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OT - Your Top 3 Airports Domestic / International & Why

The new one in Minneapolis G terminal is hard to beat.
Yeah it’s a great one, but the LAX version has the inside and outside bars plus fantastic showers.

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I want my TSA to be pricks. You better never fly in to Israel if you think Omaha is bad. Get your known flyer number and it’s a breeze. I get checked every time I fly because of a metal joint implant. No big deal.
I get what you're saying but I don't think they need to be as rude and obnoxious as they are in Omaha.
I guess we agree to disagree about wanting the TSA to be pricks. That isn't what their job is.
 
I get what you're saying but I don't think they need to be as rude and obnoxious as they are in Omaha.
I guess we agree to disagree about wanting the TSA to be pricks. That isn't what their job is.
their job is to bilk the American public under the guise of "safety"
 
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I want my TSA to be pricks. You better never fly in to Israel if you think Omaha is bad. Get your known flyer number and it’s a breeze. I get checked every time I fly because of a metal joint implant. No big deal.
I have my known flier number and a TWIC card, but you still have to deal with pricks. I get their job sucks, but I encounter a lot of great TSA agents that don't act like the dipshits they have in Omaha.
 
Long Beach
John Wayne
Savannah

Sacramento was still pretty nice in 2019
KC's new airport is decent.

Oakland is an easy in and out, and view over the bay from waiting areas is nice.

Houston's bag screening lines are a cluster, IMO.

Recently flew out of Louisville, their TSA screening has to be the slowest I have ever experienced, no wonder they are 30-45 minutes on average wait time mid-late afternoon. We had maybe 10 people ahead of us when we got there at about 1:30 on a Monday afternoon, and it took 20 minutes to get through and gather our stuff on the other side. They must use that airport to train X-Ray guys or something.
 
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Don't get how people can like LAX. Terrible design. Shitty condition, amenities, restaurants, shops for the main airport for a city that size.
 
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Don't get how people can like LAX. Terrible design. Shitty condition, amenities, restaurants, shops for the main airport for a city that size.
agree

rental car return, parking and ride share pickup are a disaster, too, in addition to the ridiculousness of simply getting there in the first place
 
I have my known flier number and a TWIC card, but you still have to deal with pricks. I get their job sucks, but I encounter a lot of great TSA agents that don't act like the dipshits they have in Omaha.
I’ve flown out of Omaha quite a bit and have never had an issue. Of course I usually greet them with a smile and say “Hi. How are you?”. 😉
 
Really liked Savannah and Minneapolis internationally Istanbul the new airport was the biggest I've ever seen but the showers in Heathrow were what I needed after a week in India. Looking forward to Singapore next summer. Last place is Miami. I swear the flight before mine to Haiti people had roosters as carry-on
 
My favorite is Hong Kong International. It’s extremely open so it doesn’t seem as crowded as it is, very clean and has tons of stuff to look at. The worst is the smaller Bangkok one. Just outdated, kinda dirty and no amenities. The bigger one there is ok. The Charlotte terminal I was in was trash and was sent photos years later (recently) of that trash STILL under construction with tons of wires and can lights still hanging out of the ceiling.

I don’t get the distain for Eppley either. It’s not bad for the size. Feel like these people just haven’t been anywhere else.
 
Long Beach
John Wayne
Savannah

If you can make it work, flying into Long Beach is a great way to get to the LA area. Not many services, but who needs them when baggage claim and ride share pickup are about a 2 minute walk from your plane.
 
International:

Doha - Even better than Dubai. Beautiful and 24/7 options for F&B and retail.
Dubai
Hong Kong

Domestic:

This is a tough one. Some places have newer and better terminals, while other terminals at the same airport suckkk. I'll just pass on listing this.
 
Domestic:

Portland Oregon - Just for the fact you can get a drink at 5am. Terminals also setup very easy and never really that long of lines
Chicago O'Hare - Has a really fantastic United Club and really good options for food and drink.
Anchorage, AK - I love the food in this place. Always had a crab and reindeer sausage omelet. Also enjoy Silver Gulch beer and they have a spot there. Humpy's is fantastic as well.

International:

Dubai: The nicest airport I've ever been in. Everything is immaculate.
Munich / Frankfurt: Just love being able to have German beer in an Airport. The Lufthansa Lounge is great as well.
Istanbul: Very large airport, but surprisingly easy to navigate. Also easy to get a cheap decent tasting Efes Beer.
Dude, all three of the domestic you choose would be towards the bottom on my list. You have to jump over urban campers now at O'Hare and it's about as disorganized as they come.

Best and most organized: Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Ontario (California).
 
