Nice list. Schiphol is good, clean and it's clear where your gate is (it's only not that nice if you find out your plane is leaving for the last gate :lol: ). 1,5 Year ago I was a Detroit for an hour (plane change), that looked very good as well. Clean, modern and directions were clear. Only the fact that I was stuck in that plane for the next two hours without taking off wasn't so nice, but that had nothing to do with the aiport, but the weather :lol: Two years ago I was in Madrid, I hate that airport. I bought some food, I almost got sick of it. The plane was delayed and there's nothing to do there. I heard they have a new terminal now, I hope it's better now there.
Of the airports on that list, I've been to Hong Kong Intl. and Heathrow - I didn't actually mind either of them (well, obviously not HK, as it's on the 'best' list ). Yes, Heathrow is HUGE, but as DaWacko said, it has to be. As for Hong Kong - I look forward to going back next year. I will be sure to head to Gate 40 for the free foot massage though! Other airports - * Auckland International in NZ is quite nice, especially since they've re-done the place in the past year. * Dublin International in Ireland is CRAZY. Honestly, it's constantly packed with faaaaar too many people. * Frankfurt airport in Germany is just plain amusing. The personnel ride bicycles around the place. Hee. * Sydney airport in Australia isn't half bad. Most of the shops there are touristy crap though, rather than actual shops, which is disappointing. I can't really judge the airport in Bangkok 'cause last time I was there I was ENTIRELY sleep deprived and kinda sick, so it just wasn't a fun time in general, lol. Zurich (Switzerland) was kinda nice, Fiumicino (Rome, Italy) was...okay I guess. But with trains going between the arrival gate and actually getting out into Rome itself - kinda annoying. It means you can't miss the queues in customs by getting out of the plane earlier, 'cause you have to wait for everyone to get to the train anyway. Sigh. I have been to plenty of other airports, but those are the ones I've been to in the past year or so. Before that, some are just too long ago to really remember (or properly judge, as they may have changed since then).
So with them on the Hong Kong airport being one of the best. It's not just the airport either, but the people that work there are so friendly and nice. They go out of their way to help you As for the worst: Yes, for Heathrow. Was there earlier this year. Absolute nightmare to navigate. And unfortunately with these terrorist times, there are NO rubbish bins! And NO staff to ask anything! I actually didn't find the Charles de Gaulle that bad, but perhaps that was because I went to a different area. And I hate to say it, but I'd have add the airport in Vienna. No staff. I went to the airport in Belgium too. Apart from being really long it was actually a nice place.
Ooohhh... I've been in millions (okay, lots) of airports around the world. The Good: Vienna! (I might be a little biased:lol, O'Hare (again, biased), Ft. Worth/Dallas, Tampa, Frankfurt (gotta love the bicyles!), Midway is pretty decent, Sarasota (FL), Zurich. The Bad: Madrid, Newark, Miami, Luton, Kiev, Odessa, Moscow. The UGLY: Heathrow, Dulles (don't get me started on Dulles), Paris (Air France is horrible, and you have to walk 4ever). And I was too young to remember all the rest.
Toronto and Vancouver is pretty good.. Cassidy/Nanaimo airport.. It can't even do large jumbo jets, just the small Jazz ones.. It's virtually unaccessable.
^ :lol: My favourites: Vancouver (so clean) and Christchurch, NZ (nice size and straight forward!) Most confusing: Miami (too vast!) Least favourite: Johannesburg (very scruffy, but that was a few years ago now).
Heathrow isn't that bad, it has to be super huge to provide all the flights it has, but in saying that I try to avoid flying through there cos ever time I end up sprinting my behind off to try to get to the gate in time. Favs are Amsterdam, it's very clean and light. Frankfurt, cos they have bikes and it cracks me up, and Auckland cos it has the best duty free ever! Least favs, Nadi (Fiji), so unorganised and the airconditioning never works. Venice, longest cues I have ever seen for no actual reason other than the staff being really slow. And LAX, although I have only been there once and I was so tired and cranky I probably would have hated it no matter how good it was. Also a side note about airports: whilst I appreciate the extra security measures they take, why is it that I always get called over for the pat down treatment, do I seriously look suspicious? I never see old ladies getting patted down...
^My sis had 15mins to get from Terminal 1 to Terminal 4 :lol: Ah well, I always try to pick a flight so I have enough time between changes. Had to run and a lot once in Oslo.
^ yeah I am planning on doing most of my xmas shopping at Auckland duty free this year, he he. Plus I love that if you are from NZ or Aus and buy something at duty free you can go through that special immigration part where there are like no cues.
w00t! That's so right. It's a really cool airport, very clean, light, and it has lots of shops. I've been there 10 times, I think. Every visit was cool. I love it. I agree on that. CDG is such a nasty, smelly airport. I also like the airport of Toulouse, France. It's clean, small, the directions are clear, but the ground staff isn't that nice.
Geez.. theater you've really been around incredible.. my favorite .. and I haven't been on that many.. not next to some of you, is McCarran here in Vegas.. awesome. a tram. picks you up right at the plane and transports you right to the luggage area.. very smooth operation, one of my worst was San Diego crazy and the very worst was San Antonio.. they lost my luggage. it was in Denver. and getting out was a nitemare L.A. International is also nuts.. Sacramento is cool.. and Phoenix OK..
oakland sucks...they have one place for drop off and pick up! even my hometown airport on the east coast has a separate drop off and pick up location! you would have thought with all the construction they did at oakland, they would have fixed that...also it takes forever to get your luggage at baggage claim..they suck!!
With you on all three counts. When I flew from LAX to Dallas a couple years back, I got to the airport over two hours before my flight time...20 minutes before departure they had to pull me (and a few others) out of the line, rush me through the metal detectors and wanding, and get me to the gate...the security line at America West stretched a couple times around the lobby and outside clear up to the end of the block and back...and it was POURING...I was still drenched when I arrived in 90-degree Dallas. Typical LAX experience...The smaller local airports aren't much better. I haven't been to John Wayne (Orange County) Airport* in forever but...Ontario SUCKS...Long Beach is more suited for a small fleet of Cessnas than a couple of major airlines...and every time I've been to Burbank it's been massively crowded. When flights are delayed/cancelled, the place is a disaster. Sacramento, on the other hand, I love. I lived up there when the new Terminal A was built. The acoustic engineering is genius - the place seems way quieter than it normally would be. It's classy, there's a good selection of eateries (from local joints like Sacramento Brewing Co. to the regular national guys like Starbucks and Cinnabon), the shops are cool (especially the sports swag shop) and I still get a kick out of the luggage "sculptures" in the baggage claim area. :lol: I haven't been to Heathrow since 1989, thought it was "okay" but, as I say, I had LAX as a point of comparison... :lol: My faves - Sacramento, DFW (that place is a freakin' DREAM compared to LAX...), Boston Logan, and the improved San Francisco Airport (before the changes it was on my "worst" list...). My non-faves - Las Vegas McCarran, Ontario, Chicago O'Hare, Long Beach, LAX. *This deserves a footnote: How ironic for Orange County to name their airport after a local celebrity who vehemently opposed its construction... :lol: