airport guide

know before you go: SNA airport

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John Wayne Airport/Santa Ana (SNA) is the small airport that serves big Orange County, California.  It is my hometown airport, and I’ve probably flown out of here hundreds of times.  If you’ve ever flown out of SNA, you know that because of ordinances imposed by the neighboring beach cities, the planes have to cut their engine power down to 50% when they take off.  That’s the most annoying thing about the airport, but luckily there are other reasons that make this airport worth choosing.

Namely, it is very easy to navigate.  There’s only one concourse with three terminals A-C, ~20 gates, so it is very easy to travel from one end to the other.  Also, security is typically a breeze to get through.  It is incredibly easy to be dropped off and picked up, and the traffic flows well,  despite being located in Southern California.  For being a small airport, there are pretty good food options: Carl’s Jr (also known as Hardee’s, but originated from OC), Pei Wei, McDonald’s, Starbucks, Zov’s (local favorite), Subway and Pinkberry.  The hours are not that great though.  There are also a few sit down bars including an Anaheim Ducks sports bar.

The best thing about it, is that there is easy freeway access from the 405, 5, 55 freeways.  You can reach it from almost everywhere in Orange County in 15-20 minutes (including Disneyland) when traffic is light, and this saves you a lot of time.  Flights run a little higher than other airports, but you’re paying for convenience to avoid the portal of hell that is LAX.  Again, no airport lounges, but not too many long international layovers happening here.  This is the airport to take if you’re on your way to Disneyland.  If you can swing the higher expense, do it, it’s so worth it.

Remember:  ✈️ = unhappiest place on earth ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = skip disneyland, stay here

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (there’s just one, it’s easy)

Convenience of security lines: ✈️✈️✈️ (pretty fast)

Dining: ✈️✈️ (selection is good, but the hours are poor)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️ (very spread out)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wi-fi, have little cubby desks where you can charge)

Amenities: ✈️ (there’s usually some art or collections displayed)

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know before you go: MSP

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F7B6AB76-AA9E-46B3-BA42-0EF876238C17MSP and I have a long history together, back to the days when it was a Northwest Airlines hub.  Now it’s transferred into Delta’s hands, it’s a popular layover site for bicoastal travel through that airline.  And it’s a really nice airport.

Located 10 miles from the city, there’s a very convenient light rail Blue line train that will get you there quickly.  The Blue line also goes beyond the airport to the Mall of America too, making it easy to get to the airport from either destination.

You can probably skip the MoA because the middle area is like its own mall, with decent shopping.  There’s a lot of food options, especially the cool “food truck” area with different cuisines and styles of food.  They have really good bakeries here, too.

There are ~115 gates split into two terminals named after famous son: Lindbergh and Humphrey.  Lindbergh Terminal 1 is further divided into 7 concourses A-G–most airlines.  Humphrey Terminal 2 is made up of concourse H and serves regional and Southwest.

Remember: ✈️ = when doves cry to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = party like it’s 1999

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (quick train ride from the city)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (it’s a large airport, and getting from one end to another takes a hike)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (apparently they have the best k-9 unit in the country, extra points for the dogs)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (The food truck area is awesome and is something I haven’t seen in many other places.  Decent choices, running the gamut from Chick Fil-A to Mill City Tavern.  Actually there’s an abundance of brewery/pub restaurants and fast casual)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️✈️ ✈️(seems like there is  always someone cleaning them, has art)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️  (free wifi available)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ (Delta, United Lounges.  Decent shopping, live music, chiropractor, Snoopy.  There’s an actual 1/4 mile walking path for exercise–there’s a reason why MN is the country’s healthiest state and it starts here in the airport)

 

know before you go: Stockholm (ARN)

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Stockholm is a huge Scandinavian hub for SAS and Norwegian, so it’s no surprise that it’s a pretty big airport.  I spent the good part of a 3 hour layover here looking for Swedish meatballs, finally finding one place that had them.  They need more Swedish meatballs.

