>Best
MSP
>Worst
LAX
>Overrated
ATL
>Underrated
CVG
If you don't think Singapore is the best, you ain't been there
>free tours to take you into the city all hours of the day
>indoor gardens
>outdoor gardens
>butterfly garden
>that's right, an indoor jungle room where you can walk around and pet butterflies
>free internet kiosks and wifi
>free console and LAN gaming
>free movie theater
>free massage chairs and foot massage machines
>sleeping area
>the food court is themed after Asian street food, with one stall for every imaginable kind of Asian cuisine
Best place on earth for a long layover
>>1035573
Also what's so great about MSP?
>>1035588
I think it's designed beautifully and efficiently. Plus all of the staff is really nice. For the local weather the layovers are minimal. Lovely surroundings upon landing. I haven't flown intercontinentally so my experience is limited to US, Canadian, and Central American airports.
>>1035587
Well, yeah, you are only going to ba able to rate airports you've been to.
>Airport snobs incoming.
>>1035599
I like the runway at YDA.
It's pretty obscure, you probably haven't been there.
>>1035573
>Best:
SIN, bar none. Honorable mention to any open-air, thatched-roof airport (Ko Samui comes to mind)
>Worst:
I hate all the New York airports, and also hate Atlanta, but the worst I've been to personally was KTM (Kathmandu; don't recall if I've got the acronym right). Nothing works, including ATMs, and often, electricity. Security is the most invasive I have met--patted down/groped six or seven times before boarding, most ridiculously both before and after a two-minute bus ride across the tarmac to my plane. Seems churlish to blame a desperately poor, recently war-torn country for the lousy state of its airport, but it's not fun.
>Overrated
Beijing, Bangkok, or any of the Japanese airports.
In my experience
Best -- I like OHare. I know this is not a universally shared opinion, and I avoid it in the winter, but as an airport to make connections, it works well for me. Tunnel of neon gaudiness and dinosaur are a plus.
Also, Narita, unless you get exiled to the old terminal.
>worst
Frankfurt -- I have never had a connection there that was not a nightmare. Poorly laid out, little signage, difficult to move about without having to re-clear security, just a mess. As an airport to originate or terminate a trip, it is probably acceptable.
>Over rated
Dunno. Maybe De Gaulle, if anybody rates it highly. It cannot be rated lowly enough. Traffic pattern when driving in is horrible, or was last time I was there. Maybe that's better now.
>Under rated
All the little "walk out to the plane" airports out there. serving communities that barely need serving. Bonus points if they weigh you before assigning a seat.
>Best:
A little on the sterile and overrated side, but I loved BKK. Immigrations and security are like some of the fastest I've dealt with, and pretty polite too. Honorable mention to ICN.
>Worst:
DCA. Got stranded there for nearly 18 hours one time. Hated every fucking minute of it. Got kicked out of the terminal at 05:00 and had to wait in line to get back in, nodding like fuck from sleep deprivation. Honorable mention to NAIA.
>Overrated:
DFW. I dunno if anyone has much positive to say about it, but it just feels like they make a huge deal of themselves for a whole lot of nothing. It could be worse, I guess.
>Underrated:
CRK, tbh. It's the Philippines, yeah, but it's a pretty nicely kept one all-in-all. Also, I like walking out to the plane. Honorable mention to MSP.
>>1035612
>Immigrations and security are like some of the fastest I've dealt with, and pretty polite too.
They're not bad inbound, but I've had 70% terrible experiences with passport control on the way out of Suvarnabhumi. Inexplicably long, slow lines.
>>1035614
Really? I mean, I can see it, but it was super quick for me outbound last I was there.
Maybe I just got lucky.
>>1035619
I've been through there more than a dozen times since it opened, and most of my experiences outbound have been bad. But maybe I'm just extremely unlucky.
I haven't been many places, so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but my favorite airport is Kahului (OGG). Maui was my first major trip as a young adult with a boyfriend, so that was special. Also I love wildlife and bird watching so it was magical to see all the birds inside the baggage claim and the roosters right outside.
>BEST
Heathrow, London - clean, quick and lots of nice shops as oppose to the usual garbage gift stores, actually sells some practical shit and the choice in food and drink once you are in departures is great.
