Not all airports are exasperating mood-foulers: These 10 make delays enjoyable
Really? A small outpost on a remote island in Tierra del Fuego is the fifth most-loved airport in the world?
Strange and subjective as this may seem, it all starts to make sense when you think about how little love there actually is for any airport in the world.
Last week, we ran the 10 most hated airports and that was so much easier -- until guilt set in.
And then confusion. Is it even possible -- let alone appropriate -- to love an airport? Maybe that’s a subject beyond the scope of yet another illuminating Top 10 List, but the following inspired airports definitely deserve a little affection, at least.
Should a first-place Skytrax World Airport Award for the Australia/Pacific region be much reason to gloat when there is not much competition?
When this accolade could likely be extended to most of the Southern Hemisphere -- the answer is yes. Like its rugby team, New Zealand’s mysterious capacity to outperform much bigger places applies to its flagship aviation facility too.
Auckland’s latest renovation has breathed welcome new life into its international terminal, which offers a swift E-gate system and an award-winning commercial property overhaul that includes several new dining options and A-list retailers, including Apple and MAC cosmetics.
Then there’s the “Kiwi geniality factor,” which in an airport that now supports over 20 international carriers, is more than just about free Steinlager beer on long haul Air New Zealand flights.
“When we asked airport staff for directions here,” notes one passenger, “we were actually walked to the location in question.”
Finding contentment in virtually any airport in the Americas usually depends mainly on the book and/or beverage in your hand. One of the few exceptions to this rule is now hiding in Uruguay, which garners the kind of air passenger enthusiasm that Buenos Aires, Belize City or Baltimore can’t even fathom.
“This airport is breathtakingly beautiful, spotless clean, and efficient,” writes one recent passenger at airline and airport review site, airlinequality.com.
“Attractive architecture, spacious, clean, lots of light. Smooth check-in, security control and immigration,” gushes another. “Try the small coffee shop next to Gate 8 with an outdoor terrace!”
People passing through Montevideo are digging its airport’s sleek, glassy, curvaceous US$165 million makeover which was completed a couple of years ago and will surely score a cameo in "Up in the Air 2."
In a building this bright and shiny, even things that might bum passengers out in regular airports (What, no fast food court?) just make this one seem even more sophisticated.
Amenities include a full-service restaurant and third-floor observation deck with long, sunny views that thankfully don’t reach Sao Paolo-Garulhos even on a clear day.
Canada’s favorite little regional airport has earned its stripes on a reputation for ease, efficiency and friendliness, along with some value-added quirks that no other airport in the world would ever bother to think about.
Like, for example, hosting a special “chocolatier” exhibit or unveiling a 2.5-kilometer bike path around the perimeter.
Tucked in a scenic peninsula on Vancouver Island about 20 minutes from mercilessly pleasant downtown Victoria and a picturesque ferry ride from mainland British Columbia, Victoria “International” (the moniker derives from connections to SeaTac and San Francisco) handles well over a million annual domestic and U.S. passengers.
That’s a lot for a terminal with nine little gates, three luggage carousels and a cozy glassy atrium. But it doesn’t feel like it. “I was out within 10 minutes of the plane touching down,” says one recent passenger.
Bottom line: this is the way everyone envisions entering Canada, and almost never does.
OK, so maybe not everyone loves Switzerland’s largest airport when they’re getting squeezed onto the Skymetro to Terminal E, grilled by a hair-splitting security officer, or paying through the teeth for a puny sandwich.
But it’s a speedy train ride, security’s just doing its job and you could eat your lunch off the floor here.
Zurich continues to offer the sort of spotless, well-run, no-nonsense flying experience that passengers realize they love when they’re having a much worse time at another airport.
Recent expansion projects, renovations and increasing crowds may have hampered the facility’s cuckoo-clock efficiency rep of late, but projects here -- like new terminals, observation decks, a children’s airport-themed play area -- actually get done.
From the airport, there are few better train systems connecting passengers to the rest of Europe.
And few other airports are routinely decorated with as many consumer-oriented awards as Zurich, which placed first in this year’s World Travel Awards, first in Europe (second in the world) in last year’s Business Traveller Awards and third in Europe in the 2010 Consumer Awards.
Never mind aviational blights like LAX or MIA that live down to their acronyms; it’s a shame those sturdier major U.S. hubs don’t get more respect. Atlanta-Hartsfield, Chicago-O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth.
These behemoths decently convey some of the largest, hardest-to-please throngs of air travelers on earth, who rag on them constantly.
Mid-sized American airports tend to fare better -- in random places like Portland, Oregon, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Hartford, Connecticut and (all kidding aside) Detroit -- which get some due appreciation in the public eye.
The open-air walkways at Honolulu and Maui also earn raves -- though, given their location and high percentage of travelers coming specifically to brighten their moods, any Hawaiian airport has a bit of an unfair advantage.
But Tampa, home of the first Landside/Airside Terminal Complex structure, a frequent Global Airport Efficiency Award winner, and recipient of a Second Best Airport in the World in an aging J.D. Powers & Assoc. customer satisfaction survey, takes the lion’s share of shout-outs.
Travelers through Tampa continue to wax on about its efficient, tram-connected wheel-spoked design that ends all running to distant gates (Denver, are you listening?), its affable Floridian staff that aren’t like those tired, moody cadavers in Orlando, its tasteful galleria of stores, boutiques and restaurants that wouldn’t dare deprive waiting passengers of a Ron Jon Surf Shop.
The only frequent beef here is that no major airline has elected to make this place its hub. But if Tampa is smart, it won’t be going there any time soon.
Strange and subjective as this may seem, it all starts to make sense when you think about how little love there actually is for any airport in the world.
Last week, we ran the 10 most hated airports and that was so much easier -- until guilt set in.
