LAX is such a terrible international connector, I’ve only flown through there once coming home, but it spit me out of customs and was not at all obvious where I was supposed to go. Eventually I figured out you have to go outside and then walk to the other terminal.
Fortunately, it didn’t even matter that it took me forever because I had already missed my flight due to a weather delay leaving Costa Rica. If it had been close I would have been on megaragetilt.
Worst airports I’ve ever been to are in America.
Honestly, some that are in perceived third world countries are absolutely amazing
SeaTac isn’t on the same level as the bottom tier airports, but it’s still in that half or bottom third tier.
I might have skewed judgement because I think it’s been under construction forever.
Also, I regularly compare it to PDX which is just a fantastic airport. I prefer to drive the 2 hours to PDX if I can, rather than take the gamble on SeaTac taking me an hour or two. It always feels like a gamble flying out of SeaTac unless I’m willing to sit in the airport for a possible 2 or 3 hours.
SeaTac being unable to figure out their TSA situation is one of the most enduring jokes in the travel industry.
That’s the part that stands out. They need a TSA pre-pre check for SeaTac. It’s miserable.
ORD is pretty close to the WOAT if you’re connecting (especially if you’re flying Delta and connecting to skyteam partners to fly abroad, holy shit it’s fucking impossible to get from T2 to T5 without selling a kidney). If you’re traveling to chicago it’s not terrible since you can get on the blue line, but jesus they make it hard to get to the train. Midway is like 2000x bettter, so easy to get on the orange line and it’s a much quicker ride to the loop.
LAX definitely the WOAT regardless of whether you’re connecting or if that’s your origin/destination.
MCI incredibly terrible due to modern security the designers didn’t anticipate, but soon to be replaced.
the shiny new SLC is pretty awful in practice, just a really terrible layout and tons and tons of walking.
LGA was bad, all fo the construction has made it considerably worse, and it’s definitely not worth it just to get a shiny dump that you can’t get to manhattan from to replace the only dank dump you couldn’t get to manhattan from, what a fucking joke
overall people think they want fancy shiny new airports but what they actually want is an airport like DCA that is easy to get in and out of and isn’t a fucking nightmare, who gives a shit if it’s old, you’re not fucking living there.
Reagan is the best airport in the country, so easy. New airports usually suck because they’re so far from the city (shout out Denver) and are too spaced out (tons of walking).
I’m baffled why we can’t just fix shitty old airports in good locations to not be shitty anymore. Philadelphia, I’m looking at you, in addition to those mentioned above. JFK is somehow not close AND incredibly shitty, well done NYC
100% this.
Man, I used to fly DCA to Ottawa for work every other week. I was literally door-to-gate in 30 minutes, and 10-15 of that was the cab to the airport. It was phenomenal. I had a shorter commute to fucking Ottawa than some (crazy) people in the DC area have driving into the city.
MCI (Kansas City) is great if you don’t have to change planes. Get dropped off and you’re right at your gate with zero walking. The security part really isn’t a big issue from a rider POV, since they have a TSA for each block of 4 gates. Changing planes from one terminal to the other is the big mess.
does anyone actually connect at MCI? the problem with the security set up is that you’re trapped in that tiny holding pen once you go through security.
I love all the folks talking about how great DCA is while DCA is currently undergoing a major renovation that might mess up one of the things people love about it by moving the security checkpoints and consolidating the number of entrance points…
Yeah few ever connect but that’s largely because of the terminal design. TWA was supposed to make MCI a hub, and had them specifically build the airport to their spec. Then security became an issue, and TWA chose St. Louis instead. I believe there were plans for a people mover.
I guess being trapped in the holding pen never bothered me too much. There’s a bathroom and a little shop. If I want to drink beer or eat I do that first, then go to the gate, much like I would if I was at a normal airport. But I guess you always have to worry about timing and the line getting huge. Being some kind of preferred status helps there.
Which is why I’ve always considered LGA underrated. Super quick curb to gate and to/from the city - granted, on the latter it matters very much where in the city you’re trying to go. The new terminals have actually made the curb-to-gate time worse, but it’s nice to have something that’s not old and dirty. Sure, the public transportation options suck, but they do for all the NYC-area airports, so I don’t see that as a reason for LGA getting more flack than EWR or JFK, which it always seems to.
literally nobody thinks of flushing as “the city”
this is absolutely wrong, it is much, much easier/faster to get into midtown from JFK or EWR given airtrain/PATH/LIRR. It’s a pain in the ass, sure, changing trains two times sucks but it’s a TON better than LGA->bus->(various nightmares)->midtown
Obviously Queens, but for anything mid/upper Manhattan, it is far superior to the other options, IMO.
Within NYC - Correct
Outside America, I’m constantly clarifying that I’m talking about the city and then find myself furthering clarifying that I’m not talking about Manhattan.
There are enough variables - Midtown East or West, Upper East or West, further uptown, Uber vs. Public Transit - such that it’s hard to make a definitive statement. If you’re at 42nd/Lex, I’d argue taking the express to 125th and getting the bus is much easier than crossing town on the shuttle, switching for 1 stop to Penn, getting on the railroad, then switching to the Airtrain. Don’t believe I’ve ever had anything that qualifies as a “various nightmare” on the M60.
And by car, I don’t think it’s close most of the time if you’re 42nd and above. Looked a few minutes ago. LGA to midtown was 25 minutes. 50 minutes from JFK. Is it ever not 50+ minutes from JFK? Maybe a 3 am? Probably still some traffic on the Van Wyck.
LOL