>WORST
don't really have one tbh, I didn't like gatwick but that was because I had to wait 20 minutes to get off the plane despite having a serious pressure headache, and then having to wait ages because my luggage was delayed with no explanation when flights coming in after us Had theirs straight away, plus the walk from the runway to baggage claim is stupidly long, like unnecessary, I literally went down some huge spiral staircase at one point in a big empty room when just a normal one would have been much better and i shit you not, would have taken about 3 minutes off my walk.
Can we all be in agreement that CLT is the worst airport in America? It's been storming every time I land there, they keep changing the terminals that flights are arriving at, and they put a 45-minute time limit on their Wi-Fi. Everything about that city is complete shit.
>>1035648
CLT has never done me wrong. for a hub, it is better than most.
Worst, bar none: PHL. Dirtiest, most incontinent airport with the value-add of always having delayed flights. Runner up: BWI.
Pretty darn good: LHR Terminal 4
I really like flying SFO. It's nice and airy (except T1), but compact and easy to get to and around. I still get excited like a kid whenever I'm there.
I like LGB a lot. It's tiny, and super quick to get to the plane in. Which is funny, because it's also nice to hang out on their weird patio area.
Most big airports I've been to are serviceable to fucking terrible. Heathrow is a goddamn nightmare if you have to switch terminals. CDG just feels stuffed to the gills with luxury bullshit. Speaking of, what's the deal with that? The same goddamn luxury brands in every downtown and international airport. Do that many people buy $600 loafers? Yawn.
AMS I really like, just cause it's so easy to navigate. It's hilarious how the priority security lanes are slower than the normal ones, though. And they're always always rebuilding big chunks of it. Still, it's a good one to navigate.
ICN i really liked, too, I mean I don't remember seeing live orchestras elsewhere. And I love cosmetics... Best airport for some duty free cosmetics.
Worst... Any US international terminal, really. Homeland, TSA, police, etc., the worst, ruin any visit. Always asking for my number or just making casual sexist remarks.
TXL is surprisingly unorganized, too.
>>1035657
I fucking hate that. 99% of people in the airport ever cannot buy afford any of that shit, and those who can will have already bought it in malls or online,
Whats worse is that they have the most boring of all their gear for sale in the stores too, they dont even have the mildly interesting pieces in their always totally empty stores.
Airports need to get their shit together.
>>1035651
>PHL
Everything about us is shit. Why did I have to be born here ;_;
Best: Singapore! It's a wonderful airport. Super efficient. Heaps of things to do.
2nd best: Hong Kong. However, the Cathay Pacific lounge (the wing) is the best in the world for food.
Worst: Dubai. A large shopping mall. It's not pretty, nice to walk around, or anything really.
Ney
>>1035680
>Dubai
Kuwait is worse. Similar concept done with less budget.
>>1035673
Every fucking airport has been building them though. And it's like, a selling point. Are there really that many oil sultans with 12 year old brats that need bottega veneta purses?
Just gimme a food court with some vaguely "local" food, overpriced beer, and SOMEWHERE TO SIT FFS and i'll be happy.
I fucking hate O'Hare.
That is all.
>>1035698
Who goes to an airport to shop for that stuff? I was in Copenhagen airport and there were a few lingerie shops that I had a look at. What thought process leads you to suddenly decide to buy hundreds of dollars worth of stuff, in a fucking airport? I can understand an emergency or if you lost all your stuff or whatever and spending a few dollars on basics, not spending $250 on a swimsuit in an airport terminal. Even if your first name is Sheikh, would you hang out with the plebes while you buy your $125k IWI watch in the middle of an airport? That's why Singapore is so nice. It has all the super posh brands if you want them. But it has stuff you need, like good food, places to see, places to sit and fun!
>>1035573
>Best
AMS
>Worst
MIA or SNA, probably the latter
>Overrated
HNL
>Underrated
SEA
>>1035722
>Who goes to an airport to shop for that stuff?
The biggest duty-free/airport terminal mystery to me is high-end luggage. OK, maaaybe if the zipper or strap on your carry-on bag has broken, I can visualize tossing the bag and putting everything into something new. But these shops also sell full-sized suitcases, often from expensive designer brands. Even assuming relatively good deals it seems absurd.
Just came from OHare a few hours ago. My first time there. Kinda nice and spacious. Really enjoyed the automatic floors (or whatever you call them) downstairs in the tunnel that connects B to C. I haven't been on one since Universal Studios in like 2003.
