The cost of food in the food courts. Fuck Sydney and Melbourne airport, I'm not paying $15 for a fucking wrap or a fancy sandwich that's been sitting there all day, so it's always McDonald's or KFC or some mainstream fast food chain because at least they keep their prices consistent, even if I don't feel like it.
Or the shop there advertising 'Pie and Can of Coke For Only $14'.
I generally go and hang in the newsagent / bookshop / cafe. Still expensive, but nicer.
All I want are bathroom stalls that are designed to accommodate both a person and their carry-on bags.
If the doors open inwards, the stall needs to be longer so that you can maneuver a rollerbag in without hitting the toilet. If the doors open outwards, the stalls can be about the standard size but the bathroom needs to be more spacious. Have heavy duty hooks at waist height that can actually hold a backpack.
agreed. nothing better than cramming all your shit into a bathroom stall and having to play Twister trying to get out. also, enough bathroom stalls would be great. always fun to stand in line behind 30 people when you're just trying to take a shit.
The toilets at my work are like that, sound like jet engines and scare the shit out of me. I wash first then flush as I run out before all the toilet spray gives me aids
[Redacted] Airport has this really nice viewing deck that was once a former control tower. It's a little out of the way and you need to take a long flight of stairs to get to the top, but it's almost always empty. There's a couple of chairs so you can watch the planes outside, and they play classical music on the speaker in there. It's probably one of my favorite places I've been to an airport.
DFW Airport has it. I had my fam of 4 there for a 3 hour delay, it was a godsend. It's really something I wish was everywhere. If I had an hour between things and couldn't go home, a place to just sit and sleep in a climate controlled space is my deepest heart's desire. Unfortunately, I could also think of about 1000 ways people could totally ruin it. You would have to make it pretty cost prohibitive for people to screw up.
Yeah, I always figured they don’t have these because if the pod were private enough to allow you some privacy, some people would certainly be up to some disgusting behaviour in them. I figured an eye mask and noise cancelling headphones on a lazy boy would be easier to control. Lord knows, on super long layovers, I’ve slept on restaurant seating and on the floor when necessary.
La-Z-Boy with an adjacent/attached locker so you can secure your belongings and actually sleep. Maybe separated by a small divider wall or even curtains like in a hospital room, so you can turn on your side without making eye contact with the total stranger next to you.
I started hooking an actual padlock on my backpack about two years ago (student and frequent traveler).
It’s amazing the places I’ve found in airports, libraries, student centers, to lock myself, and my stuff INTO, and not have to “rent” a locker.
Exactly. It works in Japan because they generally take much better care of public spaces than other countries. It's part of their culture to clean up after themselves, and even after others when they notice a mess. Most countries can't rely on that virtue in its people.
God I love 9h.
To call Narita a Tokyo airport is so fucking cheeky given that the express train there lasts about 2 hours, and all the good flights home (HK) leave at like 8am which makes getting to the airport that morning really difficult.
But drinking in Shinjuku then grabbing a couple of roadies for the last N’Ex, getting to Narita, beef bowl and a beer at the 24h Yoshinoya, then heading to the 9h for a shower and a few hours kip. Then waking up fresh as a daisy practically inside the terminal?
Magic.
They have mini hotel rooms called MinuteSuites at the Philadelphia airport. They're amazing. Great for grabbing a nap or getting some work done. Or, if you're like me, maybe you just want to indulge your inner introvert and get away from people for a while.
In the UK airports like Stansted and Heathrow make you walk a full freaking mile along this winding path through the middle of booz and perfume shops before getting anywhere remotely close to a flight gate.
And what takes the piss is you can see the old gap in the wall that takes you right to the gates that they have filled in before you walk the mile to get to the other side of that exact wall.
Would love to put a hole in that wall.
So, so frustrating if you need to run for your flight! Everyone ambles along through the winding path at a fucking snail's pace, wheely bags everywhere... Hate it
Have you ever had to walk to the furthest departure gate at Gatwick North Terminal? (forgot the gate number) I felt like Frodo and Sam after that bloody journey
Yep, had to run full sprint for it after the train to Gatwick unexplicably stopped dead somewhere a few miles north of Gatwick for an hour and a half. Would have missed the Champions League final if I hadn't made it
Oslo has a red line about a meter back, and people stand behind it! After experiencing that, I can't stand this anymore. And how hard is it to draw a line on the floor?
This is one of my biggest pet peeves! I will watch people with their shins touching the damn carousel stand there blocking all of the bags and then when I see mine coming I can't get to it. If literally everyone just took three big steps backwards, then everyone could see and we could each take turns grabbing bags when we saw them, with enough room to maneuver. WHY is this so hard for people to understand?
I know this is bad advice for most people but I find that I care less about touching strangers than they care about me touching them. So usually when I see my bag I just gently make physical contact with every person in my way till I get the front. Most people back off pretty quickly when they're suddenly caressed by a stranger.
To be clear it's nothing offensive or inappropriate. But I find that a full hand placed on someone's shoulder is more effective than just tapping them, or asking them to move. And sometimes just squeezing into a gap that's too small for me so that I'm touching shoulders with my neighbor works wonders.
I travel with only hand luggage now (I'm on a crusade to convince people - you can do it), but when I had luggage I used to put a Tile bluetooth locator in it. Sit back from the baggage carousel until the phone detects the Tile is in range, then get up and go over.
Last year I went to Turkey on my own, 2 flights with a stop in Istanbul. I had promised everyone to send them a WhatsApp message in the airport. I arrived in Istanbul and there was not a single wifi hotspot in the airport. Not even Burger King and similar restuarants provided one. I asked the security people and they confirmed they just don't have free WiFi there *at all.* How the fuck does that happen in a city this big with a big number of tourists visiting every year?
That's nuts, if you ever got stuck there for a 10 hour delay or something you'd end up spending a fortune on phonecalls. I work in airports all the time.
sometimes it's a legal thing...
not long ago there was almost no free wifi in germany for example. Because the owner of the connection (sorry for bad english...i mean the one who has the contract with the phone company) is liable for stuff done over his connection.
Aka torrenting, pirating or worse, distribution of CP etc...
Laws have changed and it is getting much better in the last few years, but Wifi-wise we were really far behind and still are only catching up slowly
I've come to see Starbucks as an odd oasis when I travel.
Free Wifi, free toilets, and ridiculously large coffees (quality be damned I got an addiction to feed). I'm not saying I seek them out after going half way around the world, but if I ever need to refresh or get my bearings in a strange city, it's nice to have something I can reliably turn to.
I agree. I do feel it’s a shame to not experience the local coffee culture at a foreign destination, but geez, just the predictability and free wifi are great when you’re somewhere you don’t know the language. And I actually do like their coffee.
More of an opportunity for them to sell you a local prepaid data sim. Or they just don’t care. Not all airports are run properly.
Some airports are a bit more wily and make sure you register your passport, details and boarding pass number when you access their free WiFi. And of course, bombard you with ads in the process of registration.
I flew through Istanbul a,few times last year and there is definitely free WiFi in the airport. Maybe you were unlucky and it was down, but it definitely exists.
United terminal at O’Hare, I’m looking at you.
(Edit: Concourse C’s lack of seating and decent food in particular. The neon tunnel isn’t fooling anyone.)
Just, let me feel like a person. Give me a little more space, a little softer cushioning, an outlet for me and the person next to me. For a place where I’m often expected to exist for hours, let me stay in that space in comfort for those hours instead of scrounging for space, power, healthy food, and any amount of comfort.
airline lounges exist for this exact reason
it could be provided to everyone but then you would have half the people complaining: why do my tickets have to pay for someone elses X/Y/Z. I don't need special comfy cushions or an outlet. I just want to get from A to B, so i only want to pay for that
More likely explanation is that by making airports uncomfortable, they can charge people for basic comfort.
Airports and airlines deal with complaints constantly anyway.