Arlanda is the main airport in Stockholm, and is about 23 miles (37 km) north of city center.  Terminals 2 and 5 serve international flights, while 3 and 4 are domestic.  There are around ~72 gates (?) and this may be the only airport where they advertise wedding ceremonies to be held in the VIP lounges.  Would not be my first choice for a wedding venue (taking the plunge is not something I’d want to hear in an airport), but to each his/her own?

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There is a large shopping/restaurant facility called Sky City in between the terminals, and I’m sure there’s a way to get to it without having to re-enter security from Terminal 2 to 5, but I could not find it.  However, security is very fast so it wasn’t a huge deal.  The design is very aesthetically Swedish, simple, clean lines with lots of windows and modern light fixtures.  There are also Volvos on display throughout the concourses, can’t get more Swedish than that.  It was a great place to have a layover, lots to see and do, but installing a people mover would be helpful.

Remember: ✈️ =  S.O.S. to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = you can jive, having the time of your life (Dancing Queen)

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️ (far from city center, there are trains/buses that go directly to the airport, if you have a very long layover, probably doable)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️ (there has got to be a way to get to Sky City without exiting, so I’m taking a plane off for lack of directions to it)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️✈️  (it was very fast, even though the line was long)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️ (Scandinavian, Asian, Italian, pubs, McDonald’s, juice bars, Starbucks.  Taste of Scandinavia has Swedish Meatballs and it only took me walking around like five times to realize it was the only place that had it)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️  (clean, each stall has its own sink, but very long lines)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi available, fair amount of charging at the gates)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (decent shopping-longchamp, marc jacobs, victoria’s secret; two hotels, airline lounges, pharmacy, medical clinic, hair salon, dry cleaning, DHL.  And like I said you can get married here, so basically it’s its own city)

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finally

know before you go: Oakland (OAK)

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This is not my favorite airport.  I actually don’t care for either SFO or OAK, but at least SFO has a decent international terminal.  Oakland is an older airport that has limited amenities and dining options.  If you are stuck here as I was on a delay, it can be painful.

The airport itself is located about 10 miles from Downtown, and is very close to San Leandro.  There’s two terminals, T1 and T2, with 17 and 12 gates respectively.  T1 serves Alaska, Allegiant, American, British Airways, Delta, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Norwegian, Southwest, Spirit and Volaris.  T2 is exclusively Southwest.  The terminals are connected by a walkway and it’s a small airport, so it’s not too much of a hike from one end to another.

The thing it has going for it is that the BART station is very convenient to get to Oakland or SF.  I used to fly into Oakland to get to SF to avoid SFO.  And if there’s delays for SFO, usually you can hop on a flight to Oakland that may get you to the Bay earlier.  Of the NorCal airports, San Jose and Sacramento are better, but for convenience sake, Oakland just edges SFO out in my experience.

Remember: ✈️ = basket case to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = time of your life

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️ (BART and amtrak stations; freeway access can be real crowded at rush hour)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (not too big of an airport)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️ (the check in area is small and the security lines can be long and slow)

Dining: ✈️✈️ (T1 there’s a chili’s to go and the Silver Dragon chinese isn’t bad.  They also have blue bottle coffee cartons, which is a plus for the bay area.  T2 has more options in typically airport fare: vino volo, gordon biersch, CPK and Fenton’s ice cream)

Bathrooms: ✈️  (I would literally give it negative planes if I could–the toilets are old and missing porcelain–every toilet is like this)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️ (free wifi available, could have more charging areas)

Amenities: ✈️ (very few shops including Raiders store and an Escape Lounge)

 

 

know before you go: Chicago (MDW)

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I don’t know how many times I’ve been in this airport, I’ve lost count.  Chicago is one of my favorite cities in the world and it was hop, skip, jump away from Kansas City, so there’s a lot of flying through MDW.  Some of us on this blog are from Chicago or have family/significant others there, so we’ve all seen it dozens of times.

MDW is the little (although older) brother to O’Hare and from a convenience standpoint, it is much preferred.  A, it’s quick (although security can be a nightmare).  B, it has direct access to the Orange Line which I take for ~ 8 miles to the Loop downtown.  C. it’s not O’Hare.  I’ll save it for a blog post one day, but O’Hare has given me PTSD more than once.