However, I had a sandwich and my friend got a wrap from this place there and it was the worst shit I've ever eaten. The chicken was dry as fuck and the turkey had 0 flavor to it. I mean this shit was rubbery as rubber gets. Sucked ass, and it cost me $8 for the wrap which, to no surprise of mine, was indeed expensive but ALSO, tiny as fuck. Not cooking it right/using shit products just pissed me off even more.
>>1035612
>flying into CRK
Well, I know what you did on vacation
Is LAX really that bad?
What makes it so bad?
>>1035606
Fuck Frankfurt.
Just, what the fuck Germans.
You get the Bauhaus movement that focuses on design efficiency and all that shit then suddenly you fuck it all up with your airport.
I love SFO. I also recall Denver having a fuckhueg cavernous space while I was running to catch a plane that was pretty cool.
>>1035749
DEN is like ATL 2.0. It is the newest US airport and incorporates lessons learned building ATL. As such, it will age into mediocracy, just like ATL.
An illuminati tour might be fun at DEN, though. Blucifer, the mural, etc...
>>1035726
>being surprised that airport food is overpriced and shit quality
>2015
I always bring sandwiches.
>>1035749
Seriously, fuck Frankfurt. I missed a flight there once. I had an hour to transfer (going overseas). It was peak summer season, I accidentally left the secure zone (poor signage, no one to ask, was trying to get to another section of the terminal), and then had to stand in the very long security lines and all that shit all over again. At one point, we had to go through the immigration line-up, and the desk I had been standing in for 10 minutes closes just like that, shift over, and the guard shrugs and points to the other lines, meaning we have to line-up all over AGAIN. FUUUCCK. There goes another 15 minutes. When they were scanning my carry-on, they saw I had my camera inside, and put my bag to the side so they could ask about it for some reason (they later took it to a customs desk to write down some numbers -- I figure someone in the airport reported a lost/stolen camera), but there goes another five minutes. I also had to wait cause a really old lady before me had to open her case, unwrap and show all 20 of the little porcelain tissue-wrapped figurines she was carrying on to the agent. By the time I got to the gate, running and sweat-drenched, the plane had already gone, and the agents weren't too fucking nice either. One bitch with some real attitude said they paged me twice like that means something when I'm stuck in line and not even at the gate. I told them my story, but they just said "too bad, talk to Lufthansa ticketing", and then that dickweed said it was my fault regardless. I wanted to make a protest and claim otherwise, but that shit is always such a Kafka-esque nightmare with airlines, and I was about to be on vacation, so in the end I just swallowed the extra $300 I had to pay to get on another flight.
And yes, I entirely blame Frankfurt for that. I have two other previous experiences there, and I've always disliked it.
I really don't like Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen. Somehow I always end up having a 3 hour delay there. Plus they don't even have free wifi and there's like no natural light in that thing.
What do you guys think about Berlin's airports? I figure Tegel is quite cool (if incredibly outdated and obviously on life support by now), but Schönefeld (SXF) is shambolic.
>>1035770
Sorry man, your experience sounds very German. - that bitch with attitude "Tja, das tut mir Leid, wir haben Sie zweimal aufgerufen...." I can practically hear her
>>1035773
SXF has no purpose being an 'international' airport, even as a feeder airport for trans-continental flights (the only reason I've been there). Signage is poor as fuck, and it always seems so crowded and chaotic. I mean, you have to fucking walk outside on an uncovered shitty sidewalk to get to those separate hangars/terminals, which just seems very lame for a German airport. If it's raining, too fucking bad. If there's a lot of snow or ice, too bad.
Luckily my first time there was a departure, but you still have to walk quite far to the 'on site' train station. Yet, if you were arriving for the first time I think it's very unclear where you're supposed to go. Signage is poor. At the train station, it's also very bad. They need more ticket machines that sell Deutsche Bahn's entire network, not just local Berlin tickets. On arrival, I have to take a train to the town I live, which means if I haven't already, buying an ICE ticket (which includes city travel in Berlin). But you can't! You have to buy a local all-zone ticket to the main train station, THEN buy your real ticket there (which again would have included city travel in Berlin, so I feel like I'm wasting my money).