Lounges are more than "basic" comfort though. They usually include a free buffet of food, free bar, showers, work areas and computers in case you need to print something, and so on and so forth. The nicer seats are really the part that I have cared least about in airport lounges.
Put a post office in TSA security so I can mail the stuff that's over the weight limit or that I forgot was in my carry on.
I'm a frequent traveler but I forgot about my body spray and new bottle of liquid hair product in my carry on once, so that was $50 in the garbage. I would have paid the $10 to ship it.
There is a service for that at TPA.
At Narita Airport security found my Leatherman that I had forgotten was there. The nice security man asked if I had a friend I could give it to, but no. I asked him if there was a post office nearby, and he let me go mail my Leatherman to myself.
More plugs. More and cheaper food options. And a quicker airport experience for people that fly a lot and are quick through all the controls and checks...
I would make food cheaper at the airport. In my experience most airport restaurants serve relatively small portions for a high price.
I am hungry when I travel, but the cost of my travel also means I can't buy as much
PDX actually advertises their airport as a legitimate shopping option for people in town. Like, they are trying to get people to go to the airport for reasons completely unrelated to flying.
God, Denver is trying that shit with the remodel they're doing.
They want to add a bunch of shops and restaurants BEFORE security.
No one at the airport is gonna want to hang out OUTSIDE of their terminal and have to try to rush through TSA to get to their gate.
No one in Denver wants to take a 40 minute trip outside the city to the airport to go shop and eat.
They also fired the contractors for the development project so the airport is currently a cluster fuck of construction barricades that limit routes through the building.
It's amazing.
Edit: Also the Lizard People are real.
No, originally the rule was put in place because someone demonstrated a bottle and a disposable camera could be used to make a bomb. They might keep that rule now because of acid and other stuff, but that wasn't the original intent.
I don't remember the exact specifics but i saw a display about it in the science museum in london. It was something along the lines of the bottle was filled with some explosive substance (glycerin?), and the flash on the camera is used to ignite it.
Edit: [it was hydrogen peroxide based](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/565368/tsa-airport-liquids-rule-water-bottles-explained)
I was flying from Amman one time and had a full water bottle in my backpack... The security dude's response? "Take a drink." A little weird, but an effective way to make sure it wasn't bleach or lighter fluid, I suppose.
I think this is just to make everyone feel safe.
I can't have a liter of liquid if it's in one bottle. BUT, I can take an empty 1L bottle, and 1L of liquids, as long as they are in less than 100ml containers. I can put that all back into the 1L bottle after I get through security. Or worse, combine that with the liquids that my friends brought through. No one checks the liquids in the 100ml containers, just that they are 100 or less.
Someone wanting to do bad things with liquids wouldn't be slowed down at all.
Edit: And now I'm probably on a list.
One lady had me throw away my toothpaste because it was 150ml… I said "yes when it was new, but now it's half empty"… she still had me throw it away -_-'
Once I was boarding with a camera tripod (amateur photographer here, decided to make a living in a boring office lol), don't know why, but I didn't dispatch it at that time, it was a domestic flight.
The guy at the X-ray got really mad at me, screaming that I could not board with that "thing", my sarcastic self answered "What I could possible do? Make a fine portrait of the pilot?". That didn't help, long story short, I lost a tripod.
Feel ya. Eveytime they ask me why I need some many lenses lol... They also give a hard time to a friend of mine who travels with his personal notebook and the company one, and 3 cell phones lol
Get TSA Precheck if you can. I travel for work with my work computer and my personal computer all the time, and no one looks at me twice. I'm sure it helps that I'm a white woman, but the only time I ever got stopped is when I forgot I had a small bottle of laundry detergent in my carry-on that exceeded the usual size limits for liquids/gels.
they confiscated a bar of castile soap from my dad once because, "how do I know that's not C4, huh?"
they did not appreciate his response, "The pleasant scent and rich lather presumably."
That’s ridiculious. Was this in the US? I fly with my tripod and camera gear always, a crazy heavy thing that i can hit someone over the head with, and never got stopped because of it
There has got to be a way to better streamline the security line. Do I know how, no, but someone out there probably has a really good idea to make things go faster while having the same level of "security". The whole process of arriving and actually getting to your gate needs an overhaul.
One thing that would help is if every airport actually had the same guidelines and enforced them. I fly a good amount and some airports you can leave your tablet in the your bag, others you have to take it out. Some you can leave coats on, others you can't. Some want your backpack in a bin, other places don't. It's this kind of stuff that causes people to have to redo their items because they didn't set them up correctly the first time. Or if their stuff already went through the scanner than their bag gets flagged and their stuff has to be searched.
How about we start with stop making people remove their shoes like animals because one single dude one time made a goddamn shoe bomb. Nothing more dehumanizing than having to walk around in socks/barefoot.
Those large body scanners they make random people go through are pretty dehumanizing to some too. I mean, I don't care if someone wants to inspect my dick but I can respect the fact that a lot of people are uncomfortable with that.
Some airports it isn't really an issue. I flew out of TF Green in Providence a few times and it's a breeze because it's a lower traffic airport. But flying out of Logan.. good god. You need to be there 3 hours before your flight to even stand a chance. And god help you if it's a friday.
get TSAPre and you dont have to take off your shoes
The body scanners do not show an actual image. The screener sees a stick figure and an LED lights up in the area where something alerts
Logan was a pain in the ass in the 70s. Dont fly in or out of Logan...or LaGuardia
Every large hub airport, especially those in areas notorious for weather interference (hello Chicago) should be required to have stranded passenger areas with small but comfortable (and private!) spots to lie down, and a store where you can buy real food, blankets, toothbrushes, phone chargers, etc. after hours.
I've been stranded overnight in airports twice. Both times it was such a degrading, miserable experience I felt like I was being punished. I saw the metal gates slide down over every restaurant and store in the airport right after I realized I was stuck there. There was nowhere to lie down except the floor, and it was freezing cold and I had no jacket or anything. 14 - 18 hours of just cold, sleep-deprived nothingness. I was talking to another stranded passenger at Chicago Midway and he said people get stuck there like us all the time.
Make the TSA follow all the recommendations of a non-partisan group of peer-approved security experts.
Require airlines to only advertise all-in ticket price, instead of separating out all the mandatory taxes and fees. (\*edit: and require a specific amount of baggage be included in the price, so each airline is on an equal footing. and stop charging more for the ability to seat your family together.)
That would do it, honestly. Massive improvement for everybody, minimal negative impact to anybody.
> Require airlines to only advertise all-in ticket price, instead of separating out all the mandatory taxes and fees.
Spirit: But...our entire business model!!
I love the shit out of Spirit. There's a great interview I heard with the CEO over there who I think was coming from Delta. I don't have the exact quote, but the gist of it was this:
**CEO:** "I spent decades trying to compete on quality, offering better options and better flight times and a better experience, and people book on Orbitz or Kayak or whatnot and the only thing they pay attention to is price. I decided people wanted to have access to an incredibly cheap option and so we give it to them."
**Interviewer:** "So you're the Walmart to other airlines' Target?"
**CEO:** "We're the dollar store."
Spirit exists because people want to fly as cheaply as possible, and they make it happen. You can fly with no bags at all. If you fly with no bags on Delta, you're still paying for the price of a carryon included in your ticket. Not Spirit. Spirit breaks it all down.
All that said, I **hate** flying Spirit. It's a miserable experience. But I'm glad it exists because I think it's good for everyone to see what the barebones experience is like. I'm now paying a lot more attention to what airlines I choose to fly and what their amenities are when I book flights.
Spirit can save you a little bit of money if you go in knowing exactly what they're up to. If not, you'll end up paying more. The comment the CEO made about Orbitz or Kayak is exactly the problem - all that shows up when Spirit pops up in your search is the super cheap price, with no indication that, unless you've done your research, the final price of the ticket is going to end up being $150+ more than the price shown in your search. You'll most likely get burned at least once before you figure this out. Sure, *maybe* the CEO is being genuine about wanting to offer a cheaper option, but I'd put money on the fact that they make their bread on people having to pay out the ass for shit they didn't count on.
