Best/Worst Airports

[Luv2Roam]

Best -- I like the size of Chicago Midway, Ontario, CA, and even Omaha. Easy access, nice size.
I have heard Kansas City is great, as their luggage pick up is there as you get off the plane.
Worse -- Top of our list Dallas/Ft Worth. (Always a LAST resort, and ONLY if we *have* to. )
Didn't like Atlanta either.

Whenever I have to change planes, my flights alway seem to be at opposite ends.

Nashville is good -- They have great rib dinners there!

 

[Patty3]

I will be going to LasVegas next month for the first time. We are staying at Bally's, DH is going for work and I decided to go, I understand that we can check into our room at the airport, is this clearly marked as to where we can do this, thanks?

 

[GarrettJD]

I love MCO.

The Memphis airport is pretty bad, mostly because we don't have Southwest here and probably never will. If we want Southwest we have to go to Little Rock or Nashville. There is a local transportation service here that makes most of its business by shuttling people between Memphis and the Little Rock airport.

Because we don't have Southwest, fares tend to be high here since the airlines don't have to compete with Southwest. It's hard to find good deals here, but it can be done.

 

[DizGeek]

Best-

(MCO) Orlando...does it get any better getting off a plane and hopping on the monorail to pick up your luggage on the way to a Disney trip?

:thewave: :jumping4: :thewave:


Worst-

(MCO) Orlando...does it get any worse getting off the monorail and heading towards your gate after a Disney trip?

 

[pearlieq]

MCO is a darn good airport--light, bright, clearn--great shopping, fun monorail.

I love O'Hare. I love how easy is it to navigate, I love all of the special art and exhibits. I love watching the sailors. I love how easy it is to get to from the 'burbs (none of that icky Stevenson for me...)

Worsts: St. Louis had a pretty bad airport--it's been a few years since I've been there. Hopefully the've revamped it. I can't stand Chicago Midway. It's better since they remodeled, but still a royal pain to get to, to park, and to get to your gate. LAX was also really not impressive. We found it to be dark, dirty, and lacking in concessions/shopping.

 

[georgina]

We really like our Pittsburgh airport!

Haven't traveled all that much, but did not like the set-up at LAX when we were stuck there a full day (Thanks, Delta!) Have spent way too much time at Atlanta too due to delays, so we try to avoid that one also.

 

[djkeenan]

I remember when Manchester was like that, what a treat! Portsmouth (Pan Am) and Chicago/Gary (Southeast) are still like that and are at the top of my list of favorites.

Worst: Logan and O'Hare

 

[crazywig]

best: another vote for PVD i will never go to logan again! i love the 'smallness' of providence and parking is not only a breeze, but reasonable.


worst: cabo san lucas.

ick ick ick! and scary! that was in 2000, hopefully they've spruced it up some since then.

 

[beccasmom]

Best - I really like MCO - probably because I am more familiar with that airport than any other but my own! But it is a lovely airport and I have no complaints about it. Second would be Savannah - it is small and extremely easy to navigate. Third would be Pittsburgh.

Worst:
1.Kennedy – NY – an extremely unpleasant airport experience.
2.PHL – my home airport – construction is always taking place and picking up arriving passengers is a nightmare. Roadways leading to the airport are frequently closed and re-opened due to security concerns and directional signs are few and confusing.. Maybe things are on the upswing – we now have Southwest!
3.Heathrow outside London – I had the longest walk of my life getting to a British Airways gate two summers ago. This is a huge airport – too huge for my taste. It was overwhelming.

 

[Mymatisse]

Best would have to be Charlotte NC, and MCO. Both are very clean and there are a lot of restuarants and shops. The Buffalo-Niagara International Airport deserves an honorable mention simple because it's easy to navigate, and when I get there I know i'm home


Worst, without a doubt, Raleigh!!!! That's the most GHETTO airport there ever was! I'm also not fond of Hartsfield in Atlanta.

 

[B'rer Karen]

Hey, Raleigh isn't Ghetto. It's not my favorite airport in the world as it is on the small side and there aren't a lot of shops, but I have no idea where you get the "ghetto" classification from. I think the TSA staff is one of the best. They really move people through security quickly (this is all post 9/11. It wasn't that fast before).

You must not have been to many airports if you think RDU is the worst.

 

[clkelley]

I agree with others that DTW is the worst. Hate that airport.

As far as ease of arriving and departure our local airport HSV is super easy and convenient!

Only 10 gates and 5 minutes from parking garage to curbside check-in. 15 minutes to gate after that.