Further, seeing 50 people line-up, most of whom are doing it for the first time to buy a ticket from one of the only two machines present is ridiculous. Add to that if they're unfamiliar with German (or English, the other language options are not really that obvious), the process of pressing through all the options, don't know what ticket/zone/destination you need, etc. The station itself has poor signage about departures and what trains are going where, since your ticket alone will never tell you.
GAH. I just went through that all last week, once again, so I'm all hot and bothered.
>>1035680
seconding Dubai. They also give you extra long layover times at obscure hours and only have 1 hour of free wifi. They essentially try to force you to spend money on food/shopping/internet. Fuck that
>>1035648
Nah, you're just a cunt.
>Rocking chairs
>Small enough to get around easily but sill a hub.
>Not Atlanta.
>Rocking chairs
>Easy ground access
>Quick security screens
>Did I mention rocking chairs?
Sorry you got rained on
>>1035711
But why?
>>1035725
Yeah, my guess is they are selling to arriving passengers who are in a "luggage" frame of mind. Still makes little sense.
>>1035818
Because it's filled to the brim with people and feels like a fucking shopping mall.
Also I have to go there on layover pretty much every time I fly west and come back so that probably doesn't help.
>Best
SIN
>Worst
YYZ
>Overrated
HKG
>Underrated
Dont know...
>>1035662
>TXL is surprisingly unorganized, too.
What??? Have you even been there before? TXL is probably the easiest airport to navigate of them all. From curbside to check in is about 3 meters and then from check in to the jet bridge is another 3 meters. Every gate has its own security. I have no idea how anyone could say that TXL is unorganized. The only thing lacking though are shops and places to eat but they are more focused on switching over to the new BER rather than waste money building shops that will last for 2 years at max.
>>1035773
TXL is great. I love the short distance from the curb to checking in to boarding the plane. It always feels busy but not overwhelming.
SXF on the other hand... well you get what you paid for. It's a low budget airport for low budget travelers. Only airlines such as RyanAir, Easyjet, germanwings, and then airlines from third world countries that don't want to pay for premium parking at Tegel fly from SXF. Besides, it was built during the DDR times so don't expect the best from the commies.
Tempelhof was nice while it was still open. Directly in the middle of the city with nice views. Inside the terminal looked like something from a movie as well. I was also lucky enough to catch the very last tour of the bunkers beneath the terminal and cordoned off rooms.
>>1035782
Well SXF was built in the 1940s during the partitioning of Berlin and Germany. It happened to fall in the Soviet sector and they could care less about how the airport functioned. When Germany reunited in the 1990s SXF was left to be a budget airport and for shitty flights to the east. Everything was built due to East German standards. Don't blame Germans today for the terrible railway station design or for Terminal C off to the distance (plus you can walk from terminal to terminal inside a corridor without ever having to leave the building or even security if you just pass through security before). The reason everything is still in poor condition today is because Berlin is trying to save and scrap as much money as they can because they are hoping to open BER soon and there's no way they can pump money into it and maintain two seperate airports as well. Why spend millions of Euros on upgrading something that will be torn down within the next two years? For now we must deal with what we have until BER is completed (which might be never at this rate).
>>1035858
I've been there a couple of times, only EU flights, though. They can't deal with the traffic in the terminal I normally go through. No lines, masses of people, security shouting and trying to get some ordnung, really unprofessional. Dirty, too!
Yes, it is easy to navigate, but that doesn't help that there are just too many people and not enough crowd control measures. Or cleaners. Staffers were swearing over the state of the toilets last time I've been there. I wouldn't have made a mental note otherwise, as my last rural China trip wasn't that far. But then I looked around, and yeah, looked like an explosion.
Overall it comes off as unorganized.
>>1035817
The rocking chairs are stupid and you're stupid
>>1035587
Fucking noted anon. Going to Thailand/Philippines, was trying to decide between being laid over in Singapore or Seoul. Made my choice a lot easier.
>>1035875
you can choose between the best and the good, just so you know. seoul is also good tier.
>Best
BKK, Immigration was quick, easy to find your way around and the staff are incredibly helpful.
>Worst
CIA, dirty and cramped, only has about 2 shops. the staff at the car hire desks don't understand a word of english, it took us three hours to pick up our rental car as most of the passengers on the flight were using the same desk, my father being an Italian had to translate for a lot of the passengers
>Overrated
Pass
>Underrated
LHR, I often hear people saying that flying out of Heathrow is a nightmare but I've never had any issues when I've used it, Terminal 4 could do with a bit more variety when it comes to restaurants though.
