So I’ve done my fair share of traveling both domestically and abroad and I wanted to see other people opinions on the best & worst airports you’ve travelled through...Mine are:

Best: Dallas - When making connection the team system is great! Most people are very friendly and willing to assist.

Worst: Seattle - Always seem to be “under construction”. TSA horrible, rude staff & SLOW!!!!


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You realize you didn't give a worst, right?

I remember KC's being small and kinda crappy.

LAX is trash and has a trash layout.

Denver seemed old and pretty meh.

Minneapolis was pretty nice.

SeaTac and Portland seem like they're slightly above average, all things considered.

Now to be told I'm wrong

I like Denver for flying through, the fact I live here has little to do with that. I've always disliked O'Hare.

Was stuck in BWI for 12 hours once. That blew major chunks.

Was regularly delayed in Minneapolis so I don't have fond memories of it.

JGfromtheNW wrote:
Denver seemed old and pretty meh.

Pretty old? When was the last time you were here?

HawkGA wrote:

JGfromtheNW wrote:
Denver seemed old and pretty meh.

Pretty old? When was the last time you were here?

It would have been either the summer or early winter of 2012. I just remember it seeming dated and very basic.

Laguardia is NY is horrendous, not a big fan of Miami

Boston (Logan) is pretty good

Always impressed with Atlanta given how busy it is

I agree on Dallas, very efficient, even if the circle hamster wheel transportation is weird to get used to.

Worst is LAX, their international terminal is the 7th level of hell. Nasty employees just screaming at everyone herded like cattle going to slaughter. I will pay any amount to not connect through LA.

I haven't been to enough airports to be a great judge (about 20 total), but by far, the worst airport I've flown through was JFK.

Best airport I've ever flown into/out of is Sacramento. The Worst, hands-down is O'Hare. I have never, ever had a flight that went through O'Hare that wasn't delayed or outright cancelled.

Worst I ever saw was in Orlando when my wife and I were heading back from Disneyworld after the Hawks game in Miami. What a hole. Best for me is Maui. Even though it's super small, it's outside, and............it's in Maui

Austin has a pretty sweet airport. Pretty good BBQ from Salt Lick. Good for an airport anyway. And live music playing in the terminal.

Newark is probably my least favorite.

HawkGA wrote:You realize you didn't give a worst, right?

Ya, I fixed it. I happen to be traveling right now, and someone sat on the connecting bench like they dropped a cement block. I did realize I bumped the post button. Yes I’m in Seattle ((North Gate to be exact).

As long as TSA is a thing, they all suck.

One time I had a flight leave at 7:00 am on a weekday when there's literally almost nobody in the airport. So I showed up at 6:35 AM thinking that was more than plenty of time to get through screening (since there was nobody in the place), and it absolutely was. But, I had to miss my flight anyway because they wouldn't let me check in past 6:30 or whatever it was. The TSA guy was just like "sorry bud, the days of checking into your flights 20 minutes before they leave are over." And I was like "Why? There's NOBODY here. There is absolutely no reason to make people sit in this boring ass waiting room for over a half an hour to wait for a flight." He just shrugged because he knew I was 100% right.

Well Airports with International fights and airports with mostly domestics are different it seems. Hated Miami, Hate Seattle, didn't like Houston much either. Atlanta was pretty good as well as Denver. Anchorage was pretty cool, scary as hell landing and taking off however. Now talk about bad Rio de Janeiro, get off and the smell of Piss hits you in the face and hard to get around and find your way out.

fenderbender123 wrote:As long as TSA is a thing, they all suck.

This.

They've done an absolutely amazing job of making the whole experience of flying suck super bad. Not just TSA, but the whole airport/flying experience these days is generally pretty horrendous.

The only 'major' airports I've ever been to are Sea-Tac and Las Vegas ( can't remember the name).

Didn't spend much time at the Vegas airport, but it was really crowded and people got mad at me because my bag was blocking the automatic door from shutting on the shuttle train. Whoops.

