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Penn Central

Train Attendant
Joined
Jun 3, 2007
Messages
86
Location
Northern Virginia
Mine is the St. Louis airport. This was 10 years ago, so a lot might have changed, but the bus-like trams(I have no idea what they are officially called) smelled just awful! I can still remember the scent today. Just for that, I never want to fly in there again.
 
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*LaGuardia, because it's old, small, and experiences delays of at least a week every time someone turns on a garden hose.

*The old Detroit Metro Airport (before the new Northwest terminal was built), because you had to catch a flight just to get to the other end of the terminal in less than an hour.

*The new Detroit Metro Airport (new Northwest terminal), because that thing is literally a mile long.

As for my opposite opinions:

*Minneapolis-St. Paul: Very nice inside

*Vancouver, BC: When arriving on an international flight, you walk through a very nice nature scene with life-size models of trees, plants, water, etc. There might even be nature audio recordings of animals and running water, but I can't remember (I'd still rather arrive by train; the scenery is better and customs/immigration isn't as much of a hassle when you don't have to compete with four 747-loads of people to get cleared).
 
Mine is the St. Louis airport. This was 10 years ago, so a lot might have changed, but the bus-like trams(I have no idea what they are officially called) smelled just awful! I can still remember the scent today. Just for that, I never want to fly in there again.
St Louis Lambert has gotten better since then. It's actually shrunk in size, gate and departure wise, due to American cutting back much of their operations there. Not to say it's perfect, but, I fly out of there 2 to 3 times a month, and those 'stinky' trams are a thing of the past...

Now, the list of airports I dislike. I have several, but, will limit it to a few if the major airports:

-McCarran in Las Vegas--WAY too many people, especially on Sundays and Fridays. I will admit though, any other day is pretty good, and the security lines really have never been much of a problem for as busy as the airport is.

-Chicago O'Hare--got lost once trying to get out of the airport to meet a friend of mine. Hard to make it across the terminal for a short connection also.

-Dallas/Ft Worth--another hard place to catch a short connection. The tram helps though....

-San Juan, Puerto Rico--if you have a late afternoon/evening arrival, hope that you don't have lost luggage! The baggage offices are on the complete opposite side of the airport from the baggage claim.

That's enough for me....
 
LAX

You end up with long walks or bus rides and usually can not change planes without going out so that you have to go through security checks AGAIN.

In particular, the idiocy of having several cross Pacific 747's scheduled for around midnight departures from adjacent gates. Talk about ZOO! Watch 3000 or so people of all ages from all nationalities on the planet trying to go through security carrying all the various airlines allow so they can get on 12 hour plus flights.
 
O'Headache in CHI. Whoops I mean O'Hare. But this one place was the place that made me sit and think for 14 hours....."there has to be a better way" which then lead me to booking my first trip on Amtrak. The employees of United Customer Pimping were extremely rude too! Whoops...I mean Customer Service! I never raised my voice or was negative in the fact that they were going to get me to my destination 14 hours late and not due to weather.

Al
 
I would probably have to agree with LaGuardia. It's very cramped, and isn't great to wait around in. Atlanta's not a walk in the park either, especially if you have to change concourses. Talk about a pain in the butt.
 
O'Hare certainly isn't a great place if you have a short time between connections, but luckily in my experience there I have always had plenty of time between connecting flights.

I had a lousy experience flying into Indianapolis a few years ago. Runways were full of cracks and holes, and it was steaming hot inside the terminal. It was very dirty as well. I'm not picky, normally, about such things, but I was afraid I'd end up with some terminal disease, it was so bad. However, last year I again flew into Indianapolis, and it was a whole different experience. They'd made several improvements, and it wasn't nearly so bad this time.
 
O'Hare certainly isn't a great place if you have a short time between connections, but luckily in my experience there I have always had plenty of time between connecting flights.
I had a lousy experience flying into Indianapolis a few years ago. Runways were full of cracks and holes, and it was steaming hot inside the terminal. It was very dirty as well. I'm not picky, normally, about such things, but I was afraid I'd end up with some terminal disease, it was so bad. However, last year I again flew into Indianapolis, and it was a whole different experience. They'd made several improvements, and it wasn't nearly so bad this time.
And, Indianapolis is about to have a brand new terminal in place. HERE is a link to another forum with some great pictures and discussion about it all.
 
O'Hare certainly isn't a great place if you have a short time between connections, but luckily in my experience there I have always had plenty of time between connecting flights.