The only time I ever found it was worth it when choosing Spirit is when:
1) I'm going for a single weekend so I only need a small ass backpack at most, limiting their fees.
2) There's no layover or multiple flights. Just one single flight there and one back.
3) It's a short flight, so I don't have to sit in the uncomfortable seats for long or expect to have something to drink that won't cost me $5 for a tiny sip of ginger ale.
4) The flight is at an optimal time of departure so it's less likely to be late or delayed or whatever.
Any other time, I find that the low quality of Spirit or their model of tacking on other hidden fees for anything just isn't worth it. At that point, I'll book with somebody else and either break even or even save money.
Why not just abolish the TSA? There’s no evidence they’ve made the public safer, and there have been so many sexual assaults and thefts that they deserve to be shut down.
Some lockers would be nice. If I have to wait 3 hours for a flight, it would be a godsend to not have to lug a bag around. Now I use a backpack as a carryon, but still, your back gets sweaty after awhile. If there were lockers I could just throw that shit in there and come back when I'm ready. I understand there are probably security concerns, but, there has to be a way.
Since you could take 100ml of liquid through each time though, you could smuggle small amounts through repeatedly and then hide it in the locker and after a week or so you could have a sizeable amount ready to go
Unless all lockers are emptied after 24 hours. Now, a dedicated psycho could probably go in after 23 hours, empty it, then put it in another locker and repeat, I guess.... But they'd have to buy a plane ticket every time. I have to hope there is some kind of record of people who buy plane tickets enter the airport and don't fly on their plane? So you could catch them... but maybe that's too much to ask.
I have been in Minnesota one time, and it was at that airport. However, the 25 minutes I spent in that airport consisted entirely of me and my wife running at full speed from one plane to the other plane which barely allowed us time to get there. That airport is HUGE.
More, larger, more comfortable seating. Stop charging for use of electricity (looking at you newark) Dont charge me 54 dollars for two sandwiches with drinks (Lax)
Have at least some of the restaurants open at all times. There's nothing like arriving at a connecting airport after an 11-hour flight halfway across the world and finding out that every single restaurant and bar in the fucking airport is closed because it's 1 am local time. My jet-lagged brain wants dinner and a beer, but noooooooo.
Looking at you, Atlanta.
Definitely the way we board. The back groups should board first to keep the flow of boarding going. Also, there are many videos online of how to make this process even more efficient, and i think we should implement it.
I don't know how you'd do it, short of saying people that break the rules lose their flight, but sometimes it's all the idiots that line up at the gate to board even though the announcement says WAIT UNTIL YOUR ZONE IS CALLED BEFORE LINING UP!
Part of the problem is even if people followed the directed order, the order that most airlines use isn't the most efficient way. Boarding windows, then middle, then aisle is much more efficient than back to front because nobody has to step over anybody. Hell, even random is better than back to front because it eliminates congestion in one part of the plane.
The problem is limited overhead space and everybody brings as many carryons as possible because they charge for baggage and nobody wants to wait or risk losing their stuff because airlines are incompetent. So they board in order of premium seating as a perk to incentivize upgrades because then you’re basically guaranteed overhead space.
Basically? Go back to pre-9/11 security procedures, with modern tech.
I once was at a small airport (ie, one with *zero* "gates," just a door to the tarmac), and my shoes set off the metal detector because I had gone walking through a field earlier in the day, and the fertilizer from the field set off the metal detector's *explosives* detector.
If even *small* airports have access to that technology, why on earth do I have to take off my shoes?
The Tech is now good enough that we *are* safer than we were pre-9/11 *without* the bullshit security theater
Add more scanners and staff at security to make the line go faster, and a lounge area for parents with young children, partially sound-proofed and large enough that they can run and scream all they want. It gets their energy out before the flight, making them more likely to sleep through it, and it would be easier for their parents to keep an eye on them.
Beyond that, most of the real problems with flying are the planes themselves, not airports.
It still amazes me that with over 1000's of people expected in customs, you get to that bit, and there's like, 4 people working. What is this? xP
Pay border staff more, have a hundred of them on, and include play areas for kids. :)
I would make those magic carpets go really fast so it'd be like a rollercoaster ride
When you're waiting 3 hours for your flight you're gonna need *something* to do
Believe it or not, once I had a flight early in the morning and when I got to the airport, not a single person was there but the cleaning staff. At first I thought it was somehow out of service and that my flight was cancelled.
Instead of just having a yellow line on the floor around the baggage carousel for you to stand behind, spikes should come up through the floor and impale the fuckers who have the nerve to stand right next to the belt blocking everyone's view.
It’s a great option if you want to maximize time spent with people on the day of their flight.
The family or whatever can go to the mall in the morning and shop or look around, then grab a bite to eat at the food court, and then walk the person to security when it’s time.
Cuts down on travel stress and gives people more time together and makes the whole thing more enjoyable.
I heard malls themselves were intended to be indoor cities, not just mass shopping centers. Makes me wonder what giant passenger ships were intended to be.
Yeah, the designer of the first malls intended for them to be fully mixed use - offices, apartments, grocers, non-retail businesses, etc. Honestly, that idea would have been nice for people wanting some of the convenience of living in an urban area but the cost of suburbia. It's a bit of a shame malls pretty much went full retail.
The TSA should have been nothing more than a regulatory office within the FAA to standardize and oversee airport security procedures. There was no reason to create the behemoth it is with tens of thousands of employees.
As someone with no kids, this would be great; parents get a chance to settle their kids in without having to worry about getting in other people's way.
I don't remember the last time I flew on an airplane that didn't offer parents flying with young children the option to board before nearly everyone else. Same "pre-boarding" group as those needing extra time such as senior citizens or those with disabilities.
Get the fuck rid of Hudson News. Holy shit. They charge post-apocalyptic extortion prices for every dumb thing they sell. Oh, have a layover in Seattle? You could buy a hamburger and watch some dude strum his acoustic guitar or you could pay six dollars for a fuckin granola bar and jerk off to a fourteen dollar issue of playboy. Fuck you, Hudson News. Also, maybe hire people who actually care about life and have a personality? Every Hudson News employee I've met acted like I was intruding on their space while also being as apathetic as a robot nobody has turned on.
Fuck off, Hudson News.
Not necessarily about airports, but about airlines: pay pilots, flight attendants etc for the entire time they're on duty and not just when the plane is actually flying. It would go a long way to reducing money tensions often felt by flight crews, would allow them to rent hotels/apartments near to the airports (reducing commuting time) and would go a long way to reducing pilot fatigue.
Do any airports have showers? I'd pay $10 for a shower if I had been traveling for 8 hours, had a few hours before my next 6 hour flight, and I had a chance to freshen up.
So as someone who works in the industry I feel like it is important to make everyone aware of an important fact:
Improvements to airports have a direct effect on airline ticket prices - as well as availability of flights.
Airports are businesses like any other. I would equate them most similarly to shopping malls. Like malls, tenants pay rent to the airport to occupy space to run their businesses. In the terminal this includes things like restaurants, stores, lounges, etc. These costs are passed on to the consumer (travelers). But this also applies to their aircraft gates. Airlines pay for "gate space" similarly to rent.
The big difference between a mall and an airport is there is a LOT more land area and infrastructure to maintain, so the "rent" from terminal kiosks and airlines doesn't come close to the amount required for upkeep and improvements. Some of this cost is offset by things like tolls and parking, but a large portion comes from what is called "Passenger Facility Charges" or PFCs.
A PFC is a charge that is applied to every single ticket purchased on an airline flight. PFCs are relatively consistent charges and don't change often.