Sea-Tac seems nice and clean and not too crowded. And this is the only airport I've ever hung around for any amount of time and eaten at restaurants, so I will say this...the service at the restaurants there are absolutely awful. Do they not realize that people have flights that might be boarding soon? Obviously as the customer we want to be sure we have ample time, but it's just ridiculous how often it takes 10+ minutes to even be acknowledged as a customer, and then another 15 minutes to wait for your bill to come when you're done eating. What's the deal? There's multiple restaurants, so there's got to be some competition for better service.

Man I'm in an edgy mood today. I hate Mondays.

Denver airport was moved out of town by several miles. It is not that bad considering. Orlando was ok as I recall from December. Kinda like the set up of Phoenix. Had no problems there for the most part. Las Vegas is well....Las Vegas. Maui is yes Maui. SFO I have been thru but it has been about 15 years or more..so no remember. Oakland seems ok. Anchorage seemed ok when I went overseas the first time in 83. When we went up to Fairbanks in 00, it seemed ok. Seatac seems Chaotic at best. San Diego is well....San Diego...nuff said. Tokyo Narita seemed organized and fairly decent. Seoul/Kimpo airport seemed ok when I left there on the way to Hawaii back in 86. Dallas/Love field is in Texas.....Houston seemed ok for an airport but it took a lot of time for me to get from one flight to the connecting flight one time. ONly had time for one drink until my stuardesses caught up with me and told me to take another. LOL THey were on my next flight too. THis is all I can remember at the moment.



Boise was good then they are now on the fast track of being assholes. Thank you TSA, the new way to get a free massage.

fenderbender123 wrote:The only 'major' airports I've ever been to are Sea-Tac and Las Vegas ( can't remember the name).

Didn't spend much time at the Vegas airport, but it was really crowded and people got mad at me because my bag was blocking the automatic door from shutting on the shuttle train. Whoops.

Sea-Tac seems nice and clean and not too crowded. And this is the only airport I've ever hung around for any amount of time and eaten at restaurants, so I will say this...the service at the restaurants there are absolutely awful. Do they not realize that people have flights that might be boarding soon? Obviously as the customer we want to be sure we have ample time, but it's just ridiculous how often it takes 10+ minutes to even be acknowledged as a customer, and then another 15 minutes to wait for your bill to come when you're done eating. What's the deal? There's multiple restaurants, so there's got to be some competition for better service.

Man I'm in an edgy mood today. I hate Mondays.

LV McCarran as is Reno McCarron.

fenderbender123 wrote:The only 'major' airports I've ever been to are Sea-Tac and Las Vegas ( can't remember the name).

Didn't spend much time at the Vegas airport, but it was really crowded and people got mad at me because my bag was blocking the automatic door from shutting on the shuttle train. Whoops.

Sea-Tac seems nice and clean and not too crowded. And this is the only airport I've ever hung around for any amount of time and eaten at restaurants, so I will say this...the service at the restaurants there are absolutely awful. Do they not realize that people have flights that might be boarding soon? Obviously as the customer we want to be sure we have ample time, but it's just ridiculous how often it takes 10+ minutes to even be acknowledged as a customer, and then another 15 minutes to wait for your bill to come when you're done eating. What's the deal? There's multiple restaurants, so there's got to be some competition for better service.

Man I'm in an edgy mood today. I hate Mondays.

Seatac is a nice airport, but unfortunately it's staffed with the most passive aggressive A-holes who make it a miserable experience.

Every time I fly I just wanna ask everyone at the airport if they hate their jobs and just hate life in general, because that's the only conclusion I can come to as to why all the stink eyes, the curt behavior and general disdain for other humans I encounter...............at just about every level (TSA, Airlines, airport workers, restaurant and bar employees, etc).

^ That's definitely describes the people who work at the shops and restaurants.

But I've had nothing but good attitudes from the crews that handle the boarding announcements and process near the gate...at least with Alaska Airlines. I hear other airlines, for whatever reason, have much ruder staffs.