I dislike Ohare

Detroit is probably my favorite, maybe Philly due to the underground mall/restaurants
Detroit is consistently well-liked as an airport in most of the surveys. That's of course because it isn't that old so it was well planned.
 
Detroit is consistently well-liked as an airport in most of the surveys. That's of course because it isn't that old so it was well planned.
It's simple to navigate. Not too many delays. Enough places to stop and eat/drink. You can get anywhere in that airport in 10 min
 
I moved to Rapid City 6 years ago and rediscovered the joy of flying/airports. Everything here is easy, like in the good old days. Airport is clean, nice, and efficient. Short and fast TSA lines. Friendly people. Parking is cheap, easy, and super fast. Ticket prices are a bit higher here but it's a price I'm happy to pay for such a pleasant experience. Friends and family who fly here for visits always mention how nice and easy it is.
 
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SFO, Jackson WY & that grass airstrip between Sandhills and Dismal...
Hong Kong, Singapore & Zurich.

Architecture, amenities and ease.

I avoid O'Hare at all costs. Will fly out of my way to do so. Horrible design, horrible people, dirty and unfriendly. Almost got in fisticuffs with one of their TSA few years back and thought better of it.
 
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Best:
PHX - MESA
Detroit
LAX
Re “Phx-Mesa” located in East Mesa, I used to teach math part-time at CGCC-Williams Campus. Parking lot is directly across the street from airport terminal. Not a fan of Allegiant but it was sweet to fly to visit family in Rapid City. Leave car in CGCC lot and walk across the street to the terminal. That was great but I usually fly non-rev (free) on my wife’s airline Southwest, which of course is in the “big” PHX airport.

As for loving airports I don’t love any of them but it also is a function of which terminal is being used in large cities. For example terminal used by Southwest in San Diego is obsolete and has two separate security checkpoints for certain Southwest gates. So if you change Southwest planes, you might have to go back through security. Another crazy one is Vegas Southwest concourses, which are a hike. I like spaciousness of Terminal 4 in PHX and Terminal 3 is new. Nothing worse than old, cramped waiting areas.

All-time worst was hour long hike for multiple health screenings at Tokyo Haneda last Fall, right after Japan re-opened. But everyone in Japan has a job, no matter how unneeded.
 
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Also, forgot about Burbank. What’s not to like about an outdoor baggage claim in Sunny Southern CA. Flying out, you.go inside to check your bag and the back outside a side door to the TSA line. Only about the first twenty or so people in line were under a roof.
 
Favorite Domestics:
ATL - that behemoth airport puts on a flipping clinic.

San Diego - I know it can be complicated with the pod-style terminals, but those landings whilst gliding 70 feet above the ground to the runway, and the takeoffs over the Pacific Ocean are breathtaking.

Omaha Eppley - I love landing here. It’s pretty clean. And it’s home.


Favorite International Airport: Madrid. I’ve been to both Madrid and Barcelona’s aeropuertos. I was really impressed with Madrid. Barcelona’s was not as great, but still good, considering most takeoffs are over the Mediterranean Sea.

Least Favorite Internationals:
Cancun and Belize City
 
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What's the deal with Eppley and parking garages? I'll bet they have more parking spaces than most big city airports.
 
Favorite Domestics:
ATL - that behemoth airport puts on a flipping clinic.

San Diego - I know it can be complicated with the pod-style terminals, but those landings whilst gliding 70 feet above the ground to the runway, and the takeoffs over the Pacific Ocean are breathtaking.

Omaha Eppley - I love landing here. It’s pretty clean. And it’s home.


Favorite International Airport: Madrid. I’ve been to both Madrid and Barcelona’s aeropuertos. I was really impressed with Madrid. Barcelona’s was not as great, but still good, considering most takeoffs are over the Mediterranean Sea.

Least Favorite Internationals:
Cancun and Belize City
Lisbon is similar to Barcelona when landing. It's pretty cool because it is right next to the water. I agree with you on San Diego. Lived there for 5 years and flew a ton. It's fun going in and out of that place.
 
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Favorite Domestics:
ATL - that behemoth airport puts on a flipping clinic.

San Diego - I know it can be complicated with the pod-style terminals, but those landings whilst gliding 70 feet above the ground to the runway, and the takeoffs over the Pacific Ocean are breathtaking.

Omaha Eppley - I love landing here. It’s pretty clean. And it’s home.


Favorite International Airport: Madrid. I’ve been to both Madrid and Barcelona’s aeropuertos. I was really impressed with Madrid. Barcelona’s was not as great, but still good, considering most takeoffs are over the Mediterranean Sea.

Least Favorite Internationals:
Cancun and Belize City
Cancun airport is just one giant Margaritaville
 
I’m probably alone when I say that I like the Charlotte airport. Every TSA checkpoint is open to every gate, every restaurant, etc.