I had a lousy experience flying into Indianapolis a few years ago. Runways were full of cracks and holes, and it was steaming hot inside the terminal. It was very dirty as well. I'm not picky, normally, about such things, but I was afraid I'd end up with some terminal disease, it was so bad. However, last year I again flew into Indianapolis, and it was a whole different experience. They'd made several improvements, and it wasn't nearly so bad this time.
And, Indianapolis is about to have a brand new terminal in place. HERE is a link to another forum with some great pictures and discussion about it all.
That's great news! I like flying Southwest, and I've done the Spokane-Indianapolis flight a couple of times when visiting my uncle and aunt in Illinois. So I most likely will be using the new Indianapolis terminal in the future.
 
Actually, the worst one I've been to so far was Beirut, in the early 70's, on the way to Bahrain (Navy). I got there in the middle of the night, making a connection to Middle East Airlines. That airport was such complete and utter chaos it brought to mind a quote from The Caine Mutiny, "When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout".
 
-McCarran in Las Vegas--WAY too many people, especially on Sundays and Fridays. I will admit though, any other day is pretty good, and the security lines really have never been much of a problem for as busy as the airport is.
Aloha

Always thought Someone was from he Disney organization due to the way the security cue is set up, at least they realized how to move people. Even at 5:30am they had 4 inspection stations maned.
 
That quote was Ensign Willie Keith's impression of the []iCaine[/i]'s crew when they were deploying the minesweeping gear, in Herman Wouk's novel.

"To Willie's eye it was a scene of confusion and panic. He surmised that the Caine crew were unfitted for their jobs and were fulfilling the ancient adage:

When in danger or in doubt,

Run in circles, scream and shout."

The Caine Mutiny © 1951, Herman Wouk; Doubleday

He wrote some nice stuff, including The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, that were turned into a pretty decent made-for-TV miniseries quite a few years back.
 
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No one has mentioned JFK yet. I'm based there, and everyday its a zoo. Normally number 30 or 40 for takeoff. The Delta terminal has mice and is falling apart, low ceilings, and how they made 2 gates into about 20 regional jet gates. I can never get through the crowds laying in the walkways, trying to get to the flight I'm working. I really hope JFK gets slotted. I've fly regularly into LGA, BOS, DCA and those airports are a dream! BOS has their stuff together especially.
 
I don't know about most hated, but my most feared airport right now is LAX. I'm flying outta there to the gathering in Chicago. No sooner had I booked my flight than there was a spate of radar breakdowns, computer SNAFUs and, worst of all in my view, "runway incursions." That's FAA-speak for near misses on the ground, as in one plane starting to cross a runway from a taxiway while another plane is taking off on that runway. In one recent instance it was reported that there may have been as little as 30 feet between planes in an incursion situation. YIKES!

On the flip side, Burbank (Bob Hope) is a breeze. Amtrak and Metrolink stop right there. A five minute walk to the terminal from the platform, and if you're burdened with luggage you can call a free shuttle. For aviation buffs (like me), Burbank is the old Lockheed Field, and the terminal has exhibits and reminders of its past all around. Outside are models on poles of an SR-71 Blackbird and an F-117 Nighthawk (stealth "fighter" which is really a light bomber). As you walk into the main terminal there is a Lockheed Constellation (the last production piston airliner) model suspended from the ceiling. And along the walkways are numerous photos and artifacts, including a special exhibit dedicated to the P-38 Lightning. Security is a relative walk in the park, and the only serious crowding I've ever seen (once) was due to weather problems which delayed flight operations.
 
As a native southern CA, I agree with you that LAX is a headache! I generally try to avoid it, esp with traffic. I usually take ONT (Ontario), but my folks started to move away from that area. Burbank is a very interesting airport that has no bridge(?) to the airplane. It's a breeze because it's small. It cannot be expanded due to limited space.
 
As a native southern CA, I agree with you that LAX is a headache! I generally try to avoid it, esp with traffic. I usually take ONT (Ontario), but my folks started to move away from that area. Burbank is a very interesting airport that has no bridge(?) to the airplane. It's a breeze because it's small. It cannot be expanded due to limited space.
I believe those "bridges" to the planes are called jetways, but yeah, Burbank doesn't have 'em. Neither does Air Force 1. You walk out on the tarmac and climb a mobile staircase affair to board. It really makes boarding faster because they can board from front and rear doors simultaneously. In the case of the DC-9 family of jets the rear door is a ladder-like stairs contraption that drops out of the tail. Same with Boeing 727s (rare these days), on which the rear door is sometimes known as the "D.B. Cooper door."