Was in the back of the airplane seating wise and when the stewardess mentioned that all tray tables and seats need to be stowed and in their upright position, I mentioned to her that I cant tell if my seat is. She snickered. SouthWest Airlines sometimes goes out of their way to make things pleasurable and I appreciate that about them. I try to make things fun for them too.

chris98251 wrote:Well Airports with International fights and airports with mostly domestics are different it seems. Hated Miami, Hate Seattle, didn't like Houston much either. Atlanta was pretty good as well as Denver. Anchorage was pretty cool, scary as hell landing and taking off however. Now talk about bad Rio de Janeiro, get off and the smell of Piss hits you in the face and hard to get around and find your way out.

Hate Hate Hate Sea-Tac I try to avoid it at all costs.

Vegas is a pain because it’s a trek to the baggage claim to the rental car shuttles, but I like how they have shuttles waiting and you are on your way within’ a minute or 2 after sitting down on shuttle bus.



Anchorage was one of the better ones, as was SLC
Bellingham is great becuase you are in and out quick and you can park your car there instead of some offsite parking.
Laughlin gets an honorable mention as well. As you can tell I like smaller airports.

Sports Hernia wrote:

chris98251 wrote:Well Airports with International fights and airports with mostly domestics are different it seems. Hated Miami, Hate Seattle, didn't like Houston much either. Atlanta was pretty good as well as Denver. Anchorage was pretty cool, scary as hell landing and taking off however. Now talk about bad Rio de Janeiro, get off and the smell of Piss hits you in the face and hard to get around and find your way out.

Hate Hate Hate Sea-Tac I try to avoid it at all costs.

Vegas is a pain because it’s a trek to the baggage claim to the rental car shuttles, but I like how they have shuttles waiting and you are on your way within’ a minute or 2 after sitting down on shuttle bus.



Anchorage was one of the better ones, as was SLC
Bellingham is great becuase you are in and out quick and you can park your car there instead of some offsite parking.
Laughlin gets an honorable mention as well. As you can tell I like smaller airports.

Colorado Springs and Santa Barbara were good small Airports I have been too.

Well, it was 22 years ago, and I thought they were all wonderful, although I know now why it is best not to leave Vegas on a Sunday night (I hate to think what McCarran is like after a long weekend, or even worse, Easter). SFO was pretty hectic, and I thought the plane was going to land on the San Mateo Bridge(!), but LAX, which had a reputation like Cirith Ungol, was amazingly efficient, I thought.

Sea-Tac was a blur - by my own fault, I arrived late, and hardly had time to say good-bye to my hosts from Poulsbo, who drove me there - we missed the Winslow-Seattle ferry. But GETTING there, via Sydney and LAX, was awesome - it's hard for me to describe, but to FINALLY, actually... BE in Seattle was just dreamily surreal.

Sydney Airport, however, sucked rocks, cubed. I emphasise this was 1996, and SURELY it was vastly improved for the Olympics in 2000. Adelaide Airport sucks, too, although it is simply a wannabe backwater (which isn't so bad to live in). There's a pointless "no man's land" between the piddly carpark/hyper-congested taxi stands and the terminal, which is seemingly bigger than some European countries, and you need a scanning electron microscope (and the bank balance of Elon Musk) to manage a drink in the bar.

Other non-USA airports, if I may... Heathrow is very efficient. Frankfurt, Germany was a bugger, but only because I missed ONE gate sign. However, the plane to Prague was about 3 kilometres from the terminal, on a windswept field.

Finally, despite being very, very sick (the chest infection which inspired me to quit smoking), Changi in Singapore is awesome!

I'm definitely partial to the smaller airports myself. They're usually more laid back, more efficient and just more comfortable to travel through.

Bellingham is a nice little airport as someone said above. Can park right out in front, have a drink and/or some food at Scotty Brown's and it's an international so you have some good options flying out of there these days.

Wenatchee is similar to Bellingham, but only set up to fly to and from Seattle. Small, efficient, can park right out front.

I don't really remember much of SFO.

When I was 17 I went on an exchange program to Herrenberg, Germany. Flew from SeaTac to Copenhagen Denmark. I remember that being a really nice airport (aesthetically) at the time, though it seemed like it was really busy. I'm guessing it's one of the main hubs for flying into Europe from the west. I don't really remember the airport in Stuttgart where we flew in, all I remember is my bags didn't make it until the following day >:(

The airport out of Palm Springs was decent. Small and efficient from what I remember.

