Best and Worst Airports you have been to (Overall Experience)
Jan 20, 2013, 5:47 pm
#61
Join Date: Mar 2007
Programs: QFF Gold, Flying Blue, Enrich
Posts: 5,366
Get the lounge club pass and go through security/immigration like a VIP with the Coral Executive Lounge and then enjoy 15 minutes massage. All for free (2 visits per new Chase card). Takes the heat out of HKT 
(except for the massage - if I heard that word one more time after a few days in Phuket ...)
Jan 20, 2013, 6:00 pm
#62
Used to be highman123
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 3,541
Jan 20, 2013, 6:26 pm
#63
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: North Los Angeles County
Programs: AMEX MR, Delta Skymiles, AAdvantage, SW RR.
Posts: 12
In my limited flying experiences. here are mine:
Worst: Den, ATL, ORD, DFW, PHL, JFK, LGA.
Best : MCO, DXB, PHX.
No particular order, just basing it on the airports I have been to.
Worst: Den, ATL, ORD, DFW, PHL, JFK, LGA.
Best : MCO, DXB, PHX.
No particular order, just basing it on the airports I have been to.
Jan 20, 2013, 7:13 pm
#65
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Aussie in ORD
Programs: Marriott Plat, Ua Gold, GE.. Sucker for punishment
Posts: 4,237
Hmm..
Best
Domestically: In terms of Hubs I am a fan of Denver.. Had nice experiences in AUS for non-hub..
International (and, unsurprisingly overall) : Munich, Amsterdam
Worst
Tie between flying through LAX TBIT and LGA.. LGA needs to be torn down and rebuilt..
Best
Domestically: In terms of Hubs I am a fan of Denver.. Had nice experiences in AUS for non-hub..
International (and, unsurprisingly overall) : Munich, Amsterdam
Worst
Tie between flying through LAX TBIT and LGA.. LGA needs to be torn down and rebuilt..
Jan 21, 2013, 4:46 am
#67
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Cambridge, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Platinum
Posts: 1,368
It's small but I've never come across the other issues. Phuket in general has more than its fair share of nasty tourists, maybe I'm just oblivious to them.
I do recall having difficulty finding a place to have a drink there, so it would certainly rate low on my list of airports.
I do recall having difficulty finding a place to have a drink there, so it would certainly rate low on my list of airports.
Jan 21, 2013, 8:03 pm
#68
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: YUL
Programs: UA 1K, MR Bonvoy Bonzaiiiii, National EE
Posts: 622
It's small but I've never come across the other issues. Phuket in general has more than its fair share of nasty tourists, maybe I'm just oblivious to them.
I do recall having difficulty finding a place to have a drink there, so it would certainly rate low on my list of airports.
I do recall having difficulty finding a place to have a drink there, so it would certainly rate low on my list of airports.
As far as drinks go, I went straight to the Thai lounge after clearing immigration and was able to have a Singha or two. USA lounges are far better than the Thai lounge in HKT, unfortunately.
Jan 22, 2013, 6:07 am
#70
formerly known as Tad's Broiled Steaks
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 6,412
Having free terminal-wide wi-fi is a definite perk to me, a way to jump on the list of better airports than others. Thus, I was surprised (or forgot?) to find that SIN only has free wi-fi after check-in. Are they worried people would go there just to use it? Nonsense, there's quite a high proliferation of smart phone-users that have 3/4G access too. Anyway, I found that, waiting right by the first ticket-check of T3 gets you a just ok signal, as opposed to no signal in other parts of the building.
Also, BKK might the worst of any airport I've visited, A particularly dubious ranking seeing as it's not a Podunk in the middle of who knows where. Joining it are HKG (though as stated earlier, decent marks for fast-track immigration and transport) and SJO, because dang was everything there expensive.
Also, BKK might the worst of any airport I've visited, A particularly dubious ranking seeing as it's not a Podunk in the middle of who knows where. Joining it are HKG (though as stated earlier, decent marks for fast-track immigration and transport) and SJO, because dang was everything there expensive.
Jan 22, 2013, 7:04 am
#71
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: United Arab Emirates & Arizona, USA
Programs: UA MM/1P, EK Au, QR, TK, Marriott Life Ti, Hilton Dia, IC Dia, Hyatt Glob, Accor Pt, Shangri-La
Posts: 4,526
In addition to the usual suspects, two surprisingly decent ones are CMB and RGN. At RGN the airport wi-fi doesn't work well, but there is a decent restaurant/bar with its own wi-fi, for which they charge $2. Also the people are very friendly -- U.S. immigration and security personnel could learn a thing or two from this police state (my experience was even before the recent opening-up). And USM (Koh Samui) is a different experience, wholly appropriate for a tropical leisure destination.
There are plenty of hellholes. ZNZ (Zanzibar) was one memorably bad one, and of course DEL, DOH, and CGK.
I also like AUH. It's a bit dated, but the design of the main hall is charming, and amenities are decent. (I haven't been to the new EY terminal 3.) Ditto for BAH. And I love DXB. Yes, it's crowded, but the services are outstanding.
I find MUC and ZRH gorgeous and user-friendly. I agree that the offerings outside MUC -- the beer garden, restaurants, and Kempinski -- make the airport grounds practically viable for a mini-vacation/MR.