It’s a manageable airport, 43 gates split amongst three concourses A, B, and C.  Southwest airlines controls 34 of these gates out of A and B concourses.  Delta, Volaris and something called Porter airlines operates out of A.  C is for charter planes.

There’s a decent food court, with greek, pizza, a Potbelly.  There’s also a McDonalds and Let Them Eat Cake, which sticks in my mind every time I walk by.  You will smell honey roasted awesomeness from Nuts on Clark.

Remember: ✈️ = Bears at their worst to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = Cubs winning the WS in 2016

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (take the Orange line directly to the airport)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (it’s not very big, there’s moving escalators)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️ (sometimes it can take a very long time to get through this line, it’s very busy)

Dining: ✈️✈️ .5 (not bad for its size, but minus a point for closing SuperDawg)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️ (free wifi NOT available)

Amenities: ✈️✈️ (airport shops are typical, there’s a yoga room, no lounges)

know before you go: Salt Lake City (SLC)

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Salt Lake City International (SLC) is a large hub for Delta from the west coast, and it’s an airport that actually carries flights from all the top American airlines, so it’s quite busy for being not that big. I’ve always felt the hours are odd for their restaurants and shops, and they are sparse in each concourse.  I had Pinkberry for dinner there last month, which is not that bad if you consider the options.  And they do have local chain, Cafe Rio, in the Terminal 2 food court, and their food is bomb.  The airport is undertaking new construction to be complete in 2020, so cross your fingers that they’ll expand on eating and shopping availability.

Beyond those gripes, the airport has a gorgeous backdrop of snowy capped mountains, and you get an aerial view of the Great Salt Lake coming and going.  You’ll drive pass this body of water driving to and from the airport also, as it is located a ways away from downtown.

There’s two terminals and an international terminal (don’t know why they don’t number it) for about 70 total gates.  Terminal 1 has concourse A and B.  Terminal 2 has concourse C and the international has concourse D and E.  Delta, KLM and Skywest are all Terminal 2.  Everything else domestic (Alaska, American, Frontier, JetBlue, Southwest, United) is Terminal 1, and you can walk pretty easily from terminal to terminal (it’s a long walk).

Remember: ✈️ = needs more salt ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = don’t stay salty

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️ (it’s a long walk)

Convenience of security lines: very fast for TSA pre-check ✈️✈️✈️✈️

Dining: ✈️✈️ (Even though there seems like there’s a lot of fast food choices: McDonald’s, Cafe Rio, Jamba, Starbucks, Pei Wei, Smashburger, they’re split up amongst the terminals/5 concourses, so each one doesn’t have much i.e. hope you like Seattle’s Best because there’s no Starbucks in Terminal 1 and vice versa for Terminal 2)

Bathrooms:✈️✈️ (needs a facelift, but are clean)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi available)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️ (Delta lounge is the only one available, some Xpress Spas, banal airport stores)

 

 

know before you go: Reagan (DCA)

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DC metro area has a plethora of options transportation wise, being our nation’s capitol, with three major airport allowing for travel to this area.  Dulles, Baltimore and Reagan all feed our nation’s capital.  Reagan National is probably the least chaotic and most convenient. Located in Arlington, VA, it’s a quick Metro ride away from the city center.

As a hub for American Airlines, there are very limited international flights allowed to land here (must be from countries that have pre-clearance US Customs facilities), instead those flights go to Dulles or Baltimore.

Terminal A has 9 gates and operates flights from Air Canada, Frontier, Southwest and Sun Country.  Where it gets a little tricky is that B and C are split into three concourses. Terminal B serves Alaska, American, Delta, JetBlue and United with gates 10-22, Terminal B/C gates 23-34 and Terminal C gates 35-45.  Terminal C is used by American and Virgin.

