Best Domestic: - Galapagos Islands (the one in Santa Cruz not the other one): it's small, nice and ecological. Has a perfect match with the surrounding. The airport uses a whole island (small one and you have to cross in a boat to be able to get to Santa Cruz. It's awesome! Best Int'l: - Orlando, FL: unlike the rest of the airports I know inside the US, it's not as crowded and it's quick to go through Inmigration -for us foreigners. Worst Int'l: - Santo Domingo, Dominican Rep.: Arrival is a pain. Enough said. - Guayaquil and Quito, Ecuador: Arrival is not as bad as the above, but if your plane gets delayed, these are not nice places to keep yourself entertained Worst Domestic: - Cartagena, Colombia: For such a touristic place the airport is crap. I don't recommend getting there more than 30 minutes in advance to your flight or you'll be bored to death. - Dallas, TX: Way too big for me.
1. Copenhagen is overrated. Boring, dull... Nice girls though. 2. Schiphol-Amsterdam is about 10-15 minutes by car and half an hour max by train.
Domestically, I've always hated the Detroit airport. Memphis too. Like many others, I'm a fan of Washington National. Kansas City I thought was kind of cool, in that if you take a cab to the airport and know your gate, they can drop you off right there, you go through security and chack your bags, and you don't have to go through a centralized concourse area. Not that many people fly there, but the new Austin, TX airport is nice also. Internationally, I was in Tokyo this summer and enjoyed that. The train/subway station in the basement was quite convenient, although the airport was quite a ways out from anything. It's been a while since I was there, but the Beijing airport was probably one of the worst I've been to. Dirty, crowded, and it seemed like there were only 2 luggage carousels for all flights arriving at the airport.
Caracas was horrible. San Jose, Costa Rica has a wonderful new airport. I like terminal C in Newark. YOu feel like you're not even in an airport.
Yays: * Pittsburgh - has most everything you could almost want-- would be better had they placed security in a different spot (poses problems post 9/11 for families)...... and I'll miss flying into it to visit my folks. SPEEDY baggage claim! Nays: * Philly- didn't appreciate the looongg haul from terminal to terminal... especially during the years of construction. * Dulles- ick, signage was confusing and the great airline folks were rude as ... just a not-so-wonderful feel to it... Ehhs: * Logan- I always pity those who are not natives and get lost trying to figure out how to change terminals or to find transportation to their destination..... Besides.. could baggage claim take ANY longer??? (I've missed many a faster Logan Expresses due to this ... ) * South Bend- why?? The terminals are just boring.... and cause severe brain damage and/or hemorraghing when you sit in them for extensive periods of time..... though it's tiny-ness is nice during heavy rain storms. * Erie- not so bad for a small patch of concrete next to the lake.... perhaps a few more ammenities would make it better (one semi-real food area).. Kudos to the airline folks who ensured I got on a plane before they stopped flights due to the snow-forced closing of the AP. * Detroit- Even with the new terminal, I'm still not a fan of it totally.... and the first day of the new terminal hurt!
St. Maarten - Princess Juliana airport Netherland Antilles. Wow. http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=034851 http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=166027 http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=027599 http://www.airliners.net/open.file?id=211543 (I couldn't link directly to the the pics - sorry) And, yes, I checked. Those pictures are real: It is known among aviation professionals and enthusiasts for its unique approach and landing. Aircraft arriving at TNCM proceed to land over crowded Maho Beach, inspiring a look of awe from many onlookers who have never seen a Boeing 747 flying 50 feet over their heads.