Don't remember much of the Auckland Airport, I just remember being antsy af to get through customs and see my SO at the time who had been living in Auckland for half a year.

I dug that the airport on Oahu had terminals/gates that (as I assume most airports in Hawaii are) were primarily outside.

Puerto Vallarta was surprisingly clean and easy to travel in and out of when I was down there about 10 years ago. Simple lay outs and minimal security always make the treks a little better.

JGfromtheNW wrote:
Puerto Vallarta was surprisingly clean and easy to travel in and out of when I was down there about 10 years ago. Simple lay outs and minimal security always make the treks a little better.

I've been to just about all the major Mexican resort area airports (Cancun, PV, Aculpulco, Cabo, etc) and they're all super clean and FAR more efficient than most of our airports.

They literally throw you through customs it's so fast. Is it safe? Idk, but when you're on vacation you're not really worried about that, you just wanna get to your beach chair ASAP.

All NYC area airports are horrible to go through, as is O'Hare. Definitely some of the worst.

Seattle isn't terrible. It's one of the better ones. As are Denver, San Jose, San Diego, and San Francisco, especially considering the latter's international flights.

Atlanta and Dallas are very good, considering how big they are. Miami isn't bad. Honolulu is always pretty good. Los Angeles is not especially great at all--always a long walk anywhere.

BWI is decent; Reagan is a pretty quick and painless experience, but Dulles is a horrible one, probably right down there with the worst.

Best is a toss-up. Worst is probably either JFK or Dulles.

Hard to separate airports from airlines, honestly. Experiences vary wildly depending on what airline culture you're dealing with.

Anyone who thinks Sea-Tac is horrible hasn't been to very many other airports, IMO.

RolandDeschain wrote:Anyone who thinks Sea-Tac is horrible hasn't been to very many other airports, IMO.

When I last flew they had stuff under construction everywhere, Seatac always seems to be under construction though kinda like I 405.

RolandDeschain wrote:Anyone who thinks Sea-Tac is horrible hasn't been to very many other airports, IMO.

Really??? I’ve been to all major airports within the last 5 years, and hands down every time I go through Sea-Tac is always the same... people crashing into me, no apology, Service workers being rude (North terminal got at soda at the BK, but the drink area had no lids. Asked the 90ish old Korean woman if they could stock the area. She looked at me and said “go look again”. I left the drink on the counter and moved over to the deli next to it and bought a bottle of water). On previous trips it taken well over 90 minutes to get through TSA, and it wasn’t a peak time. Anytime you go there Sea-Tac has some type of construction. It’s absolutely abysmal compared to other airports of its size & operation. But that’s me...


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RolandDeschain wrote:Anyone who thinks Sea-Tac is horrible hasn't been to very many other airports, IMO.

It’s not just the airport itself it’s also the adventure getting there.
I live in Edmonds and even though SeaTac is closer, I’d rather drive a bit longer to Bellingham, because once you are there it’s a breeze. Much shorter, faster, and friendlier security lines. You can’t get lost in B’ham airport if you tried. It’s also usually cheaper to fly out of B’ham as well.


Paine field in Everett will be another option come fall. It will be interesting to see what their airfares will be.

AKNFidel wrote:

RolandDeschain wrote:Anyone who thinks Sea-Tac is horrible hasn't been to very many other airports, IMO.

Really??? I’ve been to all major airports within the last 5 years, and hands down every time I go through Sea-Tac is always the same... people crashing into me, no apology, Service workers being rude (North terminal got at soda at the BK, but the drink area had no lids. Asked the 90ish old Korean woman if they could stock the area. She looked at me and said “go look again”. I left the drink on the counter and moved over to the deli next to it and bought a bottle of water). On previous trips it taken well over 90 minutes to get through TSA, and it wasn’t a peak time. Anytime you go there Sea-Tac has some type of construction. It’s absolutely abysmal compared to other airports of its size & operation. But that’s me...

I've flown out of Sea-Tac about 12 times in the last five years, not once did it ever take me more than 30-35 minutes to get through TSA, and most of those times, it was 15m or less...and I have a bullet in my left side that sets off the body scanner, earning me a vigorous pat-down every time, too.