It's my understanding that the nonexpansion of Burbank is due more to ferocious political opposition than a lack of space. Just to get the OK for a remodel of the terminal the airport authorities had to promise not to try to expand for a number of years. That's fine with me - I like it the way it is.

Never been to Ontario; or Palmdale, for that matter.
 
As a native southern CA, I agree with you that LAX is a headache! I generally try to avoid it, esp with traffic. I usually take ONT (Ontario), but my folks started to move away from that area. Burbank is a very interesting airport that has no bridge(?) to the airplane. It's a breeze because it's small. It cannot be expanded due to limited space.
I believe those "bridges" to the planes are called jetways, but yeah, Burbank doesn't have 'em. Neither does Air Force 1. You walk out on the tarmac and climb a mobile staircase affair to board. It really makes boarding faster because they can board from front and rear doors simultaneously. In the case of the DC-9 family of jets the rear door is a ladder-like stairs contraption that drops out of the tail. Same with Boeing 727s (rare these days), on which the rear door is sometimes known as the "D.B. Cooper door."

It's my understanding that the nonexpansion of Burbank is due more to ferocious political opposition than a lack of space. Just to get the OK for a remodel of the terminal the airport authorities had to promise not to try to expand for a number of years. That's fine with me - I like it the way it is.

Never been to Ontario; or Palmdale, for that matter.
Jetways can also be used to board the front and rear doors simultaneously. Not all models of the DC-9's have the rear airstairs.
 
I was at the Burbank airport about 1 1/2 years ago. Reminded me alot of LNK's airport. I booked that airport to avoid LAX and was so happy that I did. That trip I missed not one but two flights out of SFO due to traffic on the highway and even left 5 hours before our flight from Santa Rosa. That was when I realized I would go completely beserk in California if I lived there any longer than...well...two weeks! :lol: The traffic and the "sitting in traffic" was something that I never experience here and we were so glad that we had a close friend who lived in LA for 20 years that set us straight about "mapquest" saying it was going to take "25 minutes" to get from point A to point B. He would shake his head and go, "California is not about how long it will take you miles wise to get somewhere, it all depends on the traffic and how long the traffic takes to get you somewhere." I loved the Burbank airport and I was so new to Amtrak that I didn't know Amtrak even served that area.
 
That trip I missed not one but two flights out of SFO due to traffic on the highway and even left 5 hours before our flight from Santa Rosa. That was when I realized I would go completely beserk in California if I lived there any longer than...well...two weeks! :lol:
Which is why we need the high speed rail, more commuter rail, more short corridors, more everything on rails in Calif.
 
I didn't care for Phoenix when I flew in and out of there this spring - the multiple terminals thing is confusing enough, and walking from one terminal to another seems like it is discouraged, as there is little in the way of signage to get your bearings straight. The icing on the cake was on my arrival, when I waited 20 minutes for the city bus, only to find when it arrived that I was at the stop for the bus heading OPPOSITE the direction I wanted to go, and needed to be on the other wall of the terminal.

Atlanta was not too bad to me for a multi-terminal Airport, as they were very helpful in pointing you in how to get to the right terminal for your connecting flight, and the Security was at a main entry terminal which meant no need to re-enter it.

I guess of all the unfamiliar airports I've travelled through, San Jose seemed to run the smoothest on the day I was there. A little tricky to get your bearings when you first enter for the first time by land, but the lines were quite short, and the place gave off an efficient but polite air to it.
 
I've flown in and out of Phoenix before and didn't have too much trouble. I was on Southwest in and out of Phoenix so didn't have to walk very far to wait for the flight out. So I avoided problems that way. The worst problem was that I'm diabetic and the gate I was waiting at to fly back out of Phoenix was next to Cinnabon. :angry: :p :lol: I think my blood sugar level doubled just from the smell of the Cinnabons!!! :lol:
 
The Belize City airport in Belize is pretty bad. I flew out of there on TACA, which is also pretty bad, and there computers were down. So they could not issue or print boarding passes. They had open boarding, so I lined myself up by the door and was ready to be the first to board the aircraft. Naturally, some security witched decided to search my bag. By the time she was done, I was last, and I was pissed.
 
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