The Denver airport is a colossal monstrosity, but I like it in general. It has every freaking shop int he world there (hell, you could live there and be pretty comfortable), nice art work (there is a cool mural/collage that shows all the weird museums/road stops in the US, like the world's largest prarie dog in Oakley, Kansas, and the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, California), and there is a walkway from the main terminal to terminal A that jets can fly under, but it is almost in freaking Nebraska, which means I have to leave my house 3-4 hours before my flight leaves, and I really hate the stupid trolly/subway system that gets you from terminal to terminal. It wouldn't be so bad, but there is no walkway option to get from Terminals B and C, so if the subways go out, the airport basically shuts down. I love Kansas City's airport for the fact that once you are at the curb, you are only 30 feet or so away from your gate. However, it also gets poor marks for being out in the middle of nowhere. I don't care for Washington Dulles, although those People Movers are a nice little novelty. I like Oakland's airport for the fact that most of my relatives live in the East Bay, and it's much more convienent to get to an East Bay destination from there. San Jose has a relatively ugly airport. I've only had stop overs in it. Chicago O'Hare is way too crowded, although the moving walkway between the terminals reminds me of a Disney ride. I'm almost afraid the airplane is going to crush a house when I land at Midway.
Old Newark was the worst of all time, anybody remember People's Express? Memphis is bad too. Best, Las Vegas baby
Re: Re: St. Maarten - Princess Juliana airport DITTO! You're sunning on the beach and a few planes are coming in a hundred feet or so above your head. Do they give out earplugs on the beach?
Re: Re: Re: St. Maarten - Princess Juliana airport The Westin Kauai has the same problem. If you are out on the golf course the planes come in so low I took a mulligan. Without exaggeration, Tiger could easily nail a plane if he had a mind too.
Re: St. Maarten - Princess Juliana airport I saw a clip where a 747 was on the approach end of that particular runway preparing for take-off. When the four engines spooled up to take-off power, it sand-blasted the holy hell out of the beach dwellers, who were scattering like cockroaches. They must have been unaware tourists. The locals probably sit off to the side and laugh.
i love the amsterdam airport. i guess i just like the design. very sixties. not a big fan of our own o'hare. with the renovation, i'd actually rather fly out of midway. it even has a cozy irish pub (family owned-not corporate). i doubt many of you here have been to warsaw, but the difference between the old airport (now used for domestic flights) and the new one is night and day. the old one was a glorified barn. the new one very chic, although not much bigger than a hankerchief.
worst airport - Milan/Bergamo. Shabbiest check-in I've ever seen. Info boards told you which depature gate, but not which check-in desk. They didn't even bother x-raying hand baggage. If you go there eat & drink beforehand, and don't go through the departure gate until the last minute as there's nothing apart from chairs on the other side. The were big signs pointing to the bar and the restaurant, but neither actually existed, just being vacant boarded-up units. (the next bit might be more to do with ryanair but...) there was no effort to board the plane in any order. Everyone was dumped onto two buses which drove to the plane and then just opened their doors, causing a free-for-all amongst passengers trying to get the best seats. Families with children, not wishing to take part in the scrum, ended up getting on last and being split up. The control tower then threatened to ground the plane for 2 hours as people were taking too long to find their seats (because we got their late because neither of the shuttle busses, not even the one that filled first, would drive to the plane until every single passenger with a ticket was on board one of them). Definitely nothing to do the airport, but oddly we sat in the back row of the ryanair plane which was designated an emergency exit - this despite the fact that this row offered no route of escape whatsoever.
Probably you mean Sheremetovo II in Moscow. Trust me, it isn't even the worst airport in the Moscow area. (actually it's the best) Domodedova airport is farther out than Sheremtova II and is nastier and worse than the Omaha greyhound station. The airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan went to hell after two thirds of it burned down. Elsewhere in the ex-USSR the airports all seem to be carbon copies of each other, just slight variations in size. The winner of the "I can't believe such a huge city has such a small airport" prize is St. Petersburg, whose 5 million inhabitants have an airport about the size of a medium-sized US city bus station.
Re: Re: St. Maarten - Princess Juliana airport It's not a smooth place to catch some rays, as you are one downdraft away from being hosed off of the bottom of the plane by the maintenence crew. Makes for cool photos, though. That's Saint Marteen in the Dutch Antilles, in case anyone is wondering.