>>1035858
Only thing I thought was weird about Tegel was that the only way to get to and from it was the bus. It was fine for me since I lived in Moabit but for some of my friends who lived in Neukölln or Kreuzberg it was pretty inconvenient.
>>1035722
That reminds me of when I was in ARN on my way to BKK, trying to find a pair of shorts. I figured I had an hour or two to kill, might as well take care of that so I could just step off the plane and be comfy. The only shorts I could find were like 100€ designer bullshit. Who spends that much money on fucking shorts?
>Best
CPH. Haven't been to SIN tbh so I can't speak for it, but CPH was an incredibly well designed airport for the most part apart from the duty free. Minimal delays for an airport near the Baltic (compare that to my worst), by far the best place on earth to stay at during a night layover, food is a slight issue but Denmark tbh. Also note that practically no one drinks bottled water there, if you're from a culture that is used to drinking bottled water you might end up absent mindedly paying 7-8 dollars for a small bottle.
>Worst
FRA. Literally the only counter argument you need to any argument regarding the stereotypical German perfectionism in design and excellence. It's a mess, there's no order, most of the employee are Turks or Vietnamese or whatever.
>Overrated
BOS or KEF. BOS has the incredible advantage of being so close to the city, but its international terminals are ridiculously subpar. The first time I arrived in America I was on my own, and I was completely confused as to what to do, and how to find a place for my immediate tourist needs. Not much has changed ever since, and BOS might be the airport I've visited the most in my life.
KEF is a small, uneventful and honestly badly designed airport people fall over heels for because of their overall Iceland romanticism. Iceland is my favorite place on Earth, KEF is still a shit airport.
>Underrated
IFJ. Land there on a rare non-cloudy day, and it will probably be your greatest flight related experience. No international flights, but if you have been in Iceland before and you don't feel like doing the road trip all over again, taking the plane there from Reykjavik is something you might want to consider.
Also not really underrated but I like IST a lot, kind of find it weird how no one mentioned it.
>>1035740
I've rarely flown out of, but I've had to pick up and drop off family plenty of times there. Traffic is always a cluster fuck, and It's always a nightmare trying to get in/out of there.
They have a brand new international terminal, however. Not sure what that's like.
>>1035573
>comfy
JFK
Changi in singapore is awesome.
>>1035646
Heathrow T5 is amazing. All of Heathrow is, really.
In my personal experience, I've visited YYZ twice and I stumbled upon what felt like a first class lounge but for regular passengers. Completely took me by surprise, so it's def up there for me.
>>1036443
>first class
not with that carpet m8
>>1035604
It was better before it was an airport.
>>1035874
>Not liking comfy rocking chairs
>Calling somebody else stupid
OK.
I gift you with okra in hopes you cheer up and have a enjoyable time at your next airport layover.
>>1035912
>I often hear people saying that flying out of Heathrow is a nightmare but I've never had any issues when I've used it
I suspect some of the bigger, busier airports serving bigger cities get a bad rap because a large number if Infrequent Fliers use them -- such folks, bless them, often struggle with the unfamiliar processes of traveling, and possibly blame the airport more than their own inexperience. That helps get a bad rap out there, confirmation bias does the rest
>>1035922
>IFJ. Land there on a rare non-cloudy day, and it will probably be your greatest flight related experience. No international flights, but if you have been in Iceland before and you don't feel like doing the road trip all over again, taking the plane there from Reykjavik is something you might want to consider.
Note jotted down, thanks.
>>1036436
>Changi in singapore is awesome.
I guess it is, for layovers. For beginning or ending a trip, I don't recall anything particularly good or bad about it. Due to not needing any of the great amenities since I was not there long.
>>1036461
Real Carpeter (tm) detected.
>>1035573
>best
Singapore, HK
>Worst
Beijing, Bangkok, Guam, Hawaii
>Overrated
Osaka, Seoul
>>1036515
why would you say Osaka is overrated? a bit far away from the city yeah, but the train ride costs around 20$ so that's okay imo
>>1035648
yeah youre a fag i used to have to fly charlotte constantly, no complaints whatsoever
>Best
In my experience Incheon and Madrid-Barajas
>Worst
JFK or Detroit
>Overrated
SEA, very drab and distances are ridiculous.
