awlins to Birmingham when they lost my mother.

(OK, they misplaced the coffin...)

Since I went up there a day early, they had enough time to get it to where it eventually had to go for the visitation and funeral. It wasn't a pleasant little trip anyway (for obvious reasons) but losing Mom's coffin just totally frosted my cookies.

 

[shadow9449]

I thought that this item related to this discussion:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/071021/koddities/oddity_airport_identifier

SHADOW

 

[MrsGorilla]

which airport - theres 2 of them - i been to both wasn't that impressed with either but been to worse ..

Don't remember now, it was back in '02. We flew out of Chicago on Lufthansa and landed in Frankfurt, then had to make a connecting flight to Helsinki. I want to say it was the main one.

 

[statsman]

I recall a story not too long ago of a small airport somewhere in Minnestota. The snow plow was on the front of an old dump truck.
The airport managment learned of a Federal grants program to replace old snow removal equipment at airports. They applied and got a $50,000 grant. Then someone read the fine print. The new plow would have to be placed in a separate, heated building that met Federal standards. It would cost the airport about $75,000 to erect a building to the correct specifications.

They sent the cheque back.

 

[ajetrumpet]

I recall a story not too long ago of a small airport somewhere in Minnestota. The snow plow was on the front of an old dump truck.
The airport managment learned of a Federal grants program to replace old snow removal equipment at airports. They applied and got a $50,000 grant. Then someone read the fine print. The new plow would have to be placed in a separate, heated building that met Federal standards. It would cost the airport about $75,000 to erect a building to the correct specifications.

They sent the cheque back.

I wouldn't have. I would have just contracted it out and let the peoples' increasing demand for travel in future years pay for the deferment. Are you saying they made a bad decision??? Maybe someone should have talked to the Accountant!!!