I would also nominate Pulkovo (II) as being one of the worst airports I have ever been to (Minsk was worse, however). In addition to being EXTREMELY small, as JustinO already mentioned --surly customs, COLD (you only get heat once you pass through passport control on the way out), a currency exchange so criminal it is almost funny, and the worst duty-free I've ever been to. The booze at the bar is cheap, though. The only downer about going to Piter; suffice it to say this is nicely counterbalanced by the mandatory over-nighter at Schipol on the return leg back to Minneapolis...I thought Copenhagen was nice too, but nothing beats Schipol IMHO (doesn't hurt that Amsterdam is such a cool city). Kind of surprised that so many people earlier rated our own Minneapolis-St. Paul Intl so highly; the airport itself is not so bad, but it has to have the absolute worst parking setup of all time. I've always kind of liked San Francisco, myself. Worst domestics: LAX & Detroit, no one else even close.
This caught my eye just a few weeks ago, the latest example: http://www.sptimesrussia.com/archive/times/845/top/t_8754.htm
I've only had the opportunity to fly within the US. Here goes: Dislike: Logan: manuvering in the airport itself is okay. However, the baggage claim does suck as bad as advertised. Even getting to the Subway (T) is a PITA. You never know what part of the terminal the shuttle's going to start at. don't even get me started on how you take your life into your hands dropping someone off at Logan. At least there are lots of Dunkin Donuts around. Dulles: one time I had to take a little shuttle bus from baggage to terminal that went right across a runway. Enough said. Jury's out on: O'Hare: I've been lucky enough that any stopovers there were close enough in the H / K Concourse areas or two gates over on United. Have gotten stuck in the air for 1/2 hour over Lake Michigan though. The Burritto Beach at H / K is a big plus, and there's a Dunkin Donuts too. Hartsfield: Building on what Nate said about subways, I liked being able to walk from Terminal to Terminal. I don't know how I'd feel trying to get around during peak times though. Concessions point: Any airport that has Seattle's Best gets big points. The Chinese food restaurant was as good as Airport food gets too. Like: BWI: Quick and easy walk to rental cars, getting in and out of there isn't bad either. Also, very helpful, informative staff, which was really appreciated when I left my cell phone in the rental. DIA: Once you make the drive out there to whatever lot you go to (plenty of $5 shuttle and $7 15 min. walk parking), it's efficient, save for the subway concern. Best amenities of any aiport I've been to. DCA: walk to Metro with ease. Enough said. T.F. Green; Providence: Easy access from I-95, fairly cheap parking, quick security gate, helpful staff. One drawback to its small size is a dearth of direct flights. Favorite: Manchester, NH: $6 parking, 7 minute walk from economy lot to terminals, centralized, efficient security gates, easy to move from within the terminal. Not even 1/20 of the Logan traffic either.
Two that I haven't seen mentioned yet. Very Bad - American Airlines terminal in St. Louis. Just plain nasty. Very Nice - Delta terminal in Cincinatti. Absolutly beautiful. Intl: Very Nice - I really like the Toronto Intl. terminal. The quality for many of these airports changes drastically depending on which terminal. For instance Vegas has some very nice terminals and some very ratty ones. Same with Jacksonville FL
That's an old school of an airport as you get. I had a stopover there for three hours this past December. Lucky me.
Best International Airport - Copenhagen because of pure class as was said man times... schipol too. Worst International Airport - Kennedy International... it's futureisitc, but it looks like they put all the detail to the inside, but there is not place to spot! All the aircraft are hidden from those who are waiting outside of the security checkpoints.... Best Regional - Robechiewo Gdansk... good views... can even see vessels coming into port on good days (not too far from airport)... also Kolobrzeg is good because you can see the babes on the beach when you land. Most Favorite Airport (international) - Okecie - Polands main International airport sharing duties with Jan Pawel II (Krakow)... looks very good on the inside, nice views of aircraft, beautiful arrivals and departre wings...