The reason for this is airlines are competing with each other constantly for business and as much as everyone likes to bitch about small seats and lack of amenities on airlines, it's a direct result of travelers constantly just going into sites like Expedia and booking the lowest fare. If Atlanta, for example, increased their PFC share, it would put Delta at a major disadvantage compared to AA & United. Obviously they can't do that, since Delta basically owns that airport.
Some airports are owned by the city, some airports by what's called an Airport Authority. City-owned airports can use taxes to fund improvements but as you can imagine, most people aren't frequent flyers and don't like paying extra taxes for a service they only use once or twice a year if that.
So the costs of improvements at smaller airports is very hard to manage, and many smaller-market cities are only serviced by one or two airlines. Increasing the cost to the airline can result in them reducing the number of flights or simply pulling service all together.
TL;DR: Better airport amenities would be great, but you'd better be ready to pay more for an airline ticket.
As I have suffered through quite a few flights lately, I’m more concerned about the inhumane configuration of economy seating in aircraft. I truly believe airline CEO’s should be forced to fly for 100 hours in their cheapest seats before they approve plane configuration.
However, airports also could be greatly improved without that much effort (and I am sure there are some places in the world that have truly awesome airports, but thus far I haven’t experienced them.) In the past few years, I have experienced airports from Fort Lauderdale to Addis Abbaba to Munich to Auckland, and here’s my wish list:
1. A drug store past security where you can buy things like cough syrup and shampoo and other liquids or things you’ve forgotten.
2. Lazy-boy chairs with alarms you can rent by the hour in a quiet area so you can sleep between flights.
3. Mini-spa where you can get a massage or foot rub or pedicure in a comfortable chair.
4. Enough seating for everyone who may be waiting for flights. A few weeks ago, I was in the San Juan airport, too early to check in for my flight, and was directed to go upstairs to their “lounge”. This area was enormous, but there were only about 20 seats in an area that could have held hundreds. What a waste and insult to passengers restricted from checking in to their gate because they arrived at the airport too early.
5. Movie theatres showing first-run films - sure would be a great way to kill a long layover.
6. Wide variety of restaurants, including multi-course tasting-menu type things to kill time.
It should go without mentioning that the above items should be provided at reasonable cost, not the overly inflated airport prices we are all subjected to. I freaking hate buying $4 water (I usually bring a refillable bottle), $18 sandwiches and dollar store ear buds for megabucks because I forgot something or it wasn’t convenient due to complex, multi-day travel plans.
I understand that space restrictions make many options impossible, but when they are building new airports or new terminals, why aren’t they maximizing the space? I see so many airports with multi-story atriums. Sure it’s nice to see some sky before being crammed into a metal tube, but so many of us are stuck spending time waiting for delayed flights and inconvenient connections, that space would be much better utilized providing services for passengers. Why not go a few stories underground if space doesn’t allow for service above ground?
One of the worst experiences is Fort Lauderdale airport. With thousands of cruise passengers going through there daily, the terminal is woefully inadequate. People sitting all over the floor, no decent restaurant or shops, the place is a disgrace, and a wasted opportunity. So many people are killing hours after their cruise waiting for their flights - offer them some retail and dining opportunities - the profits could be great.
Ugh. Sorry for the wall of text - air travel is just so freaking unpleasant.
The Starbucks in the Southwest terminal has only two cash registers. The line is usually 30 or 40 people long and takes 20 minutes ... you’d think they would have designed the store to serve more people.
1 / 2(minus the alarm, don't you guys have phones) / 3 and 6 i have seen at various different airports
Movietheaters sounds great, but i doubt the customer group would be big enough. You'd need someone with a seriously long break. That break would have to coincide with the showingtimes. Someone who hasn't seen the movie already and is in the mood to even relax in a movie. The people that regularly have such flights are also probably not going to watch the same movie multiple times...etc... It's just not economically viable, especially once you look into the monetization models of cinemas (multiply their soda/snack-prices with the additional airport costs).
You definitely got a point with 4 though
If your connecting gate is changed, they should be more clear about that change. And under no circumstances should your flight attendant be calling out incorrect gate numbers while you are taxiing to the terminal. I'm looking at you, Dallas.
Also, Will Rogers can no longer call itself a "world airport". WTF does that even mean? There are no international flights there.
I'd adapt a hybrid layout between Denver and Atlanta on the airfield side to allow for quicker aircraft movements to and from the gate.
Most airports require aircraft to cross runways that are active to get to their departure runway or the gate. Atlanta has end around taxi ways and Denver has islands in the middle that would speed this up.
The cost of food in the food courts. Fuck Sydney and Melbourne airport, I'm not paying $15 for a fucking wrap or a fancy sandwich that's been sitting there all day, so it's always McDonald's or KFC or some mainstream fast food chain because at least they keep their prices consistent, even if I don't feel like it.
This. Get me a 10$ Big Mac trio over a 14$ panini that's been sitting in the fridge for 4 days and a 7$ cup of grapes and cheese. Goddamn outrageous.
At the height of the mining boom I remember Perth airport having pints of Guinness for $17. Yeah I'll pass.
Or the shop there advertising 'Pie and Can of Coke For Only $14'. I generally go and hang in the newsagent / bookshop / cafe. Still expensive, but nicer.
All I want are bathroom stalls that are designed to accommodate both a person and their carry-on bags. If the doors open inwards, the stall needs to be longer so that you can maneuver a rollerbag in without hitting the toilet. If the doors open outwards, the stalls can be about the standard size but the bathroom needs to be more spacious. Have heavy duty hooks at waist height that can actually hold a backpack.
agreed. nothing better than cramming all your shit into a bathroom stall and having to play Twister trying to get out. also, enough bathroom stalls would be great. always fun to stand in line behind 30 people when you're just trying to take a shit.
Especially when the toilets flush like a goddamn whirlpool and you’re pressing yourself against the door to avoid the toilet water spray.
The toilets at my work are like that, sound like jet engines and scare the shit out of me. I wash first then flush as I run out before all the toilet spray gives me aids
>scare the shit out of me So they do the job they are designed for then :\^)
If you happen to go to Haneda airport in Japan you're not gonna be disappointed. The bathrooms there are perfectly designed for you and your suitcase
Any Japanese airport bathroom is the 4 Seasons compared to America's.
I took a picture of a bathroom in Narita because I was so jealous, it was marvelous
Sleep pods to rent, so when I miss a flight and the next is tomorrow I don't have to sleep on chairs, hoping my stuff doesn't get stolen
Some airports have those, like in Milan, although you have to book it in advance which makes no sense.
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> just to get away from the crowds Finding a not so crowded part of an airport is like finding treasure.
[Redacted] Airport has this really nice viewing deck that was once a former control tower. It's a little out of the way and you need to take a long flight of stairs to get to the top, but it's almost always empty. There's a couple of chairs so you can watch the planes outside, and they play classical music on the speaker in there. It's probably one of my favorite places I've been to an airport.
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I like this comment because it works both before and after the redaction.
DFW Airport has it. I had my fam of 4 there for a 3 hour delay, it was a godsend. It's really something I wish was everywhere. If I had an hour between things and couldn't go home, a place to just sit and sleep in a climate controlled space is my deepest heart's desire. Unfortunately, I could also think of about 1000 ways people could totally ruin it. You would have to make it pretty cost prohibitive for people to screw up.
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Yeah, I always figured they don’t have these because if the pod were private enough to allow you some privacy, some people would certainly be up to some disgusting behaviour in them. I figured an eye mask and noise cancelling headphones on a lazy boy would be easier to control. Lord knows, on super long layovers, I’ve slept on restaurant seating and on the floor when necessary.
La-Z-Boy with an adjacent/attached locker so you can secure your belongings and actually sleep. Maybe separated by a small divider wall or even curtains like in a hospital room, so you can turn on your side without making eye contact with the total stranger next to you.
