TS: American airports vs. European airports

Paris: smoke 'em, and then put 'em out in the potted plants like everyone else does. I had a really weird time on a layover once in De Gaulle airport, although in fairness I'd been travelling almost 24 hours with no sleep by the time I got there, and that was via either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia (both of which I saw on that trip and thought were awful). Everyone seemed to know about gate changes with absolutely no announcements or signs (and I understand enough French not to have missed anything) and were also prepared to mindlessly shuffle down stalled moving walkways in HAL-shaped tunnels knowing not where they headed.

Yes, but it does deter some people (well it and the machines.) Plus I'm sure it catches more people than not searching ANYBODY.

I sort of love/hate airports. I am seeing less of them now than I did 2-3 years ago, so they have regained their novelty.

x-p

Is this true? I sort of don't think it is.

have there been like any studies or anecdotal evidence that a terrorist decided not to try something because of airport security? i doubt it.

Plus I'm sure it catches more people than not searching ANYBODY

i'm not saying some form of searches shouldn't be in place, but airport security is far more about reassuring the flying public more than it is about "catching" anybody (much like the nypd's new "random searches" in the subway). which is fine, but not, like, actually aimed at catching anybody (if you don't believe me, look up an audit on the tsa's stellar job post-9/11 of stopping weapons at checkpoints).

you are forgetting something: europe's super-awesome rail systems.

Mind you - all better than the dump that is Istanbul airport.

but flying can be much quicker and cheaper if you are lucky.

depends where you're going i guess

Also, Daniella from Dortmund.

i'll second that.

1. They say nothing and send me through;
2. they "suggest" I take them off;
3. they "suggest" I take them off, and then get mad when I ask if that means, since I know my sandals/sneakers/etc. have no metal in them, that I can just keep them on;
4. they make everyone take them off, but occasionally don't enforce the demand;
5. they make everyone take them off, no arguments.

This leads me to believe the shoe thing is largely bullshit.

Re: general searches, I also still sometimes get my bag searched, looking for tweezers or scissors in my toiletry kit. Especially annoying, since you're not allowed to just dig them out for them, and must watch as they systematically go through everything. This is also very, very stupid.

I've noticed in the U.S. at least, food and shopping, and particularly the former, has gotten much, much better, no doubt because they barely serve food on the flight anymore, and people stock up on take-out before they get on.

If I remember correctly, the Miami airport smelled like boiled hot dogs. LAX is fun for the occasional celebrity posse hurrying through.

The guy said "why have you come to Norway" and we said "visiting friends" and he said "please have a sfae trip home" then correcting himself with "AFTER visiting your friends I SUPPOSE".

airports i like: jfk (esp. jetblue's terminal), o'hare, the new midway, pdx, madrid.

aw, lga is cute.

that's good. it was DIRE before.

Haha, I waited next to D12 (sans Em) at LAX baggage claim and I still hate it.

Oh, and DTW has a very cool HUGE fountain by the tunnel entrance. I love watching the little arcs of water that it shoots up, they remind me of airline route maps.

Thank god they are people oriented.

Yeah, thumbs up to the beagles, thumbs down to the bizarro duty-free shop.

What's so weird about library chest x-rays and elementary school age surgeons?

Oh.

This happens to me all the time (and usually I'm not even sleeping, just buried in a book). The minutes before one realises that the TVs are down and Mr.Bean or whtevah is on = so unnerving.

So....not much European airport talk is there?

I can say with great authority that the Oporto airport is small, and the S.Miguel one even moreso. In fact, it's so small that usually you just walk off the plane and into the airport, which is nice cos I hate those busses.

Frankfurt is very large, and has a tram, tho I usually don't use it and just run through corridors and up staircases for a while. Rolling stairs are often accompanied by nice lights that have been described as "disco", and there's a children's play area that's nice.

If you approach the customs officials in Gothenburg and ask them if they know where one could find a cash machine, they'll search your luggage. But in a very jolly, nonchalant sort of manner.

The magazine shop at the Hamburg airport has a pretty broad selection, and used to be an obligatory stop for me (pre-boarding, post-check in) to get comix and music mags.

Munich airport = weisswurst with german mustard. Yum!

The Lisbon airport is like an old friend.

http://www.ci.seatac.wa.us/images/doctor.jpg
U.S. Post Office

I stepped up, and there was this middle-aged granola-eating lady in the driver's seat. I started to stammer out what my problem was, and she gestured and said to me "Don't stress! Just chill, just chill. Have a seat and just chill."

Welcome to California. My vacation only got better from that moment on.

I have been to quite a few

You DO know there's a shuttle?

But even that isn't true anymore. I know a place.

I quite liked Stansted (nice bars - they had Est Est Est rather than just your shitty Wetherspoons - nice wine and sandwiches are always good) and it's a pleasant place to hang around overnight if need be. Prestwick is horrible - manky coffee, crap public transport access and too much "Elvis was here, once" memorabilia, but not even good stuff, just a cursory nod to the fact that Elvis was there once. Barcelona and Malaga are good, accessible, friendly staff, etc.

The security guards at Agadir are a bit scary, and there are NO facilities to speak of. The rest of them, they're just airports.

I shall report back next year, if I remember, on whether American airports are better (I haven't been to any yet)

Schiphol is the nicest and probably the most secure airport I've been in.

Agreed. Great place. Great food too, oddly enough.

I've been to Gibraltar Airport too. It's tiny, but the runway extends perpendicular to the road that links Gib to Spain, jutting out into the sea at either end, which is cool.

http://www.burksgreen.com/images/airport_image2.jpg

I've also been to Aberdeen Airport, but I've blocked that from my mind.

might have meant cape kennedy/canaveral, no?

In Sydney, they yelled at my wife for forgetting to declare the pack of Oreos she had with her - still sealed, and served to her on the plane! Yeah, that will really upset Australia's delicate ecosystem.

!!!

In the U.S., Portland's is really nice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narita-san

Alternatively, you could vist the Bon Belta department store in the shiny, new part of the city.

http://www.bonbelta.co.jp/top.html

Lyra, that tunnel from A-B in DTW is cool -- I've never seen the ones at O'Hare (primarily because Continental/Northwest are buried at the end of Terminal E at ORD). The DTW tunnel is much better than the one at CLE, for instance.

Josh OTM re: Portland. Pleasant Plains OTM re: Memphis.

The Zurich airport is also very pretty, but I ran out of things to do there while I was waiting for the 6 hours gap between my flights.

The worst airports I've been in are the small Chinese ones, they are tiny, quite disorganised, and there is almost nothing to do there while you wait for your flight. They are more like bus terminals...

I flew into the old HK airport, it was scary as shit. That summer they made the transition to the new airport, so I flew out of the new one.

I like airports that are tiny sheds so Danang wins!

http://geocities.com/baypals/area.jpg

Las Vegas, Nevada. November, 2001.

european airports seem really gross and dirty to me. Narita is definitely the grossest dirtiest airport ive ever been to though. i'll take a US airport w/ long security checks anyday.

grossest: narita-heathrow tie
prettiest: sydney-anchorage-portland-grand junction tie
most fun: cairns and h.island because the tarmac/runway is lines with palm trees and you have to walk out there to board or deboard the plane, just like in the old days and the queensland hot winds are always a strange feeling.
most hours spent sitting on the grass outside trying not to pass out before connecting flight boards: LAX (approx total hours: 90)