And then confusion. Is it even possible -- let alone appropriate -- to love an airport? Maybe that’s a subject beyond the scope of yet another illuminating Top 10 List, but the following inspired airports definitely deserve a little affection, at least.
10. Auckland Airport, Auckland, New Zealand
The Rugby World Cup was the perfect excuse for a face-lift.
Should a first-place Skytrax World Airport Award for the Australia/Pacific region be much reason to gloat when there is not much competition?
When this accolade could likely be extended to most of the Southern Hemisphere -- the answer is yes. Like its rugby team, New Zealand’s mysterious capacity to outperform much bigger places applies to its flagship aviation facility too.
Auckland’s latest renovation has breathed welcome new life into its international terminal, which offers a swift E-gate system and an award-winning commercial property overhaul that includes several new dining options and A-list retailers, including Apple and MAC cosmetics.
Then there’s the “Kiwi geniality factor,” which in an airport that now supports over 20 international carriers, is more than just about free Steinlager beer on long haul Air New Zealand flights.
“When we asked airport staff for directions here,” notes one passenger, “we were actually walked to the location in question.”
9. Montevideo Carrasco, Montevideo, Uruguay
An airport worthy of Ryan Bingham.
Finding contentment in virtually any airport in the Americas usually depends mainly on the book and/or beverage in your hand. One of the few exceptions to this rule is now hiding in Uruguay, which garners the kind of air passenger enthusiasm that Buenos Aires, Belize City or Baltimore can’t even fathom.
“This airport is breathtakingly beautiful, spotless clean, and efficient,” writes one recent passenger at airline and airport review site, airlinequality.com.
“Attractive architecture, spacious, clean, lots of light. Smooth check-in, security control and immigration,” gushes another. “Try the small coffee shop next to Gate 8 with an outdoor terrace!”
People passing through Montevideo are digging its airport’s sleek, glassy, curvaceous US$165 million makeover which was completed a couple of years ago and will surely score a cameo in "Up in the Air 2."
In a building this bright and shiny, even things that might bum passengers out in regular airports (What, no fast food court?) just make this one seem even more sophisticated.
Amenities include a full-service restaurant and third-floor observation deck with long, sunny views that thankfully don’t reach Sao Paolo-Garulhos even on a clear day.
8. Victoria International, Victoria, Canada
Canada, we get it, you're good at nature.
Canada’s favorite little regional airport has earned its stripes on a reputation for ease, efficiency and friendliness, along with some value-added quirks that no other airport in the world would ever bother to think about.
Like, for example, hosting a special “chocolatier” exhibit or unveiling a 2.5-kilometer bike path around the perimeter.
Tucked in a scenic peninsula on Vancouver Island about 20 minutes from mercilessly pleasant downtown Victoria and a picturesque ferry ride from mainland British Columbia, Victoria “International” (the moniker derives from connections to SeaTac and San Francisco) handles well over a million annual domestic and U.S. passengers.
That’s a lot for a terminal with nine little gates, three luggage carousels and a cozy glassy atrium. But it doesn’t feel like it. “I was out within 10 minutes of the plane touching down,” says one recent passenger.
Bottom line: this is the way everyone envisions entering Canada, and almost never does.
7. Zurich Airport, Zurich, Switzerland
An airport so clean, you can eat your over-priced sandwich off the floor.
OK, so maybe not everyone loves Switzerland’s largest airport when they’re getting squeezed onto the Skymetro to Terminal E, grilled by a hair-splitting security officer, or paying through the teeth for a puny sandwich.
But it’s a speedy train ride, security’s just doing its job and you could eat your lunch off the floor here.
Zurich continues to offer the sort of spotless, well-run, no-nonsense flying experience that passengers realize they love when they’re having a much worse time at another airport.
Recent expansion projects, renovations and increasing crowds may have hampered the facility’s cuckoo-clock efficiency rep of late, but projects here -- like new terminals, observation decks, a children’s airport-themed play area -- actually get done.
From the airport, there are few better train systems connecting passengers to the rest of Europe.
And few other airports are routinely decorated with as many consumer-oriented awards as Zurich, which placed first in this year’s World Travel Awards, first in Europe (second in the world) in last year’s Business Traveller Awards and third in Europe in the 2010 Consumer Awards.
6. Tampa International, Tampa, United States
When your state is like Las Vegas for the elderly, you'll need an efficient airport.
Never mind aviational blights like LAX or MIA that live down to their acronyms; it’s a shame those sturdier major U.S. hubs don’t get more respect. Atlanta-Hartsfield, Chicago-O’Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth.
These behemoths decently convey some of the largest, hardest-to-please throngs of air travelers on earth, who rag on them constantly.
Mid-sized American airports tend to fare better -- in random places like Portland, Oregon, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Hartford, Connecticut and (all kidding aside) Detroit -- which get some due appreciation in the public eye.
The open-air walkways at Honolulu and Maui also earn raves -- though, given their location and high percentage of travelers coming specifically to brighten their moods, any Hawaiian airport has a bit of an unfair advantage.
But Tampa, home of the first Landside/Airside Terminal Complex structure, a frequent Global Airport Efficiency Award winner, and recipient of a Second Best Airport in the World in an aging J.D. Powers & Assoc. customer satisfaction survey, takes the lion’s share of shout-outs.
Travelers through Tampa continue to wax on about its efficient, tram-connected wheel-spoked design that ends all running to distant gates (Denver, are you listening?), its affable Floridian staff that aren’t like those tired, moody cadavers in Orlando, its tasteful galleria of stores, boutiques and restaurants that wouldn’t dare deprive waiting passengers of a Ron Jon Surf Shop.
The only frequent beef here is that no major airline has elected to make this place its hub. But if Tampa is smart, it won’t be going there any time soon.
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