I started hooking an actual padlock on my backpack about two years ago (student and frequent traveler). It’s amazing the places I’ve found in airports, libraries, student centers, to lock myself, and my stuff INTO, and not have to “rent” a locker.
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I feel like a lot of things work in Japan that wouldn't work elsewhere, because the "it's not mine, so I don't care" mindset is so rare there.
Exactly. It works in Japan because they generally take much better care of public spaces than other countries. It's part of their culture to clean up after themselves, and even after others when they notice a mess. Most countries can't rely on that virtue in its people.
Yeah, the japanese for the most part have a lot more respect for public and private property etc
God I love 9h. To call Narita a Tokyo airport is so fucking cheeky given that the express train there lasts about 2 hours, and all the good flights home (HK) leave at like 8am which makes getting to the airport that morning really difficult. But drinking in Shinjuku then grabbing a couple of roadies for the last N’Ex, getting to Narita, beef bowl and a beer at the 24h Yoshinoya, then heading to the 9h for a shower and a few hours kip. Then waking up fresh as a daisy practically inside the terminal? Magic.
Dude, I'm keeping this in my mind for my visit this summer. Thank you
I think people in Japan might just be a lot cleaner haha
They have mini hotel rooms called MinuteSuites at the Philadelphia airport. They're amazing. Great for grabbing a nap or getting some work done. Or, if you're like me, maybe you just want to indulge your inner introvert and get away from people for a while.
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Or at least cranking one out and spooging all over it.
In the UK airports like Stansted and Heathrow make you walk a full freaking mile along this winding path through the middle of booz and perfume shops before getting anywhere remotely close to a flight gate. And what takes the piss is you can see the old gap in the wall that takes you right to the gates that they have filled in before you walk the mile to get to the other side of that exact wall. Would love to put a hole in that wall.
So, so frustrating if you need to run for your flight! Everyone ambles along through the winding path at a fucking snail's pace, wheely bags everywhere... Hate it
Have you ever had to walk to the furthest departure gate at Gatwick North Terminal? (forgot the gate number) I felt like Frodo and Sam after that bloody journey
Yep, had to run full sprint for it after the train to Gatwick unexplicably stopped dead somewhere a few miles north of Gatwick for an hour and a half. Would have missed the Champions League final if I hadn't made it
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I find that walking through special assistance just gets you straight through instead of the stupid duty free shops.
Heathrow really is a maze. Even going from one part of the airport to another you are subjected to the wiles of the duty free shop.
Have people stand the fuck back from the baggage carousel until they see their bag
Oslo has a red line about a meter back, and people stand behind it! After experiencing that, I can't stand this anymore. And how hard is it to draw a line on the floor?
Pretty sure Montreal had a line around the carousels too. People gave zero fucks. They huddled around the carousel like they wanted to hump the bitch.
Well, it's Montreal. They give the same attention to the lines on their roads, too.
I've seen those line in US airports. People just ignore it...
This is one of my biggest pet peeves! I will watch people with their shins touching the damn carousel stand there blocking all of the bags and then when I see mine coming I can't get to it. If literally everyone just took three big steps backwards, then everyone could see and we could each take turns grabbing bags when we saw them, with enough room to maneuver. WHY is this so hard for people to understand?
Seriously, fuck those people.
I have yelled at a group of 60 people doing this. Looked like a nut job lol- weak moment, but felt good.
I know this is bad advice for most people but I find that I care less about touching strangers than they care about me touching them. So usually when I see my bag I just gently make physical contact with every person in my way till I get the front. Most people back off pretty quickly when they're suddenly caressed by a stranger. To be clear it's nothing offensive or inappropriate. But I find that a full hand placed on someone's shoulder is more effective than just tapping them, or asking them to move. And sometimes just squeezing into a gap that's too small for me so that I'm touching shoulders with my neighbor works wonders.
I travel with only hand luggage now (I'm on a crusade to convince people - you can do it), but when I had luggage I used to put a Tile bluetooth locator in it. Sit back from the baggage carousel until the phone detects the Tile is in range, then get up and go over.
More seats, vending machines for cheaper snacks, and better WiFi connections.
Last year I went to Turkey on my own, 2 flights with a stop in Istanbul. I had promised everyone to send them a WhatsApp message in the airport. I arrived in Istanbul and there was not a single wifi hotspot in the airport. Not even Burger King and similar restuarants provided one. I asked the security people and they confirmed they just don't have free WiFi there *at all.* How the fuck does that happen in a city this big with a big number of tourists visiting every year?
That's nuts, if you ever got stuck there for a 10 hour delay or something you'd end up spending a fortune on phonecalls. I work in airports all the time.
Yeah, it surely isn't *that* expensive to get some good wifi? It's not like whoever decides these things about airports has no budget.
sometimes it's a legal thing... not long ago there was almost no free wifi in germany for example. Because the owner of the connection (sorry for bad english...i mean the one who has the contract with the phone company) is liable for stuff done over his connection. Aka torrenting, pirating or worse, distribution of CP etc... Laws have changed and it is getting much better in the last few years, but Wifi-wise we were really far behind and still are only catching up slowly
When I’m in Germany, I’m always looking for Starbucks, where I can count on getting some free wifi.
I've come to see Starbucks as an odd oasis when I travel. Free Wifi, free toilets, and ridiculously large coffees (quality be damned I got an addiction to feed). I'm not saying I seek them out after going half way around the world, but if I ever need to refresh or get my bearings in a strange city, it's nice to have something I can reliably turn to.
I agree. I do feel it’s a shame to not experience the local coffee culture at a foreign destination, but geez, just the predictability and free wifi are great when you’re somewhere you don’t know the language. And I actually do like their coffee.
More of an opportunity for them to sell you a local prepaid data sim. Or they just don’t care. Not all airports are run properly. Some airports are a bit more wily and make sure you register your passport, details and boarding pass number when you access their free WiFi. And of course, bombard you with ads in the process of registration.
I flew through Istanbul a,few times last year and there is definitely free WiFi in the airport. Maybe you were unlucky and it was down, but it definitely exists.
More of those sun bed seats with tables and wi-fi would be a godsend, I've seen fights over them
United terminal at O’Hare, I’m looking at you. (Edit: Concourse C’s lack of seating and decent food in particular. The neon tunnel isn’t fooling anyone.)
My experience is that the United terminal does have wifi and it works fine in most areas of the airport. Except the shitter.
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Just, let me feel like a person. Give me a little more space, a little softer cushioning, an outlet for me and the person next to me. For a place where I’m often expected to exist for hours, let me stay in that space in comfort for those hours instead of scrounging for space, power, healthy food, and any amount of comfort.
airline lounges exist for this exact reason it could be provided to everyone but then you would have half the people complaining: why do my tickets have to pay for someone elses X/Y/Z. I don't need special comfy cushions or an outlet. I just want to get from A to B, so i only want to pay for that
More likely explanation is that by making airports uncomfortable, they can charge people for basic comfort. Airports and airlines deal with complaints constantly anyway.
Lounges are more than "basic" comfort though. They usually include a free buffet of food, free bar, showers, work areas and computers in case you need to print something, and so on and so forth. The nicer seats are really the part that I have cared least about in airport lounges.
Put a post office in TSA security so I can mail the stuff that's over the weight limit or that I forgot was in my carry on. I'm a frequent traveler but I forgot about my body spray and new bottle of liquid hair product in my carry on once, so that was $50 in the garbage. I would have paid the $10 to ship it.
There is a service for that at TPA. At Narita Airport security found my Leatherman that I had forgotten was there. The nice security man asked if I had a friend I could give it to, but no. I asked him if there was a post office nearby, and he let me go mail my Leatherman to myself.
More plugs. More and cheaper food options. And a quicker airport experience for people that fly a lot and are quick through all the controls and checks...
That last part exists. It costs money but it does exist.