There are plenty of hellholes. ZNZ (Zanzibar) was one memorably bad one, and of course DEL, DOH, and CGK.
I also like AUH. It's a bit dated, but the design of the main hall is charming, and amenities are decent. (I haven't been to the new EY terminal 3.) Ditto for BAH. And I love DXB. Yes, it's crowded, but the services are outstanding.
I find MUC and ZRH gorgeous and user-friendly. I agree that the offerings outside MUC -- the beer garden, restaurants, and Kempinski -- make the airport grounds practically viable for a mini-vacation/MR.
Jan 22, 2013, 12:03 pm
#73
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: YYC
Programs: AC Basic, UA MP Gold, Marriott Gold Elite, SPG Gold, Amex Platinum
Posts: 3,008
Best: MUC, DEN (only connect on UA),LAS T2 (only because its so easy to get in and out).
Worst: LAX, AKL domestic, ORD,
Hit and miss: YYT, YYZ, LHR, FRA.
Worst: LAX, AKL domestic, ORD,
Hit and miss: YYT, YYZ, LHR, FRA.
Jan 22, 2013, 12:37 pm
#74
Join Date: May 2010
Location: FSD
Programs: BAEC, Delta SkyPesos, VS FC, SQ KF, AA, HHonors
Posts: 1,884
Best:
HKG - What a painless experience
KUL - The best part of a disappointing city/trip
MUC - Efficient
BNE - A concise airport, but I've never gone through in Y, only J. Waiting in the regular lines would be a real drag. Great for the J traveller. The QF lounge is small, but well stocked and appointed.
Worst
MIA - zoo
MEL - rude staff, relatively slow processing, those damn inclined ramps (which would be neat if I didn't need to drag luggage.
)
LAX - Terribly, terribly overcrowded OW lounge. I watched staff misdirect an older woman of limited mobility to the wrong lounge on the wrong floor. I rescued her. Immigration staff make JFK appear friendly.
Airports that people hate but I've never had a problem with:
LHR (T3 & 5) - I've never lost a bag and have never had a problem in the event of a missed connection.
JFK - My "home" airport. Immigration has been quick; my bags were never lost/pilfered.
HKG - What a painless experience
KUL - The best part of a disappointing city/trip
MUC - Efficient
BNE - A concise airport, but I've never gone through in Y, only J. Waiting in the regular lines would be a real drag. Great for the J traveller. The QF lounge is small, but well stocked and appointed.
Worst
MIA - zoo
MEL - rude staff, relatively slow processing, those damn inclined ramps (which would be neat if I didn't need to drag luggage.
)LAX - Terribly, terribly overcrowded OW lounge. I watched staff misdirect an older woman of limited mobility to the wrong lounge on the wrong floor. I rescued her. Immigration staff make JFK appear friendly.
Airports that people hate but I've never had a problem with:
LHR (T3 & 5) - I've never lost a bag and have never had a problem in the event of a missed connection.
JFK - My "home" airport. Immigration has been quick; my bags were never lost/pilfered.
Jan 22, 2013, 2:11 pm
#75
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Seoul (ex-SYD, LAX, SIN)
Programs: QF Bronze, OZ Diamond, KE
Posts: 187
Best
ICN, with SIN and HKG very close behind for overall experience getting in and out, as well as transferring.
Big fan of ADL as well (small, concise airport, but done really well).
Worst
SYD. I may be biased as it's my home airport, but I am embarrassed every time I travel through it to display this antique piece to visitors as their first experience of Australia. Old, glorified duty-free shop with exorbitant parking rates. Transferring to an international or domestic flight? Don't even get me started. Only saving graces are it's got a train station.
MEL. Call this Sydney-Melbourne rivalry, but MEL has all the bad qualities of SYD, only worse because it hasn't got a train station and is in the middle of nowhere. Its only saving grace is that it's extremely compact, so int/dom transfers are a breeze.
Airports I have a love/hate relationship with
LAX. Immigration and Customs are horrible and take ages (esp for non-US citizens), but I don't necessarily blame LAX for that. However for picking people up and dropping them off, it's my favourite airport. Parking is plentiful, convenient and cheap. I agree that if you're transferring flights at LAX in another terminal, it is a joke. But LAX was built to handle O&D traffic, and it does it IMO very well.
ICN, with SIN and HKG very close behind for overall experience getting in and out, as well as transferring.
Big fan of ADL as well (small, concise airport, but done really well).
Worst
SYD. I may be biased as it's my home airport, but I am embarrassed every time I travel through it to display this antique piece to visitors as their first experience of Australia. Old, glorified duty-free shop with exorbitant parking rates. Transferring to an international or domestic flight? Don't even get me started. Only saving graces are it's got a train station.
MEL. Call this Sydney-Melbourne rivalry, but MEL has all the bad qualities of SYD, only worse because it hasn't got a train station and is in the middle of nowhere. Its only saving grace is that it's extremely compact, so int/dom transfers are a breeze.
Airports I have a love/hate relationship with
LAX. Immigration and Customs are horrible and take ages (esp for non-US citizens), but I don't necessarily blame LAX for that. However for picking people up and dropping them off, it's my favourite airport. Parking is plentiful, convenient and cheap. I agree that if you're transferring flights at LAX in another terminal, it is a joke. But LAX was built to handle O&D traffic, and it does it IMO very well.