Remember: ✈️ = popcorn jelly belly to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = pear jelly belly

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️ (quick train ride from the city, traffic in DC can be bad so plan accordingly)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (it can be a long haul from the train station to Terminal A, like so long I thought I had crossed into another state)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️ (security is long here, but for good reason)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️ (Starbucks, of course, Chick Fil-A, Legal Seafood, Pinkberry)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️  (not the newest or cleanest)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi available, designated charging areas)

Amenities: ✈️✈️ (lounges available, it is DC after all; Smithsonian and Spanx stores–just in case you forgot your shapewear?)

 

know before you go: Tokyo Narita (NRT)

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Japan is one of my all time favorite traveling destinations; it’s also a busy layover spot to get to the rest of Asia.  It is amazing to me how a country can be universally reserved and orderly while being culturally avante garde.  Japan is an amazing contradiction of tradition and progress.  Unfortunately I’ve only been there twice, but hoping to go back many more times in my life.

Traveling to Japan, the tone is set when you arrive at Narita Tokyo International Airport (NRT).  This airport is huge and awesome and clean.  There are three terminals encompassing somewhere around ~155 gates. Terminal one is split into a North and South wing, with the North serving Delta/SkyTeam carriers (Aeromexico, Air France, China, China Eastern, China Southern, KLM, Korean, Vietnam), Hawaiian.  The South encompasses United/Star Alliance carriers (Air Canada, ANA, Egypt, EVA, Lufthansa, Singapore, South Africa, Swiss, Thai, Turkish) and Etihad.

Terminal 2 is where Japan Airlines operates along with American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, FinnAir, Iberia, Qantas, Tam and a few airlines from other Asian countries.  Terminal 3 is for low cost carriers.  This airport is amazing for layovers as there’s a ton to do, but it is somewhat far from the city, so you can’t just make a quick trip into Edo itself (it’s 40 miles away) if you only have a few hours.

The food here is amazing, but I am biased because if I can get a decent bowl of ramen in an airport, it’s shooting to the top of the list (that’s right, Heathrow ;).  There’s your regular McDonald’s, Starbucks offerings for western food, but if you’re laying over in Japan, enjoy Japanese food! There’s udon, soba, sushi, curry, yakatori, ramen, donburi, tonkatsu shops, and a food bar where you can get ALL of these things.  I spend most of my time here stuffing myself (but if you’re flying on JAL, save your stomach for their snacks and yuzu sky time drink).

There are luxury and duty free shops galore: Ferragamo, Tiffany & Co, Burberry, etc, but I recommend hitting up the Japanese convenience stores, Hello Kitty, and souvenir shops.  Where else are you gonna get your last minute Japanese KitKats for your flight?

Remember: ✈️ = Sayonara, sucker  to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = domo arigato, mr. roboto

Convenience to the city: ✈️✈️✈️ (far from city center, BUT there are trains that go directly to the airport)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️  (it’s very large, but there’s an abundance of clear signs in Japanese and English)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️  (it’s a very busy airport, but they go as efficiently as they can)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️  (Japanese food bonanza)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (like everything in Japan very clean, and has their musical toilets with the automatic seat covers)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi not available, decent amount of charging)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ (lots of things to see, shops, food, japanese culture, kabuki, shower and rooms available to rent, airline lounges, observation deck to watch takeoffs and landings–I want to live here)

 

 

know before you go: Orlando (MCO)

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With the devastation of Hurricane Irma hitting our friends in Florida, a tribute to one of the most family friendly airports seems appropriate.  It’ll take time to rebuild the cities affected by the hurricane, but again, Floridians and those from all over who are drawn to this vibrant community will be heading back into Orlando to enjoy all of the sights it has to offer in no time.

It’s no surprise that this is one of the busiest airports in the US.  I feel like every person I know has been here at least once, if not with your parents on your way to Disney World, then as a parent on your way to Disney World.  Only 6 miles from the city, MCO features one main terminal split into two concourses, A and B.  Each concourse is split into two airsides, 1 and 2 in A and 3 and 4 in B, totaling about 130 gates (it’s huge).  Confused yet?