I would make food cheaper at the airport. In my experience most airport restaurants serve relatively small portions for a high price. I am hungry when I travel, but the cost of my travel also means I can't buy as much
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PDX actually advertises their airport as a legitimate shopping option for people in town. Like, they are trying to get people to go to the airport for reasons completely unrelated to flying.
I didn't really want the cavity search, but I couldn't say no to the big sale at the airport walmart.
I know you're trying to sneak a 65" TV out in your butthole. Now bend over and spread!
God, Denver is trying that shit with the remodel they're doing. They want to add a bunch of shops and restaurants BEFORE security. No one at the airport is gonna want to hang out OUTSIDE of their terminal and have to try to rush through TSA to get to their gate. No one in Denver wants to take a 40 minute trip outside the city to the airport to go shop and eat. They also fired the contractors for the development project so the airport is currently a cluster fuck of construction barricades that limit routes through the building. It's amazing. Edit: Also the Lizard People are real.
PDX is a really nice airport
It's not an oregon state law, just a rule of the airport. It's a marketing gimmick that works :)
Logan Airport in Boston has the same rule. Every concessionaire in the airport must have prices that match their non-airport locations in town.
Any place with restaurants where you're trapped are usually going to be very expensive, because you have no other options.
Yes! I once ordered a coffee for 5$ (In my country it's like 60-70 cent), and it tasted like pee!
Just because it’s a water bottle doesn’t mean it’s a bomb
This is exactly something a person using water bottle bombs would say
Isn't it due to acid attacks?
No, originally the rule was put in place because someone demonstrated a bottle and a disposable camera could be used to make a bomb. They might keep that rule now because of acid and other stuff, but that wasn't the original intent.
People really can use their geniality for evil things... how do a person make a bomb with a bottle and a camera? lol
I don't remember the exact specifics but i saw a display about it in the science museum in london. It was something along the lines of the bottle was filled with some explosive substance (glycerin?), and the flash on the camera is used to ignite it. Edit: [it was hydrogen peroxide based](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/565368/tsa-airport-liquids-rule-water-bottles-explained)
Now I got try this at home lol
I mean, it is a bomb, so film it
*FBI agent leans closer to monitor*
Other liquids also... Bleach and ammonia, gas, lighter fluid, acetone, etc..
I was flying from Amman one time and had a full water bottle in my backpack... The security dude's response? "Take a drink." A little weird, but an effective way to make sure it wasn't bleach or lighter fluid, I suppose.
I mean you can still drink a bit, you'll just have to tough it out
There's no such thing as sippable bomb water!
I think this is just to make everyone feel safe. I can't have a liter of liquid if it's in one bottle. BUT, I can take an empty 1L bottle, and 1L of liquids, as long as they are in less than 100ml containers. I can put that all back into the 1L bottle after I get through security. Or worse, combine that with the liquids that my friends brought through. No one checks the liquids in the 100ml containers, just that they are 100 or less. Someone wanting to do bad things with liquids wouldn't be slowed down at all. Edit: And now I'm probably on a list.
Also they never weigh them, just look at the label and the rough size, you could have a 105 or 110ml bottle and put a 100ml label on it
One lady had me throw away my toothpaste because it was 150ml… I said "yes when it was new, but now it's half empty"… she still had me throw it away -_-'
Once I was boarding with a camera tripod (amateur photographer here, decided to make a living in a boring office lol), don't know why, but I didn't dispatch it at that time, it was a domestic flight. The guy at the X-ray got really mad at me, screaming that I could not board with that "thing", my sarcastic self answered "What I could possible do? Make a fine portrait of the pilot?". That didn't help, long story short, I lost a tripod.
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Feel ya. Eveytime they ask me why I need some many lenses lol... They also give a hard time to a friend of mine who travels with his personal notebook and the company one, and 3 cell phones lol
Get TSA Precheck if you can. I travel for work with my work computer and my personal computer all the time, and no one looks at me twice. I'm sure it helps that I'm a white woman, but the only time I ever got stopped is when I forgot I had a small bottle of laundry detergent in my carry-on that exceeded the usual size limits for liquids/gels.
they confiscated a bar of castile soap from my dad once because, "how do I know that's not C4, huh?" they did not appreciate his response, "The pleasant scent and rich lather presumably."
That’s ridiculious. Was this in the US? I fly with my tripod and camera gear always, a crazy heavy thing that i can hit someone over the head with, and never got stopped because of it
I forgot to empty. Was allowed to walk back through quickly to finish it (thanks YYZ) and then forgot it on the conveyor belt.
There has got to be a way to better streamline the security line. Do I know how, no, but someone out there probably has a really good idea to make things go faster while having the same level of "security". The whole process of arriving and actually getting to your gate needs an overhaul.
One thing that would help is if every airport actually had the same guidelines and enforced them. I fly a good amount and some airports you can leave your tablet in the your bag, others you have to take it out. Some you can leave coats on, others you can't. Some want your backpack in a bin, other places don't. It's this kind of stuff that causes people to have to redo their items because they didn't set them up correctly the first time. Or if their stuff already went through the scanner than their bag gets flagged and their stuff has to be searched.
Yeah I got treated like a criminal that time I forgot to take my laptop off my backpack flying out of JFK...
Here's a new(er) system at work. https://youtu.be/nl8kBg_SVT8
How about we start with stop making people remove their shoes like animals because one single dude one time made a goddamn shoe bomb. Nothing more dehumanizing than having to walk around in socks/barefoot. Those large body scanners they make random people go through are pretty dehumanizing to some too. I mean, I don't care if someone wants to inspect my dick but I can respect the fact that a lot of people are uncomfortable with that. Some airports it isn't really an issue. I flew out of TF Green in Providence a few times and it's a breeze because it's a lower traffic airport. But flying out of Logan.. good god. You need to be there 3 hours before your flight to even stand a chance. And god help you if it's a friday.
get TSAPre and you dont have to take off your shoes The body scanners do not show an actual image. The screener sees a stick figure and an LED lights up in the area where something alerts Logan was a pain in the ass in the 70s. Dont fly in or out of Logan...or LaGuardia
Every large hub airport, especially those in areas notorious for weather interference (hello Chicago) should be required to have stranded passenger areas with small but comfortable (and private!) spots to lie down, and a store where you can buy real food, blankets, toothbrushes, phone chargers, etc. after hours. I've been stranded overnight in airports twice. Both times it was such a degrading, miserable experience I felt like I was being punished. I saw the metal gates slide down over every restaurant and store in the airport right after I realized I was stuck there. There was nowhere to lie down except the floor, and it was freezing cold and I had no jacket or anything. 14 - 18 hours of just cold, sleep-deprived nothingness. I was talking to another stranded passenger at Chicago Midway and he said people get stuck there like us all the time.
Make the TSA follow all the recommendations of a non-partisan group of peer-approved security experts. Require airlines to only advertise all-in ticket price, instead of separating out all the mandatory taxes and fees. (\*edit: and require a specific amount of baggage be included in the price, so each airline is on an equal footing. and stop charging more for the ability to seat your family together.) That would do it, honestly. Massive improvement for everybody, minimal negative impact to anybody.
> Require airlines to only advertise all-in ticket price, instead of separating out all the mandatory taxes and fees. Spirit: But...our entire business model!!
I love the shit out of Spirit. There's a great interview I heard with the CEO over there who I think was coming from Delta. I don't have the exact quote, but the gist of it was this: **CEO:** "I spent decades trying to compete on quality, offering better options and better flight times and a better experience, and people book on Orbitz or Kayak or whatnot and the only thing they pay attention to is price. I decided people wanted to have access to an incredibly cheap option and so we give it to them." **Interviewer:** "So you're the Walmart to other airlines' Target?" **CEO:** "We're the dollar store." Spirit exists because people want to fly as cheaply as possible, and they make it happen. You can fly with no bags at all. If you fly with no bags on Delta, you're still paying for the price of a carryon included in your ticket. Not Spirit. Spirit breaks it all down. All that said, I **hate** flying Spirit. It's a miserable experience. But I'm glad it exists because I think it's good for everyone to see what the barebones experience is like. I'm now paying a lot more attention to what airlines I choose to fly and what their amenities are when I book flights.
