OK, I just flew from SeaTac to Kalispell, then flew back to Seattle from Missoula. I gotta say, the Missoula airport is really nice and spacious, once they finish the rebuild of the rental car section it'll be one of my favorite airports.
Connecting through O'Hare is a nightmare. Never again.What makes airport travel convenient or inconvenient?
I'm curious what the issue is with O'Hare... I've connected through there a few times and never had a problem. Probably depends on when exactly you're there and which routes you're on. I often connect through DFW, which is similarly large... no problem there either.Connecting through O'Hare is a nightmare. Never again.
Changing my vote back ... nonstop is THE priority.
I just did a trip on Southwest. One stop with plane changes each way. The stop added 2 hours of travel time each way. Ugh.
I'm looking at United non-stop for the next trip.
I've been through there twice. Both times my delays were greater that the sum of all other delays I've had in my entire life. Never again, unless I have to do it to save the world.I'm curious what the issue is with O'Hare... I've connected through there a few times and never had a problem.
Connecting through O'Hare is a nightmare. Never again.
I think it depends on where you're coming from and going to.I'm curious what the issue is with O'Hare... I've connected through there a few times and never had a problem. Probably depends on when exactly you're there and which routes you're on. I often connect through DFW, which is similarly large... no problem there either.
Maybe I'm lucky, or just easy going about travel, but I can't think of an airport I've been to that I really have any issue with (of the probably 35 or so in North America I've been to - and a bunch more internationally). Just tend to prefer smaller ones for easier/quicker access to everything - parking, check-in, baggage claim, rental cars, etc. as said earlier in the thread.
They've got charging ports and outlets all over most of the seating areas now, IME. So that's one issue taken care of at least.When I needed to charge a phone or use my computer there were only about 3 outlets near a gate, which was complex if flight delays happened because everyone wanted those three outlets.
Even in its prime, O'Hare's floors and seats were really uncomfortable if you had an overnight layover. That trip sucked! Because it was overnight I had to get my baggage then go back through the next morning. This was well before TSA and all that but it was still a big PIA!its somewhat antiquated in its current state.
O'hare-- And Detroit. Seems coming from Albany is always via puddle jumper plane- (delta/united) land at gate A3000 and i have 30min to get to next flight at gate Z10,000- I run alot thru airports, moving sidewalks are my friend. Going to ABQ /Taos last winter- SW cancelled my flight so I went Delta the next am (5am) the plane had no fuel, they said the fuel trucks were frozen to the taramac told us all to look for alternate flights to ABQ- it would take an hr to get fuel! I ended up running at Detroit, over a mile from gate to gate- got there as they were loading C passengers.. I did make it. but then had to go to atlanta then to ABQ- This year I'm going a day early thru Baltimore to Dallas.. ugh 2 stopsI'm curious what the issue is with O'Hare... I've connected through there a few times and never had a problem. Probably depends on when exactly you're there and which routes you're on. I often connect through DFW, which is similarly large... no problem there either.
Maybe I'm lucky, or just easy going about travel, but I can't think of an airport I've been to that I really have any issue with (of the probably 35 or so in North America I've been to - and a bunch more internationally). Just tend to prefer smaller ones for easier/quicker access to everything - parking, check-in, baggage claim, rental cars, etc. as said earlier in the thread.
Reagan is a dream. 22 yrs in the Beltway and it was always my first choice. Now living in San Diego...SAN feels very similar...but is also too small for a city the size of San Diego. Non-stop is always my priority and non stops into DC/Nova (where I go for business quite a bit) are really only on United and SW. I've built my points on United so I stick with that. A friend who was travel warrior always told me to prioritize non stop and larger airplanes....he always thought it was worth a bit more time traveling on the ground if the time in the air was more comfortable and less time consuming.Locally, I really prefer to fly from Reagan National, rather than Dulles, mostly because it's smaller. So easier to park (if I don't take a cab), easier to check-in, short walk to the terminals rather than a train, etc.