>Underrated
Newark, it's inarguably the best NYC area airport
>>1035573
>Best
Amsterdam Schipol. Incredibly easy, transit is easily accessible.
>Worst
LAX. Traffic is a nightmare, incredibly expensive, delays, no wifi, and like most of Los Angeles, incredibly outdated.
>Overrated
Heathrow
>Underrated
Burbank (for shorter flights). An incredible option to escape flying in/out of LAX.
I like LAS
I hate MSY and EWR
I dont mind DEN
>>1035927
last time i was at lax (4th of july), the decrepit terminal i flew in to (T3) didn't have anywhere to sit or wifi while i waited for my ride, so i ended up walking over to the international terminal. it was being renovated, so it was just as bad as T3. when it's done you'll probably have a lovely array of luxury shops i mentioned before, and still nowhere to sit.
as others have mentioned, traffic at lax can be a nightmare. one time i took the flyaway shuttle and it took 45min just to leave the airport. i only fly in there on the weekend now, or late at night.
yeah. fuck lax.
>>1035825
>>Worst
>YYZ
I was there a few months ago and it was awful
>LGB
I live an $8 UBER ride there. Unfortunately the routes are pretty limited and you end up paying a lot more for a flight with additional layovers. LAX is the worst though, SNA get an honorable mention.
>>1035657
>Do that many people buy $600 loafers?
The store wouldnt be there if people were not buying a lot of it.
>>1035740
The traffic is always backed up because the airport was designed for 1960's level traffic, you have 2 lanes feeding into the airport from one of the busiest freeways in the country... Most of the terminals are really old. There is limited access to public transportation. If you need to transfer between one of the 7 terminals you need to walk, there might be a bus between the terminals but traffic. They are trying to fix these problems so everything is always under construction.
>>1035573
I rank hub airports just as above or below standard. The worst are always going to be small rural airports that are more like bus stations that planes land at. I fly into some small towns in Mexico. You get off the plane and your checked bags are just in a big pile inside the terminal.
What's wrong with ATL? The traffic?
>>1036666
SATAN QUADS!
>>1035573
Best: Hong Kong, it helps that I have a sticker on my passport that lets me do automated immigration. Honorable mention to the Bradly Terminal at LAX, they did a great job on it.
Worst: Bandung, Indonesia just because it was designed for a flight an hour, and now that there are two, it cant handle it.
Overrated : BKK, they built it from scratch just a few years ago, and that's as good as they could do?
I like LHR, AMS and KUL
SXF, ORY and SGN are all pretty bad.
>>1036675
Satan Quads!!!
>>1036656
Well in San Luis Potosi and Ciudad Victoria they put your bags ina conveyor belt. Which one just pile them? Huatulco?
>>1036443
>pleeeeease spend money
>The Airport
>>1036510
>okra
That's some nasty shit right there. Like eating hippo snot or whale splooge.
>>1036619
It's got worse over the last 10 years or so, in my opinion. The way they do (arrivals) crowd control is just kinda pathetic, herding everyone in one general direction in that giant room. It's then noisy as fuck with general chatter, 'guards' directing the crowds, babies crying, and the long snaking mazes of those crowd-divider belts. And all the staff is Filipino or Somalians or Chinks, speaking heavily accented English. Then those customs declaration scanner machines don't work half the time, and they collect the forms after barely looking at them. Something about it just seems so fucking redundant. It's a crowded hectic third-world welcome to Canada, and frankly it stinks.
Departures are easier, but the security scanning takes way too long.
My take-away is to avoid YYZ during peak hours/weekends from now on.
>>1036896
Or just any adults with decent jobs who are not poorfags. You dont need to be that rich to own a $600 pair of shoes. Its certainly not sensible but if you are in a position to treat yourself to a $15,000 international vacation I can see how some would splurge even further on a $1500 purse for their wife.
Most people who travel are not scraping by on 200 bhat per day and sleeping in a dank hostel.
>>1035819
On arrival you get punted out most airports toot sweet, it's always departures with no connection to arrivals where the pricey shit is
Also fuck the.ban on liquids through customs, I don't want to spend a fiver on a coke.