A services flights from Alaska, JetBlue, Southwest, Virgin as well as Aer Lingus, Aeromexico, Azul, Copa, Norwegian and Westjet.  B contains flights from America, Delta, Spiriti, United.  International flights on Air Canada, British Airways, Emirates, IcelandAir, Lufthansa, and Virgin operate out of airside 4 in this terminal.

That may sound like a conundrum, but everything is connected to the main hub by people movers, which makes things pretty simple.   The whole central part of airport is like a huge mall with a big food court.  There’s a ton of things to see and eat here and the majority of food is before security, which is nice for variety sake.  There’s 7 places where you can get frozen treats including 2 Carvels, 2 Pinkberrys.  There’s almost every type of fast food option (Chick Fil-A, Burger King, McDonald’s, Chipotle, Jersey Mike’s) and a few sit downs: Cask & Larder, Macaroni Grill, McCoy’s, On the Border, Outback Steakhouse.  There are also several airline lounges and spas in the event that you need some me time after having a theme park bonanza during your stay in FL.

If you forgot to buy your mouse ears or Harry Potter wand, don’t despair, there’s Disney Store, Universal Orlando, SeaWorld and all sort of toy stores to get your last bit of money spent before you leave this magical land of attractions.  The main thing is that this airport was designed to occupy your kids during layovers.  It makes this airport an attraction on its own, not to be missed.

Remember: ✈️ = animal kingdom to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = happiest place on earth

Convenience from city: ✈️✈️✈️ (a lot of direct transportation options if you’re staying at any of the resorts, but a bus line travels to the city)

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️ (people movers are a plus, but navigating through strollers and children can be like a mini-obstacle course)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️ (lines can be very long and there’s no fast pass here, but there’s precheck/clear to help)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (may not have the most upscale dining, but there’s a ton of variety)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️✈️ (many family restrooms available)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️  (free wifi)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (lots of mall type stores, Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, Kennedy Space Center store, onsite Hyatt, play areas, United/Delta/American lounges, XPress Spas)

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famous local celebrity spotted in airport

know before you go: Denver (DEN)

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Denver is a fantastic airport.  A lot of connections (3rd most in US) happen here, since it’s middle adjacent.  Basically it’s a gateway to the West.  That being said, I try to avoid it as much as possible in the winter (unless it’s my destination), as I have been stranded before at the airport Marriott for almost 2 days.  You will be delayed here in the winter, so just calculate that in your plans if you can be flexible–after all, it’s not completely horrible to be stuck having to ski another day in Vail or Breckenridge.

If you’re driving the 25 miles from downtown Denver to the airport, you notice its striking architecture, it literally looks like a small range of snowy peaked mountains.  By acreage area, DEN is the largest airport in America.  It’s got 3 concourses that are interconnected, with a total of 135 gates.  It’s a hub for United and Frontier, and there’s a ton of regional flights connecting out of here.

The main terminal is split into two separate security screening areas, and the A concourse is connected directly.  The B and C concourses can be reached by a train. A includes international arrivals, American, Delta and Frontier flights.  B is United and C houses Alaska, Allegiant, and Southwest.

One of the features I appreciate most is that it is an environmentally friendly airport that partially runs on solar power.  There’s free wifi and a lot of food choices, with many before security (shout out to the fine people at the Panda Express).  Overall, a nice place to spend a few hours.

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Remember: ✈️ =  Mile low to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = Mile high

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️✈️✈️  (the trains help, a lot of moving walkways, it’s a large airport with 6 floors!)

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️✈️ (it’s huge, it’s busy, it flows)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (all types of fast food, but a lot of sit down places/breweries, which I appreciate during a long layover.  Timberline grill makes a nice salmon, and Root Down has a decently hipster brunch.  And there’s a Magic Pan! Those have pretty much died out, but getting a good crepe is HUGE on the go.  And there’s Caribou, Coffee Bean, Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks.  Plus there’s a DD in the cell phone lot, which is just plain nice)

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️✈️ (there could be more for the size of the airport)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️  (free wifi available)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️ (American, Delta and United lounges, B-list mall quality shopping–random Victoria’s Secret?, there’s a bridge where you can watch planes taxi underneath you which is cool, the architecture and art are cool features)