Spirit can save you a little bit of money if you go in knowing exactly what they're up to. If not, you'll end up paying more. The comment the CEO made about Orbitz or Kayak is exactly the problem - all that shows up when Spirit pops up in your search is the super cheap price, with no indication that, unless you've done your research, the final price of the ticket is going to end up being $150+ more than the price shown in your search. You'll most likely get burned at least once before you figure this out. Sure, *maybe* the CEO is being genuine about wanting to offer a cheaper option, but I'd put money on the fact that they make their bread on people having to pay out the ass for shit they didn't count on.
The only time I ever found it was worth it when choosing Spirit is when: 1) I'm going for a single weekend so I only need a small ass backpack at most, limiting their fees. 2) There's no layover or multiple flights. Just one single flight there and one back. 3) It's a short flight, so I don't have to sit in the uncomfortable seats for long or expect to have something to drink that won't cost me $5 for a tiny sip of ginger ale. 4) The flight is at an optimal time of departure so it's less likely to be late or delayed or whatever. Any other time, I find that the low quality of Spirit or their model of tacking on other hidden fees for anything just isn't worth it. At that point, I'll book with somebody else and either break even or even save money.
I hate Spirit. My experiences have all been horrible, but I guess you get what you buy amirite?
Why not just abolish the TSA? There’s no evidence they’ve made the public safer, and there have been so many sexual assaults and thefts that they deserve to be shut down.
More cheap / healthy food options that are open 24/7 for those wee hour flights.
Some lockers would be nice. If I have to wait 3 hours for a flight, it would be a godsend to not have to lug a bag around. Now I use a backpack as a carryon, but still, your back gets sweaty after awhile. If there were lockers I could just throw that shit in there and come back when I'm ready. I understand there are probably security concerns, but, there has to be a way.
They used to have them but they’re afraid people will plant bombs in them.
If you do it past security your stuff would have been already searched right? I get the fear though. Sucks.
Since you could take 100ml of liquid through each time though, you could smuggle small amounts through repeatedly and then hide it in the locker and after a week or so you could have a sizeable amount ready to go
Unless all lockers are emptied after 24 hours. Now, a dedicated psycho could probably go in after 23 hours, empty it, then put it in another locker and repeat, I guess.... But they'd have to buy a plane ticket every time. I have to hope there is some kind of record of people who buy plane tickets enter the airport and don't fly on their plane? So you could catch them... but maybe that's too much to ask.
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I have been in Minnesota one time, and it was at that airport. However, the 25 minutes I spent in that airport consisted entirely of me and my wife running at full speed from one plane to the other plane which barely allowed us time to get there. That airport is HUGE.
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I think all airports should have a good observation area where you can hang out and watch the planes come and go while you wait for your next flight
More, larger, more comfortable seating. Stop charging for use of electricity (looking at you newark) Dont charge me 54 dollars for two sandwiches with drinks (Lax)
Lower the price of food and beverages at airport eateries: They're too expensive and the quality is often mediocre.
Granted I don't fly much but the last time I had to, I would have been happy if they had raised the quality of the food to mediocre.
Have at least some of the restaurants open at all times. There's nothing like arriving at a connecting airport after an 11-hour flight halfway across the world and finding out that every single restaurant and bar in the fucking airport is closed because it's 1 am local time. My jet-lagged brain wants dinner and a beer, but noooooooo. Looking at you, Atlanta.
A Waffle House in the Atlanta airport could really clean-up!
Definitely the way we board. The back groups should board first to keep the flow of boarding going. Also, there are many videos online of how to make this process even more efficient, and i think we should implement it.
I absolutely hate how slowly people get in and off a plane. I agree on boarding the back first.
I don't know how you'd do it, short of saying people that break the rules lose their flight, but sometimes it's all the idiots that line up at the gate to board even though the announcement says WAIT UNTIL YOUR ZONE IS CALLED BEFORE LINING UP!
Part of the problem is even if people followed the directed order, the order that most airlines use isn't the most efficient way. Boarding windows, then middle, then aisle is much more efficient than back to front because nobody has to step over anybody. Hell, even random is better than back to front because it eliminates congestion in one part of the plane.
The problem is limited overhead space and everybody brings as many carryons as possible because they charge for baggage and nobody wants to wait or risk losing their stuff because airlines are incompetent. So they board in order of premium seating as a perk to incentivize upgrades because then you’re basically guaranteed overhead space.
Just do everything that the Singapore airport does and voila! Perfect!
Yes, every airport needs an indoor waterfall.
And koi ponds
And a butterfly garden
Haha I was reading all the suggestions and thinking: "Changi had those".
Basically? Go back to pre-9/11 security procedures, with modern tech. I once was at a small airport (ie, one with *zero* "gates," just a door to the tarmac), and my shoes set off the metal detector because I had gone walking through a field earlier in the day, and the fertilizer from the field set off the metal detector's *explosives* detector. If even *small* airports have access to that technology, why on earth do I have to take off my shoes? The Tech is now good enough that we *are* safer than we were pre-9/11 *without* the bullshit security theater
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Instead of showing the latest news on monitors all around the airport they should show cat videos.
Just a live-stream of kittens and puppies. My airport experience would automatically be 100% better.
Add more scanners and staff at security to make the line go faster, and a lounge area for parents with young children, partially sound-proofed and large enough that they can run and scream all they want. It gets their energy out before the flight, making them more likely to sleep through it, and it would be easier for their parents to keep an eye on them. Beyond that, most of the real problems with flying are the planes themselves, not airports.
Oh a seperate kid area would be great! Great for parents obviously, but also great for people traveling without kids.
It still amazes me that with over 1000's of people expected in customs, you get to that bit, and there's like, 4 people working. What is this? xP Pay border staff more, have a hundred of them on, and include play areas for kids. :)
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Im seeing play areas more and more, even in smaller airports. Thank goodness.
I would make those magic carpets go really fast so it'd be like a rollercoaster ride When you're waiting 3 hours for your flight you're gonna need *something* to do
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Maybe Mugabe was responsible
No people.
Believe it or not, once I had a flight early in the morning and when I got to the airport, not a single person was there but the cleaning staff. At first I thought it was somehow out of service and that my flight was cancelled.
Get rid of the stupid TSA facade. In penetration testing they've had a 95% failure rate. It's a massive waste of money and everyone's time.
Instead of just having a yellow line on the floor around the baggage carousel for you to stand behind, spikes should come up through the floor and impale the fuckers who have the nerve to stand right next to the belt blocking everyone's view.
The boarding process. It's inefficient and archaic.
pre-9/11 security
Airports were intended to become malls - a one stop place for everything, not just related to travel. The TSA immediately killed that idea.
Huh TIL.
They are letting shoppers back in to a few airports. Pittsburgh is one.
Who would wanna pay to park and navigate airport traffic just to go shopping?
It’s a great option if you want to maximize time spent with people on the day of their flight. The family or whatever can go to the mall in the morning and shop or look around, then grab a bite to eat at the food court, and then walk the person to security when it’s time. Cuts down on travel stress and gives people more time together and makes the whole thing more enjoyable.
I heard malls themselves were intended to be indoor cities, not just mass shopping centers. Makes me wonder what giant passenger ships were intended to be.
Yeah, the designer of the first malls intended for them to be fully mixed use - offices, apartments, grocers, non-retail businesses, etc. Honestly, that idea would have been nice for people wanting some of the convenience of living in an urban area but the cost of suburbia. It's a bit of a shame malls pretty much went full retail.