I used to avoid our airport for leisure travel because you couldn't get anywhere in Huntsville without going to Atlanta first and the fares were horrible, but in the last couple of years they have added two direct flights to Orlando each day, 3 direct flights to Dallas each day, and in October, Independence Air is adding two direct flights to Dulles each day. All of the fares are pretty competitive now days, so we use them more often.

Of course, I always love MCO, cause that means I'm going to Disney World!!!

Carol

 

[princess pooh]

Trudeau, my hometown airport, is pathetic. The bathrooms are usually dirty and there aren't many shops or restaurants compared to other airports. It is being remodeled though so I hope it turns out better.
I'm also not a big fan of Laguardia, always delayed and 56th in line for takeoff. I think that's just my bad luck though
CDG is so bleak and depressing. I had trouble finding my way around even though I speak French.

My favourites are MCO and Cincinatti. They are so bright and clean!

 

[monarchsfan16]

Best-Manchester Airport. It's so clean, the people are helpful and friendly and it's small. Even in today's world I feel relatively safe there. Orlando is just about as good. Love the monorail there.
Worst-Logan. Hate it. Spent hours trappend there trying to get to Orlando in 2000. That place is a confusing mess and the people are rude. We swore we'd never fly from there again. Guess where we're flying from in April

 

[Pinnie]

Best: NWA Terminal at DTW (Detroit) State of the art and very easy to navigate. The "ice tunnel" to the B and C gates is COOL.

I also second another poster on BNA (Nashville). I have done many a layover there and find the sit down restaurant outside of security very good and reasonable. I love the rocking chairs and entertainment there, too.

The new Midway is very nice and easy to navigate. I had lunch at the food court there last week on a layover and the choices are varied and different than standard "food courts"

My next favorite is Denver. That airport is very airy and again, lots of choices on both sides of the security checkpoints for food.

Worst is without a doubt the old SMITH terminal that SWA, SPIRIT, DELTA, etc fly out of in Detroit. There are signs up that it is on the agenda to be replaced, but I sure don't know when but it is so Third World. The baggage pick up area is just plain NASTY.

I am not a total fan of MCO. While the SWA area is nice, I find the area that NWA is in (gates 33 -37) is far down the path and there is nothing in that area that is visually appealing. It is also depressing to walk down that long corridor past all those unused USAir gates. There are NO shops or snack areas in that area, either.

pinnie

 

[scottygirl]

Best: NWA Terminal at DTW (Detroit) State of the art and very easy to navigate. The "ice tunnel" to the B and C gates is COOL.

DITTO

Worst is without a doubt the old SMITH terminal that SWA, SPIRIT, DELTA, etc fly out of in Detroit. There are signs up that it is on the agenda to be replaced, but I sure don't know when but it is so Third World. The baggage pick up area is just plain NASTY

DOUBLE DITTO

I also really like MCO and Tampa!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Best: MCO, MSP (Minneapolis/St. Paul) I find it easy to navigate, SLC (Salt Lake City) nice and clean easy to navigate.

Worst: ORD-I hate this arport!

 

[Mymatisse]

Originally posted by B'rer Karen
Hey, Raleigh isn't Ghetto. It's not my favorite airport in the world as it is on the small side and there aren't a lot of shops, but I have no idea where you get the "ghetto" classification from. I think the TSA staff is one of the best. They really move people through security quickly (this is all post 9/11. It wasn't that fast before).

You must not have been to many airports if you think RDU is the worst.

I've actually been to a number of airports, including a lot of small airports (Buffalo-Niagara being one of them). I still hold firm to my belief that Raleigh is a ghetto airport. Security was horrible when I was there in August 2003. The lines were so narrow that people had to smush up against the wall and get their toes run over just so one of the staff could push a wheelchair through because of course there was no special line for wheelchairs or strollers, that would be too logical.

Sorry if you take personal offense, just my opinion and I COMPLETELY stand by it.

 

[B'rer Karen]

You are entitled to your opinion, obviously, and I don't take offense to you disliking the airport. I do take offense to the term "Ghetto." Ghetto is a derogatory term that calls to mind images of unsafe, run down, dirty conditions, and where the people are trashy. But maybe ghetto has a different meaning to you.

As an aside, I just looked up the actual meaning of ghetto and was a little surprised. There is the common day meaning of course, but the background on where the word came from I had never heard. It is funny how things evolved.

 

[Mymatisse]

When I was there I thought it was run down and trashy. The staff I personally encountered were trashy, loud, and rude. I'm sure there are wonderful people working there, I just didn't encounter them.

Like I said those are just my own observations...