You're complaining about a Burger King problem and blaming the airport, lol.

No not complaining about BK, it’s the prevailing attitude of the service workers at the airport. I used the one instance as an example, I have many more. It seem nobody, including passengers have much respect for others in this airport. That’s why I cringe every time I have to make a connection through Sea-Tac.

I also have an implanted medical device in my back & hip, and almost 7 years ago Sea-Tac’s TSA have been the only ones that disregarded my medical device card and had me strip down in a basement room for an examination by a Dr who had no idea such devices existed. Long story short not only was this an extremely embarrassing event I missed my flight and was delayed 6 hours until another flight left. No compassion or apologies, nothing.

These are my experiences at Sea-Tac, but feel free to marginalize them to prop your ego.


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AKNFidel wrote:No not complaining about BK, it’s the prevailing attitude of the service workers at the airport. I used the one instance as an example, I have many more. It seem nobody, including passengers have much respect for others in this airport. That’s why I cringe every time I have to make a connection through Sea-Tac.

I also have an implanted medical device in my back & hip, and almost 7 years ago Sea-Tac’s TSA have been the only ones that disregarded my medical device card and had me strip down in a basement room for an examination by a Dr who had no idea such devices existed. Long story short not only was this an extremely embarrassing event I missed my flight and was delayed 6 hours until another flight left. No compassion or apologies, nothing.

These are my experiences at Sea-Tac, but feel free to marginalize them to prop your ego.


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That's a crappy experience, but now you're also blaming the Seattle Freeze on Sea-Tac. People aren't very friendly in the Puget Sound region, which is why there's even a catchy phrase for it.

Example...I just moved from Seattle to Phoenix at the end of March, and I've had more random neighbors approach me and say hi and strike up a conversation in the past five months than I did in the entire 18 years I was in Seattle combined.

It also sounds like some of us define what makes a good airport in different ways. For me, the sole purpose of an airport is to get me on an airplane and in the air. I've never had a delayed or cancelled flight out of Sea-Tac (that's probably due as much to the airlines as to the airports, to be fair), and I've never had a TSA line take longer than about 35 minutes. Do I get a friendly vibe from employees at Sea-Tac? No; but I don't give a crap about that. I'm not there to feel warm and fuzzy and have my ego stroked despite what you want to think about me; I'm there to travel somewhere. If every employee there is an absolute dickhead to me but it results in me waiting in line even five fewer minutes, then I'd gladly take it.

RolandDeschain wrote:

AKNFidel wrote:No not complaining about BK, it’s the prevailing attitude of the service workers at the airport. I used the one instance as an example, I have many more. It seem nobody, including passengers have much respect for others in this airport. That’s why I cringe every time I have to make a connection through Sea-Tac.

I also have an implanted medical device in my back & hip, and almost 7 years ago Sea-Tac’s TSA have been the only ones that disregarded my medical device card and had me strip down in a basement room for an examination by a Dr who had no idea such devices existed. Long story short not only was this an extremely embarrassing event I missed my flight and was delayed 6 hours until another flight left. No compassion or apologies, nothing.

These are my experiences at Sea-Tac, but feel free to marginalize them to prop your ego.


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That's a crappy experience, but now you're also blaming the Seattle Freeze on Sea-Tac. People aren't very friendly in the Puget Sound region, which is why there's even a catchy phrase for it.

Example...I just moved from Seattle to Phoenix at the end of March, and I've had more random neighbors approach me and say hi and strike up a conversation in the past five months than I did in the entire 18 years I was in Seattle combined.

It also sounds like some of us define what makes a good airport in different ways. For me, the sole purpose of an airport is to get me on an airplane and in the air. I've never had a delayed or cancelled flight out of Sea-Tac (that's probably due as much to the airlines as to the airports, to be fair), and I've never had a TSA line take longer than about 35 minutes. Do I get a friendly vibe from employees at Sea-Tac? No; but I don't give a crap about that. I'm not there to feel warm and fuzzy and have my ego stroked despite what you want to think about me; I'm there to travel somewhere. If every employee there is an absolute dickhead to me but it results in me waiting in line even five fewer minutes, then I'd gladly take it.