In general, smaller airports are easier and more convenient, provided they have what you need (rental cars, restaurants, etc.) So if flying to New Mexico, I like Santa Fe over Albuquerque. If going to Colorado, I like Eagle or Aspen over Denver. Etc. They can be more expensive, or have less flight options, but they're certainly more convenient.
Just to be clear, on a lot of sites "off-airport" can mean you have to take public transport or a cab to get there. Airport provided shuttles - like in Denver - are still usually called "at the airport", "in-airport", "airport shuttle", etc. on a lot of sites I've seen.
I spend a lot of time in Denver. I find the drive to DIA..particularly with traffic to be insufferable..the only thing worse is the drive to the mountains on a busy day in summer or winter! I love CO and its a great state...but the I 70 I25 corridor feels smothered by overpopulation these days. Maybe that's no different than most other places though.Y'all make me happy to live in Denver. Ski traffic on I-70 can suck, but at least we don't have to get on an airplane to ski!
As for traveling elsewhere, our little cow town's airport is now the third busiest in the world, so traveling elsewhere is usually easy and cheap.
We are going to San Diego for a beach vacation next week, and Southwest has seven direct flights on weekdays and six on the weekend!
It's a bit of a drive to DIA, and parking can be a pain, but both are manageable and well worth the benefits to locals from the enormous traffic through DIA.
O'Hare is a disaster in the summer with thunderstorms and winter storms in the cold months. When you get trapped there it cascades through the airline system and it can be hard to get out. It is to be avoided mostly. You'll do better in spring and fall though.I'm curious what the issue is with O'Hare... I've connected through there a few times and never had a problem. Probably depends on when exactly you're there and which routes you're on. I often connect through DFW, which is similarly large... no problem there either.
Maybe I'm lucky, or just easy going about travel, but I can't think of an airport I've been to that I really have any issue with (of the probably 35 or so in North America I've been to - and a bunch more internationally). Just tend to prefer smaller ones for easier/quicker access to everything - parking, check-in, baggage claim, rental cars, etc. as said earlier in the thread.
I've built my points on United so I stick with that.
How do you avoid O'Hare and stick with United? (From New England, pretty much every single United flight goes to O'Hare before you can go anywhere west of the Mississippi. I'm exaggerating slightly, but not much. P.S.: Newark is even worse.)O'Hare is a disaster in the summer with thunderstorms and winter storms in the cold months. When you get trapped there it cascades through the airline system and it can be hard to get out. It is to be avoided mostly.
For me it depends on what the ground travel is like. If "traveling on the ground" means sitting amid the oil tanks and general post-apocalyptic wasteland that is Revere, Massachusetts, on the way to Logan, in an interminable traffic jam, on a gray and drizzly day in February, so I can park my car five miles from the airport, pay through the nose for the privilege, and then wait for a shuttle in the rain, so I can stand in a HUGE line to check my skis ... no.A friend who was travel warrior always told me to prioritize non stop and larger airplanes....he always thought it was worth a bit more time traveling on the ground if the time in the air was more comfortable and less time consuming.
Should have driven!O'hare-- And Detroit. Seems coming from Albany is always via puddle jumper plane- (delta/united) land at gate A3000 and i have 30min to get to next flight at gate Z10,000- I run alot thru airports, moving sidewalks are my friend. Going to ABQ /Taos last winter- SW cancelled my flight so I went Delta the next am (5am) the plane had no fuel, they said the fuel trucks were frozen to the taramac told us all to look for alternate flights to ABQ- it would take an hr to get fuel! I ended up running at Detroit, over a mile from gate to gate- got there as they were loading C passengers.. I did make it. but then had to go to atlanta then to ABQ- This year I'm going a day early thru Baltimore to Dallas.. ugh 2 stops
now trying to avoid sleep overs.. I've slept in Detroit and Chicago forget the other one was yrs ago a Northern USAir hub- it's not fun- I got to see how little the cleaners do at night.. yak yak yak, finally i told them I was undercover and filming them not working.. they left my area.