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[joyjoy]

Here's an interesting article:
http://www.bcentral.com/articles/elliott/112.asp

The guy rates the top five airports in the US and guess which one was #1? MCO, of course. In case you don't want to read the whole thing, the top five (according to this very active traveller) are:

1) MCO - Orlando
2) DEN - Denver
3) ORD - Chicago O'Hare
4) ATL - Atlanta Hartsfield
5) SFO - San Francisco

Conversely, he wrote another article with the worst airports (bad food, late flights, crowds, smoking, etc.) http://www.bcentral.com/articles/ell...d=msn&LID=3800 The top five starting with the worst are:

1) All three New York airports (Newark, LaGuardia and JFK)
2) MIA - Miami
3) SJC - San Jose
4) LAX - Los Angeles
5) BOS - Boston Logan

I'd put IAH (Bush Intercontinental Houston) on there for the most BORING airport.

[greystone98]

Very interesting - thanks for the information. Although I'd have to disagree with his choice of Atlanta as a top five having flown through there many times in the past. I haven't been through there in awhile and the joke in the Southeast is that you can't even get into heaven without going through Atlanta first. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

But it used to be an absolute nightmare. The airport is so spread out and so busy that it's just not practical to try and jog from one end to the other trying to connect flights.

I try never to fly into Atlanta anymore, JMHO.

Debbi

[Diz]

Pittsburgh didn't make the cut for the top five...oh well. It's not a bad airport. It has a nice air mall and atleast tries. I'm surprised Cleveland isn't in the worst five. I'm not impressed with it at all! There's like almost nothing there.

[*Pixie*Dust*]

I have flown into most of the airports on the good and bad lists. I must agree with his assessment of LAX. I used to fly to California frequently and after two trips into LAX I started flying into Orange County Airport (also known as John Wayne). It was worth the higher fare not to have to deal with the mess in Los Angeles.

[joyjoy]

Diz9, I'm totally with you on Pittsburgh. I've flown into that airport many times since the update and it's great. Any airport with a Victoria's Secret AND a Godiva Chocolate shop should have made the list.

Debbi, Atlanta is still a nightmare. I think they try, but it is so huge, you couldn't even take the tram and make a connecting flight in a different terminal if you didn't have like 45 minutes. Their security lines are very slow, too.

[Elliot'sDragon]

No arguement here on NYC airports. LaGuardia is the worst of the three.

[ 11-01-2002, 08:43 PM: Message edited by: Elliot'sDragon ]

[Janet 46]

[quote]Originally posted by joyjoy:
[QB]

1) All three New York airports (Newark, LaGuardia and JFK) [QB] [quote]

Why on earth do people constantly say 'New York City airports' and include Newark?!?

IT'S IN NEW JERSEY!

But I agree, it is not a nice airport.

[Dave Marx]

Wow! A list where DTW (Detroit Metro) isn't one of the worst. Well, now that the new Midfield Terminal has opened, 80% of the flights out of DTW are from that very spiffy new terminal, so what's to complain about?

Note that the stories cover the worst (and best) airports for layovers. Orlando certainly is a fine spot for a layover. Especially a 5-7 day layover. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Honestly, the worst airport for a layover is whatever airport you're in when something bad happens (snow storms, flight delays, missed connections etc.).

My "worst" list (using my criteria):

San Juan
Tampa
Atlanta
Detroit (old terminal)
Los Angeles

My "best" list (based solely on pleasant layovers, no extraneous criteria):

Orlando
Detroit (new terminal)
Pittsburgh
Atlanta (when nothing bad happens, what's not to like?)
Memphis (not that it's wonderful, but all my connections have been painless)

[Carrousel Lover]

You're kidding - Boston - one the top 5 worst list??!! [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[buzzNwoodyfan]

Here's my vote for Austin-Bergstrom Intl for the top five list! We just love flying Southwest outta Austin. Never had a late flight, the people are so friendly, great food and shopping. THe weather is always nice, but the late night landings can get bumpy. DFW is the WORST airport, but flying Delta outta there is not so bad.

[gumby74]

If you ever need a great airport to leave out of or come into in the N.C. area, Greensboro is one of the easiest I've seen.

You can park right in front of the terminal gate for 30-minutes (perfect to pick someone up).

There's only two terminals, and only about 30 gates in each one. But you can get an international flight.

Happy flying. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[TrixyA]

I have trouble believing that there are 4 airports worse than Boston! Logan is the most horrid airport I have ever experienced! Unfortunately, it's my "home" airport, so I get to experience it a lot!

[AKLRULZ]

I so cannot believe Atlanta is in the top there - what a nightmare that airport is! I'll put a plug in for Richmond International - not a grand showcase, but it's SOOOO easy to get in and out of - you basically walk from your car to your plane, even with heightend security!

[Perky2sol]

Hey TrixiA, I totally agree with you about Logan airport in Boston! Could they make it any more complicated???? [img]images/icons/frown.gif[/img] And then add to it the Big Dig construction, and its awful. Last time we flew out of there, I couldn't find the entrance to the Ted Williams Tunnel to get to it. They had moved it!! [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]

Still, when you want to GO AWAY, you don't have a lot of choice!

[mattjs]

Boston's not pretty. It's too bad that's the first impression people get of the city, cause it's not a very good one.

Orlando and Denver are awesome. Though Denver's a ways outside of the City.

Atlanta I can't get on board for. It's a personal thing though [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] I swear, every time I've flown through there, there's some kind of super thunderstorm wreaking havoc on schedules. We also avoid it if possible.

[ 11-05-2002, 01:13 PM: Message edited by: mattjs ]