Hmmm here is a person that waits to be antagonized on a message board to stand on his golden Schwinn and dictate his views yet says he would take everyone being a dick to him at a airport. Something not right here.

https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2018-north-america-airport-satisfaction-study

Saw the JD Power report came out today ranking American airports. Thought I'd share it here to compare our small sample size against the larger study.

Worst airport experiences in order:

LAX - Literally the 9th ring of hell, especially if you are going through customs after an overnight bender in Mexico. The signage in this airport is possibly the worst in the Western world, especially if you need to hit the huge, new international terminal they've built there.

SEA - Words cannot adequately express how much I loathe this airport. The lines for the security theater are nearly always an hour's wait or more.

IAD - Dulles International Airport, otherwise known as the airport from Die Hard 2. Pretty much every time I fly from here I'm "randomly selected for additional security screening". Usually takes about two hours to get through check-in and security.

DEN - I once had to run from terminal A99 to B91 to make a connection. On the best of days it's an hour's walk, but I had just 20 minutes. Another time a freak blizzard forced my flight to reroute to a rural airstrip in the mountains where we literally had to call someone in to refuel the aircraft, spending 3 hours on the tarmac before dialing in a course for another run at DEN. Natually, I missed my connecting flight and as a bonus I got to spend a night in the freezing cold Denver airport, where I battled a nasty case of norovirus.

PHX - Phoenix Sky Harbor. Only place in the USA you can land at midnight, with tarmac temps exceeding 110 degrees. Landings here are always super rough due to updrafts. Had a plane land on one engine here due to taking a lightning strike while on approach.

SmokinHawk wrote:Worst airport experiences in order:

LAX - Literally the 9th ring of hell, especially if you are going through customs after an overnight bender in Mexico. The signage in this airport is possibly the worst in the Western world, especially if you need to hit the huge, new international terminal they've built there.

SEA - Words cannot adequately express how much I loathe this airport. The lines for the security theater are nearly always an hour's wait or more.

IAD - Dulles International Airport, otherwise known as the airport from Die Hard 2. Pretty much every time I fly from here I'm "randomly selected for additional security screening". Usually takes about two hours to get through check-in and security.

DEN - I once had to run from terminal A99 to B91 to make a connection. On the best of days it's an hour's walk, but I had just 20 minutes. Another time a freak blizzard forced my flight to reroute to a rural airstrip in the mountains where we literally had to call someone in to refuel the aircraft, spending 3 hours on the tarmac before dialing in a course for another run at DEN. Natually, I missed my connecting flight and as a bonus I got to spend a night in the freezing cold Denver airport, where I battled a nasty case of norovirus.

PHX - Phoenix Sky Harbor. Only place in the USA you can land at midnight, with tarmac temps exceeding 110 degrees. Landings here are always super rough due to updrafts. Had a plane land on one engine here due to taking a lightning strike while on approach.

I think the biggest lesson in this thread is that a large sample size is needed, lol. To add additional comments to Smokin's:

Seattle - I've flown out from and into probably at least 30 times each, only one time did I have a TSA line wait longer than 20-ish minutes.

Denver - There's a train that connects the A, B, and C terminals, lol. Not sure why you ran the whole way, unless this was a really long time ago. I literally took it this morning to go to the B (United) terminal on my flight home at the tail end of my vacation after going to the Great American Beer Festival in Denver after spending two weeks in Miami and Orlando. Their terminals are long, but they do have the motorized rubber walkways; I think you get to use four of them from the long end of the terminal to the front/train area. 20 minutes from the end of one to the end of another is rough, can't walk it, but it's nowhere near an hour...

Phoenix - I just arrived a couple of hours ago from Denver, lol. The landing coming in and the takeoff going out 2.5 weeks ago were both very smooth, as were the two I did to/from Seattle about six months ago, but those are the only times as an adult I've flown to or from Sky Harbor, so small sample size. Also, 110 degrees at midnight? That's stretching it a bit.


My own list of worst airports:
LAX and O'Hare.