Beckles

Just heard this when I was out for lunch on CNBC, here's a news story about the same quote:

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2014/...7461391745292/

I admit I haven't been to Hong Kong airport, but I just did a quick check on Google Maps, so someone let me know if this is the case or not since I'm going by what I see on the satellite picture and have experienced at other airports in the world, it appears to be one of the many oh so modern airports that still boards even widebody aircraft from the tarmac (not all or most, but some), which is all but unheard of in our third world airports here in the US but common practice in the rest of the world. Similarly, I recently read a news story about the new airport opening in Qatar to support Qatar Airways, and according to the story less than half of the airplane positions at the new airport are at the terminal (i.e., they would be boarding/deboarding flights on the tarmac from day one).

Redhead

LGA is 3rd world in my opinion. Not because of how they load planes but the total lack of amenities, the leaky roof, and the general run-down feel of it.

piper28

Sorry, there's a terminal in Miami that's got to be worse than just about anything else in the US. Honestly don't remember which one it was, because I've only been there once, for a late night charter flight, and I can't remember the counter they were borrowing for their check-in procedure.

Hmm, looking at the terminal map looks like it was probably F. Don't know if they've updated it at all in the last few years since I was through there, but it was pretty terrible.

heraclitus

I guess it's the price you pay for being a civil aviation pioneer, but a lot of major US airports are a collection of small, awkward terminals that kept getting added on to over the years. LGA is one of the worst offenders, but it's far from alone... ORD is like 100 of the same small-town terminals laid end to end, LAX and EWR are a patchwork collection of old parts that somehow keep working, even beautiful cities like SAN are hobbled with dingy, dismal terminals.

It's kind of rare that you encounter any large, well-designed, modern terminals in the US of the kind you see everywhere in Asia. DEN, MSP and RDU stand out in my mind, but yeah... NY area airports are a bit of an embarrassment when you consider that they are the gateway to arguably the most important, most influential city on earth.

rankourabu

You should really take a trip out to HKG airport - and then you will understand what he is saying.

You cant judge the airport's 3rd worldness by the fact that some planes are loaded by buses and stairs. Its done all over the world, including most very first world European airports.

heraclitus

I always thought it was more of a climate thing... I have been to some beautiful airports in warm parts of the world where you board via the stairs (although I only remember using jetbridges in HKG), whereas I have been to some comparatively unimpressive terminals in colder North American locales that provide warm jetbridges.

If it's usually warm and not raining, what need is there for jetbridges?

jspira

Ongoing discussion in TravelBuzz Section on FT

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...a-airport.html

Beckles

It's much easier to build a nice terminal if it's not big enough, other than a bus station, to accommodate all the aircraft arriving at the airport. I have been to T5 at LHR for example, beautiful terminal ... but when I arrived there on a 777 I deplane by air stairs onto the tarmac and to a bus, don't tell me that's first world but deplaning a CRJ-200 by jet bridge at LaGuardia is third world just because the terminal isn't brand new. I am well aware that boarding large aircraft off the tarmac is very common throughout the world, but to claim then that those airports are clearly superior to older airports here in the US where even 50 seat aircraft are more often than not boarded directly from the terminal via jet bridge just doesn't hold water in my opinion.

satman40

China often says US like a 3rd world country, slow trains, and little airplane.

cblaisd

Because it's frustrating and not helpful to have the same subject discussed in multiple places, I will close this and refer folks to the cited thread.

Thanks,

cblaisd
Moderator, Travel News