>>1036920
Get over yourself. The only people buying $600 shoes are richfags or chumps. I could easily afford to buy a pair of $600 right now if I wanted (I wouldn't do it an airport), but I never would because $100 shoes work just as well and look good enough. Only fags will notice the difference.
The only people buying over-priced shit at airports are those like I explained: those who don't have regular access to 'high-end' consumer goods, and the airport is their only/last opportunity.
And 15k? I guarantee you, the average traveller is not spending that on their vacation, not by half. I get the impression you get off on wasting money to prove something to yourself...
>>1036892
Went to Canada for the first time a year ago. Arrived at Pearson, got treated like a fucking criminal there.
I am Swiss and have a shitload of stamps and visa from all over the world,
>Why have you been to China 4 times?
I had a layover in Newark..
>Why didn't you took a direct flight?
First time in Canada so want to go sightseeing...
>What do you want to visit?
Niagara Falls
>Why do you want to visit the Niagara Falls?
Forgot to write down the adress of my Hostel and Wifi sucks.Takes a red marker and makes a line over my Immigration form.
>The door to your right
Got asked the same dumb questions again. Took me over an hour there.
Back to Newark from Pearson a couple of days later at US Immigration:
>Do you have friends in NY?
Yea
>How do you know them? Facebook?
Yea
>Do you play Halo?
No, i have a Playstation
>You're good to go man, enjoy the trip
I thought US Immigration was strict. But fuck the Canadian one, just fuck it.
>>1035573
As someone from Cincinnati, I can tell you that while CVG is nice, it's seen better days and is way more expensive than other airports in the area. However, lines are short and you can get to your gate in no time flat.
>>1036938
Canadian here, and I have crossed the border (mostly by car, but a couple times by plane) I dunno maybe 20 or so times as an adult (more as a kid, before you needed any ID at all). IME (as a white male Canadian citizen, albeit) the American border guards are often a lot more dickish and on power-trips (not always, but often). On returns, when I even do get in front of a Canadian border guard (not just a machine quizzing me about how long I've been gone), it's been pretty easy. Your experience definitely sucks, but I'd chalk it up to a dickhead rather than anything pervasive. I dunno.
I still agree Pearson sucks though.
>>1036938
>>1037033
I'm a Yank, and the hardest country for me to enter has consistently been the States. It's never really rustled my jimmies because I understand the border exception, but still. I'm so clean cut that when I try to shag out, I look more like a cop than before.
Exception: Preclearance at Dublin was awesome. The officer looked at my answers on the form, and while asking me her questions muttered probable answers, to which I nodded. She said welcome home and sent me along.
Negative highlight 1: Coming back from Iraq, they almost tossed my bags from disbelief at how many trips I'd made as a civil service employee at my age.
Negative highlight 2: being accused of stealing government property because of my issued laptop.
Negative highlight 3: They ripped my shit up badly enough at the Champlain crossing on Interstate 87 that I shoulda complained, but was in a rush and tired, so it didn't cross my mind until much later, inb4 someone says I was beta and afraid of asking for a supervisor.
>did you bring any weapons anon?
no, I knew I was crossing a border
>not even any knives?
no
Officer dumped a buncha folders with important papers out in my trunk, and since I didn't have any contraband, tore off his gloves and stomped on them. Better luck with the next suspect, I'm only ever armed in ghettoes and stateside...
>got randomly selected once leaving Dulles for Doha, drunk, all my sensitive government shit in a tan assault pack, flirting with the CBP 1811 about his job while he was probably questioning his own life choices
>>1036920
Guy who was complaining about it to begin with here. I actually own a few pairs of expensive shoes (I've never paid $600 because paying retail is for suckers). But I bought them at, you know, a department store, like a normal person buying shoes. Not in an airport.
Anyway, the shoes were just an example. What the fuck do you do with a bunch of garbage that you buy in one of those shops anyway? Do they check it for you? I imagine even those nouveau riche folks just buy shit at their destination.
I think it's just for show. Airports give a kickback to LVMH or whatever conglomerate, and they make the airport "feel world class". It's so stupid. I just want to sit down FFS.
Along the same lines, what about when they trap you in the duty free stores. IIRC Oslo is like that. None of those places even have good shit or deals. Retail - Duty and it's still more expensive than I can get at home.