I’m not a fan of any airport that requires a train to get to my next terminal.
 
Domestic:

Portland Oregon - Just for the fact you can get a drink at 5am. Terminals also setup very easy and never really that long of lines
Chicago O'Hare - Has a really fantastic United Club and really good options for food and drink.
Anchorage, AK - I love the food in this place. Always had a crab and reindeer sausage omelet. Also enjoy Silver Gulch beer and they have a spot there. Humpy's is fantastic as well.

International:

Dubai: The nicest airport I've ever been in. Everything is immaculate.
Munich / Frankfurt: Just love being able to have German beer in an Airport. The Lufthansa Lounge is great as well.
Istanbul: Very large airport, but surprisingly easy to navigate. Also easy to get a cheap decent tasting Efes Beer.
I prefer to fly out of Spokane to Seattle. Cheaper parking, smaller, can get thru security quickly and planes take-off and get to the gate faster. Longer non-stop flights like to Omaha, East Coast and Hawaii I have to fly out of SeaTac. SeaTac has too many people, but much better food than Spokane. Not a high priority for me most of the time. (I don't eat airline food either). In the winter I have to go over two snowy mountain passes to get to SeaTac. Prefer to fly in/out of Denver in the morning. Too many storms late in the afternoon. DIA has the best airport food. Root Down in Concourse C. I prefer Minneapolis over Detroit. Raleigh-Durham is a nice mid-size airport. St Louis sucks. Fly into Baltimore rather than Dulles. Same airlines from SeaTac and usually cheaper

My wife and I always buy the upgraded tickets in the 4-5 rows behind First Class when flying Alaska airlines. A little more room, Seats are up front that make for better flying and you can get on and off quickly.

Prefer Alaska Airlines. Fly Southwest from Spokane to Denver, Las Vagas and Phoenix. When I flew Southwest from Spokane to Denver for the CU game the crew had worst attitude I've ever experienced. I don't really require anything from the crew, but this group kept making remarks about how little they cared about anything. Thought it was pretty unprofessional.
 
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I prefer to fly out of Spokane to Seattle. Cheaper parking, smaller, can get thru security quickly and planes take-off and get to the gate faster. Longer non-stop flights like to Omaha, East Coast and Hawaii I have to fly out of SeaTac. SeaTac has too many people, but much better food than Spokane. Not a high priority for me most of the time. (I don't eat airline food either). In the winter I have to go over two snowy mountain passes to get to SeaTac. Prefer to fly in/out of Denver in the morning. Too many storms late in the afternoon. DIA has the best airport food. Root Down in Concourse C. I prefer Minneapolis over Detroit. Raleigh-Durham is a nice mid-size airport. St Louis sucks. Fly into Baltimore rather than Dulles. Same airlines from SeaTac and usually cheaper
Agree. I live in Raleigh and their airport is a nice little airport. Super efficient and easy to get in and out of, but the food and beverage options blow and they don't start serving until 8am. Most of the time I am out of there on the flights before 6am.
 
I prefer to fly out of Spokane to Seattle. Cheaper parking, smaller, can get thru security quickly and planes take-off and get to the gate faster. Longer non-stop flights like to Omaha, East Coast and Hawaii I have to fly out of SeaTac. SeaTac has too many people, but much better food than Spokane. Not a high priority for me most of the time. (I don't eat airline food either). In the winter I have to go over two snowy mountain passes to get to SeaTac. Prefer to fly in/out of Denver in the morning. Too many storms late in the afternoon. DIA has the best airport food. Root Down in Concourse C. I prefer Minneapolis over Detroit. Raleigh-Durham is a nice mid-size airport. St Louis sucks. Fly into Baltimore rather than Dulles. Same airlines from SeaTac and usually cheaper

My wife and I always buy the upgraded tickets in the 4-5 rows behind First Class when flying Alaska airlines. A little more room, Seats are up front that make for better flying and you can get on and off quickly.

Prefer Alaska Airlines. Fly Southwest from Spokane to Denver, Las Vagas and Phoenix. When I flew Southwest from Spokane to Denver for the CU game the crew had worst attitude I've ever experienced. I don't really require anything from the crew, but this group kept making remarks about how little they carried about anything. Thought it was pretty unprofessional.
DIA is getting better with all the construction finally starting to finish, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. Root Down is good, though.

Southwest is trash

Greyhound of the sky
 
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I didn't know there were so many people interested in the culinary delights, or lack thereof, at airports. I mean, if you have a great cuisine you probably aren't going to locate your restaurant at an airport. You've pretty much cut out 98 percent of your clientele.
I've yet to find a meal worth remembering between flights.
 
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