Delta Concourse D gates appallingly filthy and run down -- worse than a bus station
Jun 7, 2019, 3:26 pm
#46
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Jun 7, 2019, 3:35 pm
#47
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I may not travel there as much as you do, but I just don't see this to the extent you are portraying it to be. I have seen it, I have inadvertently sat in goo before, but that is because people are gross, but they clean it up, it happens everywhere not just ATL.
Jun 7, 2019, 6:07 pm
#49
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I've been to all of those domestic airports and to well over 50 countries. ATL strikes me as one of the world's worst (major) airports, particularly given the rude and chaotic TSA/CBP experiences there. And the trash and filth at so many gates. It's not just about rundown buildings, but about being dirty.
The ATL Next thing is nice, but they're spending millions to build an elaborate canopy, even as the conditions inside the airport -- Terminal D, the domestic rotunda, and many other places -- are appalling. Why is a canopy a priority?
The Marta/international connectivity issue is indeed an ATL issue. Excusing that problem because Atlanta has a problematic history with public transportation is absurd. ATL -- and by extension Delta -- simply doesn't view its international flights as worthy of world-class infrastructure.
The ATL Next thing is nice, but they're spending millions to build an elaborate canopy, even as the conditions inside the airport -- Terminal D, the domestic rotunda, and many other places -- are appalling. Why is a canopy a priority?
The Marta/international connectivity issue is indeed an ATL issue. Excusing that problem because Atlanta has a problematic history with public transportation is absurd. ATL -- and by extension Delta -- simply doesn't view its international flights as worthy of world-class infrastructure.
That said, you're entitled to your perspective which clearly isn't going to change, and you're also entitled to avoid ATL if you really feel it's that bad. Certainly many of us avoid other airports for reasons of our own, as well.
Jun 7, 2019, 6:35 pm
#50
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This guy must just be a troll or else doesn't travel much.
Atlanta airport is not an impressively beautiful airport. That said, it isn't a dump either. The whole airport is very nice in comparison to a lot of other major airports. Most of LAX, ORD, LGA, JFK and large parts of EWR and IAD are significantly worse than the ATL airport. Looking out of at the top-10 US airports by passenger volume, I'm strained to find a single airport that is significantly better than ATL. The only airport that I can say is truly differentiated is perhaps Denver, and that is mostly because it is a comparatively new airport (only having opened in 1995). CLT, DFW, SFO, and SEA are probably on par with Atlanta depending on which concourses/terminals you're looking at. The rest are noticeably worse.
Atlanta airport is not an impressively beautiful airport. That said, it isn't a dump either. The whole airport is very nice in comparison to a lot of other major airports. Most of LAX, ORD, LGA, JFK and large parts of EWR and IAD are significantly worse than the ATL airport. Looking out of at the top-10 US airports by passenger volume, I'm strained to find a single airport that is significantly better than ATL. The only airport that I can say is truly differentiated is perhaps Denver, and that is mostly because it is a comparatively new airport (only having opened in 1995). CLT, DFW, SFO, and SEA are probably on par with Atlanta depending on which concourses/terminals you're looking at. The rest are noticeably worse.
Jun 7, 2019, 8:49 pm
#52
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I don't think the OP spends a lot of time at bus stations. Now had this thread been about SLC I might have been more inclined to agree but as someone who's at ATL several times a month (often using D to go to such wondrous destinations as ABY, AEX and CSG) I disagree with the premise of this thread.
Also, D has the Chipotle so that's something to be happy about
Also, D has the Chipotle so that's something to be happy about
Jun 8, 2019, 1:41 am
#53
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100% agree. It is disgusting how quickly SEA became an absolute dump. 5 years ago, I would have said SEA was one of the most enjoyable airports to fly through. Now the only airports that I think compare to SEA are LAX and EWR. People in SEA are addicted to littering, whether it be in the airport or on the highways, and the garbage just piles up and sits until it rots.
Jun 8, 2019, 1:59 am
#54
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Ultimately it's up to the airport to keep up with 'piggy passengers'. It's not like they only fly from one terminal.
Jun 8, 2019, 4:21 am
#55
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The (non-DL) T-gates were much worse than D the last time I ventured over there (admittedly ~2 years ago).
Personally, I don't really care what the airport looks like as long as it functions well. Por ejemploe: JFK has some nice concourses, but I for dang sure wouldn't book a connecting flight there when ATL is an option.
Personally, I don't really care what the airport looks like as long as it functions well. Por ejemploe: JFK has some nice concourses, but I for dang sure wouldn't book a connecting flight there when ATL is an option.
Jun 8, 2019, 11:30 am
#56
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I really think gate maintenance is the airport's responsibility, not Delta's. The situation described sounds pretty dismal, but I suspect Delta is just as disgusted as you are.
Jun 8, 2019, 12:26 pm
#57
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I agree that the airport overall is not world-class and is frankly appalling for the busiest airport in the United States.
They recently "renovated" the walkways between terminals -- if you don't take the train -- and totally screwed up the HVAC! Some are freezing cold and some are hot and humid. And the art/theming is a weird mix of local Georgia history (grotesquely elevating the Confederacy), African art and, and fake rainforest.
And then there's the outdated Marta station. And the fact that the international terminal has no public transport at all apart from a local bus -- you have to take a shuttle to the domestic terminal's Marta station.
They recently "renovated" the walkways between terminals -- if you don't take the train -- and totally screwed up the HVAC! Some are freezing cold and some are hot and humid. And the art/theming is a weird mix of local Georgia history (grotesquely elevating the Confederacy), African art and, and fake rainforest.
And then there's the outdated Marta station. And the fact that the international terminal has no public transport at all apart from a local bus -- you have to take a shuttle to the domestic terminal's Marta station.
Jun 8, 2019, 1:55 pm
#58
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I've been to all of those domestic airports and to well over 50 countries. ATL strikes me as one of the world's worst (major) airports, particularly given the rude and chaotic TSA/CBP experiences there. And the trash and filth at so many gates. It's not just about rundown buildings, but about being dirty.
The ATL Next thing is nice, but they're spending millions to build an elaborate canopy, even as the conditions inside the airport -- Terminal D, the domestic rotunda, and many other places -- are appalling. Why is a canopy a priority?
The Marta/international connectivity issue is indeed an ATL issue. Excusing that problem because Atlanta has a problematic history with public transportation is absurd. ATL -- and by extension Delta -- simply doesn't view its international flights as worthy of world-class infrastructure.
The ATL Next thing is nice, but they're spending millions to build an elaborate canopy, even as the conditions inside the airport -- Terminal D, the domestic rotunda, and many other places -- are appalling. Why is a canopy a priority?
The Marta/international connectivity issue is indeed an ATL issue. Excusing that problem because Atlanta has a problematic history with public transportation is absurd. ATL -- and by extension Delta -- simply doesn't view its international flights as worthy of world-class infrastructure.
I fly through ATL about 20 times a year, most of my flights (DCA) end up out of T. I don't mind A or B, E or F. The renovations in the concourses are nice. If you don't like the HVAC in the walkways between concourses, take the train. I routinely walk it and don't have any complaints. Have you not seen the newly renovated T, A, B gates?
ATL is one of the most efficient airports I've ever been in. When you take into account the number of flights DL funnels through ATL on a daily basis it's amazing. Is the airport perfect? Of course not, but it's hardly the dump you are implying.
Jun 9, 2019, 4:30 pm
#59
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Jun 9, 2019, 8:06 pm
#60
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This isn't Singapore, this is a largely domestic-serving US airport. And the walkways are far more efficient than a lot of what you find in the US.