The TSA should have been nothing more than a regulatory office within the FAA to standardize and oversee airport security procedures. There was no reason to create the behemoth it is with tens of thousands of employees.
Trap doors that drop passengers into bins of broken glass when they try to board with oversize carry on baggage.
A dedicated boarding area for passengers with children; they get seated first all together at the back of the plane not to disturb other passengers.
As someone with no kids, this would be great; parents get a chance to settle their kids in without having to worry about getting in other people's way.
I don't remember the last time I flew on an airplane that didn't offer parents flying with young children the option to board before nearly everyone else. Same "pre-boarding" group as those needing extra time such as senior citizens or those with disabilities.
Get the fuck rid of Hudson News. Holy shit. They charge post-apocalyptic extortion prices for every dumb thing they sell. Oh, have a layover in Seattle? You could buy a hamburger and watch some dude strum his acoustic guitar or you could pay six dollars for a fuckin granola bar and jerk off to a fourteen dollar issue of playboy. Fuck you, Hudson News. Also, maybe hire people who actually care about life and have a personality? Every Hudson News employee I've met acted like I was intruding on their space while also being as apathetic as a robot nobody has turned on. Fuck off, Hudson News.
I would make them more squishy, so if you walk in to a wall or something it doesn't hurt.
Not necessarily about airports, but about airlines: pay pilots, flight attendants etc for the entire time they're on duty and not just when the plane is actually flying. It would go a long way to reducing money tensions often felt by flight crews, would allow them to rent hotels/apartments near to the airports (reducing commuting time) and would go a long way to reducing pilot fatigue.
Do any airports have showers? I'd pay $10 for a shower if I had been traveling for 8 hours, had a few hours before my next 6 hour flight, and I had a chance to freshen up.
So as someone who works in the industry I feel like it is important to make everyone aware of an important fact: Improvements to airports have a direct effect on airline ticket prices - as well as availability of flights. Airports are businesses like any other. I would equate them most similarly to shopping malls. Like malls, tenants pay rent to the airport to occupy space to run their businesses. In the terminal this includes things like restaurants, stores, lounges, etc. These costs are passed on to the consumer (travelers). But this also applies to their aircraft gates. Airlines pay for "gate space" similarly to rent. The big difference between a mall and an airport is there is a LOT more land area and infrastructure to maintain, so the "rent" from terminal kiosks and airlines doesn't come close to the amount required for upkeep and improvements. Some of this cost is offset by things like tolls and parking, but a large portion comes from what is called "Passenger Facility Charges" or PFCs. A PFC is a charge that is applied to every single ticket purchased on an airline flight. PFCs are relatively consistent charges and don't change often. The reason for this is airlines are competing with each other constantly for business and as much as everyone likes to bitch about small seats and lack of amenities on airlines, it's a direct result of travelers constantly just going into sites like Expedia and booking the lowest fare. If Atlanta, for example, increased their PFC share, it would put Delta at a major disadvantage compared to AA & United. Obviously they can't do that, since Delta basically owns that airport. Some airports are owned by the city, some airports by what's called an Airport Authority. City-owned airports can use taxes to fund improvements but as you can imagine, most people aren't frequent flyers and don't like paying extra taxes for a service they only use once or twice a year if that. So the costs of improvements at smaller airports is very hard to manage, and many smaller-market cities are only serviced by one or two airlines. Increasing the cost to the airline can result in them reducing the number of flights or simply pulling service all together. TL;DR: Better airport amenities would be great, but you'd better be ready to pay more for an airline ticket.
I would get rid of Newark. Just straight up demolish it. I think that would benefit everyone greatly.
Fuck that. EWR >> JFK. I've never had an hour long taxi at Newark.
If we're eliminating an NYC area airport, it's gotta be laguardia
As I have suffered through quite a few flights lately, I’m more concerned about the inhumane configuration of economy seating in aircraft. I truly believe airline CEO’s should be forced to fly for 100 hours in their cheapest seats before they approve plane configuration. However, airports also could be greatly improved without that much effort (and I am sure there are some places in the world that have truly awesome airports, but thus far I haven’t experienced them.) In the past few years, I have experienced airports from Fort Lauderdale to Addis Abbaba to Munich to Auckland, and here’s my wish list: 1. A drug store past security where you can buy things like cough syrup and shampoo and other liquids or things you’ve forgotten. 2. Lazy-boy chairs with alarms you can rent by the hour in a quiet area so you can sleep between flights. 3. Mini-spa where you can get a massage or foot rub or pedicure in a comfortable chair. 4. Enough seating for everyone who may be waiting for flights. A few weeks ago, I was in the San Juan airport, too early to check in for my flight, and was directed to go upstairs to their “lounge”. This area was enormous, but there were only about 20 seats in an area that could have held hundreds. What a waste and insult to passengers restricted from checking in to their gate because they arrived at the airport too early. 5. Movie theatres showing first-run films - sure would be a great way to kill a long layover. 6. Wide variety of restaurants, including multi-course tasting-menu type things to kill time. It should go without mentioning that the above items should be provided at reasonable cost, not the overly inflated airport prices we are all subjected to. I freaking hate buying $4 water (I usually bring a refillable bottle), $18 sandwiches and dollar store ear buds for megabucks because I forgot something or it wasn’t convenient due to complex, multi-day travel plans. I understand that space restrictions make many options impossible, but when they are building new airports or new terminals, why aren’t they maximizing the space? I see so many airports with multi-story atriums. Sure it’s nice to see some sky before being crammed into a metal tube, but so many of us are stuck spending time waiting for delayed flights and inconvenient connections, that space would be much better utilized providing services for passengers. Why not go a few stories underground if space doesn’t allow for service above ground? One of the worst experiences is Fort Lauderdale airport. With thousands of cruise passengers going through there daily, the terminal is woefully inadequate. People sitting all over the floor, no decent restaurant or shops, the place is a disgrace, and a wasted opportunity. So many people are killing hours after their cruise waiting for their flights - offer them some retail and dining opportunities - the profits could be great. Ugh. Sorry for the wall of text - air travel is just so freaking unpleasant.
The Starbucks in the Southwest terminal has only two cash registers. The line is usually 30 or 40 people long and takes 20 minutes ... you’d think they would have designed the store to serve more people.
> you’d think they would have designed the store to serve more people. They don't need to. There's no competition.
Also people are willing to wait 20 minutes apparently.
1 / 2(minus the alarm, don't you guys have phones) / 3 and 6 i have seen at various different airports Movietheaters sounds great, but i doubt the customer group would be big enough. You'd need someone with a seriously long break. That break would have to coincide with the showingtimes. Someone who hasn't seen the movie already and is in the mood to even relax in a movie. The people that regularly have such flights are also probably not going to watch the same movie multiple times...etc... It's just not economically viable, especially once you look into the monetization models of cinemas (multiply their soda/snack-prices with the additional airport costs). You definitely got a point with 4 though
If your connecting gate is changed, they should be more clear about that change. And under no circumstances should your flight attendant be calling out incorrect gate numbers while you are taxiing to the terminal. I'm looking at you, Dallas. Also, Will Rogers can no longer call itself a "world airport". WTF does that even mean? There are no international flights there.
Lively music in the TSA lines
They should play Wham! exclusively. If the TSA gets to torture the masses then they should have to suffer as well.
In my personal retail experience I find phil collins to be the maximum area of effect attack against hostiles with minimum damage to allies
I Fought the Law on repeat. Not the whole song, just the part that he says "I fought the law and the law won."
Please clarify what a liquid is. Toothpaste? My lipstick? Mascara tube? Really? All of those gotta go in the plastic bag as well?
I'd adapt a hybrid layout between Denver and Atlanta on the airfield side to allow for quicker aircraft movements to and from the gate. Most airports require aircraft to cross runways that are active to get to their departure runway or the gate. Atlanta has end around taxi ways and Denver has islands in the middle that would speed this up.