>>1037127
>Along the same lines, what about when they trap you in the duty free stores. IIRC Oslo is like that. None of those places even have good shit or deals. Retail - Duty and it's still more expensive than I can get at home.
I'm not a big user of either anymore, but duty-free tobacco products are always cheaper than retail; alcohol is sometimes a good deal, too, if you come from a country with high sin taxes. I have seen more than a few bottles of higher-end spirits at healthy discounts in duty free, albeit almost never brands I'm interested in (can't for the life of me think of any reason to buy a magnum of Johnny Walker Blue/Green/Platnum/Uranium/Whatever, unless you're a Southeast Asian gangster who wants to impress the businessmen you're shaking down for protection money). The only time I personally buy booze at an airport is when leaving a country with a distinctive or unusual local specialty. I have a small collection of odd local brandies, and once enjoyed a surprisingly good bottle of Bolivian wine (?!).
>>1037127
Duty free is often shit, yea. Technically no tax, but then the retail price is inflated anyway, you're not paying MSRP. 250g M&M bags or some shit for $11? Get the fuck out of my face.
I buy colognes, though I have just a few at once, and if it's time to replace one, I may wait till I fly to check deals at the airport. Sometimes you can save by buying at the duty-free, but I always compare prices in store, from online retailers, etc, and often enough, factoring everything in, there's no 'deal' to you. Depends on the local currency though, I guess.
I don't bother with booze though, because alcohol is affordable enough where I live, and I've never seen deals at the duty-free except in third-world sun'n'sand countries. I once bought a whiskey at a duty-free 'cause it was an aged single-pot that I had read about and couldn't find anywhere at home.
Like >>1037132 I keep an eye out for special local liquors, but if so I've probably already got a bottle in my luggage.
>>1035573
>Best
AMS
>Worst
EWR
>Overrated
DXB
>Underrated
IAD
>>1037132
>>1037133
Yeah, I guess it'd be a lot more useful if you lived in Norway or something where alcohol taxes are super expensive.
I occasionally pick up liquor when there's a local specialty too, but I feel like you get better stuff outside of the airport (which I guess isn't easy to do if you're just transiting or can't check a bag).
>>1036935
>I get the impression you get off on wasting money to prove something to yourself...
My post was completely hypothetical. There are enough rich people in the world to buy that stuff. I am not one of them but it is easy to imagine how they stay in business. I normally spend $10K for myself and my wife to travel for a 1-2 months and I only make $50,000/year which is right around the median income in the USA. A married couple who make $50,000 each could easily spend $15K and many people make more than that.
>>1037127
>>1037132
>>1037133
Duty free is just like buying anything in an airport. $5 for water, $15 for a slice of pizza and a coke. Captive market so they can charge what they want.
>>1036938
>>Do you play Halo?
>No, i have a Playstation
>>You're good to go man, enjoy the trip
Kek.
Also you're right, American immigration isn't as bad as it's made out to be. On that note, when I went to Mexico they asked me if I knew Spanish, I said no and the dude just stamped my passport and wished me a nice vacation.
The strictest ones have been in Canada and China, always asking loads of pointless questions.
>>1035648
Duh it's the south.
I have a soft spot for lax. Mostly because it has an Anerican airlines flagship lounge. Great for the long layovers from Asia.
Heathrow has nice lounges, but their security staff is a pain in the ass.
Most of the aa hubs I like for the Amex lounges. They're nicer than my own house. I have 3/4 drinks every layover now
Worst is probably Philadelphia, never was a fan of the layout/ how having baggage claim across the street makes any sense.
>>1037115
The Ontario / buffalo crossing is always a pain in the ass. I'm a white male, no record, have global entry but always get interrogated by the U.S. Every time I return (1/2x a year max )
Why were you in Canada ?
Pearson was $600 cheaper than jfk to get to Asia.
Yet that makes them more suspicious for some reason. Only had a car search done once thankfully. I should probably just enroll in nexus so I can avoid people
Oh, speaking of lounges.
I had a layover at Hanoi for a few hours. The staff is pretty good but the international terminal there is kind of a ghost town (though they've got popeyes!). There's a lounge upstairs, I think operated by Vietnam Air, but you can get a day pass for like $50. Super comfy, got wasted on 33 and shitty whiskey, took a shower, ate spring rolls. Def 9/10, would lounge again.
LAX is the worst major airport in the world.
i like orlandos airport
