airport

know before you go: San Diego (SAN)

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San Diego (SAN) airport is a condundrum to me.  It is beautiful for sure, the weather is always 70 degrees and sunny, but the planning of the airport itself is very strange.

My main gripe about it, is that you have to exit one area of the terminal one to get to another, having to go through security again, if you’re making a connection.  This is the worst.  I’ve done this several times for Southwest.  Once, they actually took me onto the tarmac to get from one terminal to the other to help me catch a flight due to a delay (this was the time I was trying to make a game of the World Series and had to go to Oakland instead of SFO).

There are technically three terminals in this airport (one is a commuter terminal).  Terminal one serves Alaska, Frontier and Southwest and has 19 gates.  Terminal 2 has 32 gates for everything else: Air Canada, American, British Airways, Delta, Hawaiian, Japan, JetBlue, United, Virgin America, etc.  Each terminal is split into East and West which is where the whole confusion of security happens during layovers.

It is a single runway airport, so taxi times can be long.  There’s also sound ordinances so you won’t be taking many red eye flights from here.  On the plus side, it is pretty close to downtown, and has a very easy pick/up drop off area.  And the weather can’t be beat. Because it is a single runway, the planes land the same every time, so try to get a seat on the left side of the plane from your destination for the dramatic ocean view upon arrival.

There’s some local restaurants in Terminal 2, the usual airport market cafe grab and gos and a decent burger place in Terminal 1.  Not much shopping other than your typical Hudson News and bookstores.  There s a Delta and United lounge and some Be relax spas.  They are undertaken an expansion, so hopefully more shopping and dining options will be available to this very busy airport for both air and cruise travelers.

Remember: ✈️ = San Diego Zoo is less of a zoo than this place to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = stay classy, San Diego

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️

Dining: ✈️✈️

Bathrooms: ✈️✈️

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

Amenities: ✈️✈️ (minimal shopping, spas, airline lounges)

 

 

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)

know before you go: SEA-TAC (SEA)

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Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is one of my favorite airports of all time.  There’s a SubPop records store and a Beecher’s cheese shop. Those are two very random things that can make me happy, in one airport! That being said, just because it’s a personal favorite, doesn’t mean it rates highly in terms of convenience.  Not everyone is looking for that old Death Cab for Cutie vinyl to take with them.

It is located about 15 miles from Downtown Seattle, so prepare for any traffic accordingly.  Because it is a gateway for air and cruise ship travel to Alaska and Canada, on any given day there could be hordes of tourists everywhere.  There are 80 gates, a central terminal with two satellite terminals (regional and international arrivals).  Concourse A has Air Canada, JetBlue, Delta, and United. B has Southwest, Virgin and more Delta. C is Alaska (it’s hub is here, and includes a new lounge) and D are Alaska and American.  The South Satellite is for international carriers.  There can be a lot of walking between terminals and their tram isn’t the most convenient.

Now the fun stuff, if you’re landing in the daytime, you’ll descend over a hazy gray landscape dotted with the islands of the Puget Sound or you’ll see Mt. Ranier.  It’s really pretty.  There’s a couple of seafood restaurants in this airport, which might seem like a bad idea during travel, but they’re not terrible.  Of course, you’re in Seattle, so there’s Starbucks, Seattle’s Best and a random California shoutout to Coffee Bean.  In fact, if you’re entering security in the central terminal, you will be greeted by Starbucks.

Something that could be annoying: there’s 12th man stuff everywhere, literally I think every being who lives in Seattle is required to own a jersey or some sort of Seahawks gear and they must wear it to the airport.

Remember: ✈️ = black hole sun ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = nirvana

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️ (there’s an underground tram that connects the concourses, but it’s somewhat inconvenient to get to.  It’s a very long walk between concourses, I’ve done it many times in the name of mac and cheese)

Convenience of security lines: ✈️✈️✈️ (can be a wait, especially if only one security area is open [they do a weird rolling system of opening security lines depending on the traffic].  However, there can be one separate line just for TSA Precheck which is ✈️✈️✈️✈️).

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️ (Ivar’s, Anthony’s, Beecher’s–concourse C such creamy mac and cheese goodness, there’s also locations in Pike’s Place and NYC), along with the usual fast food, coffee options)

Bathrooms:✈️✈️✈️  (clean)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (free wifi, charging stations under the seat everywhere)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️ (shopping is random, but interesting i.e. SubPop store, Alaska lounge, live music.  The amenities celebrate the city itself which I appreciate.)

Rental car facility: ✈️✈️✈️ (super easy to use, the buses come pretty frequently)

 

know before you go: Las Vegas (LAS)

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McCarran International Airport (LAS) serving Las Vegas, Nevada is one of my favorite airports to fly through.  There’s a lot to do here on a layover like gamble!  I’m not sure I’ve ever flown internationally from here, but I would say I average 6-8 domestic connections per year.  It’s a huge hub to and from the west coast with 110 gates.

First of all, it’s fairly close to the strip (less than 5 miles), and it’s cool to see Las Vegas boulevard from an aerial view as you start your descent.  This part always makes me very excited.  However, because Las Vegas is hella hot, both takeoffs and landings can be very turbulent.  This part makes me hesitant.  That’s Las Vegas in a nutshell.

The worst thing about flying into Vegas is that inevitably, one of your flight attendants will call it “Lost Wages.”  This is the worst joke, it needs to be retired.  Please.

The confusing thing is that it is split into Terminal 1 and Terminal 3.   There is no Terminal 2.  Not sure if David Copperfield made it disappear or what, but it’s not there.  Terminal 1 (concourses A-D) has a lot of domestic, but not all.  Terminal 3 (also D along with E) has international and some domestic.

I love people watching here.  There’s no other airport where the arrivals and departures are so bipolar.  When people get here, they’re ready to party, all bright-eyed and bushy tailed.  And then when they leave…well they look more like Conor McGregor after 10 rounds with Floyd Mayweather.

The security lines are always a bit hairy, and you’ll watch the TSA video featuring celebrity impersonators/Vegas entertainers like a hundred times, but once you’re in, there’s chimes and flashing lights and all sorts of commotion from the slot machines!

They have good fast food options, it’s easy to get from one concourse to the other (although from the Southwest C gates takes half your life).   You have to take a tram from the gates to baggage, but it’s quick.  The baggage claim area is huge.  Their rideshare waiting area can be tricky to get to (have to cross the street into a parking structure whose elevator levels have the weirdest designations)–random mezzanine level, huh?). But overall, if you had to have a layover here, it wouldn’t be a complete loss (unless you do get tempted by the shiny machines with the flashing lights).

Remember: ✈️ = lost wages to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = viva, las vegas!

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

Convenience of security lines: ✈️✈️ (get there early)

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️ (mostly fast food, great hours, and there’s Coffee Bean and Starbucks)

Bathrooms:✈️✈️ (always crowded, need more)

Charging stations/wifi: ✈️✈️ (free wifi available, not enough charging stations in the gate areas, but have designated areas that are always packed)

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (Gaming facilities.  People watching can occupy you for hours.  Only a few lounges (AmEx and United), some Xpress Spas, weird B list mall stores, no luxury purveyors because I think they want you to spend the money in their casinos instead)

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know before you go: Taipei (TPE)

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The Taipei Taoyuan Airport (TPE) is one of the most popular layover spots to and from the US to any destination in Asia (serves as a hub for China and Eva Air).  It is so popular, they’re planning on adding a whole new terminal in the next few years to increase the population traveling through by about 45 million/year (that’s like 80 million total)!

I have been through this airport several times to and from Asia, and it never disappoints (even when you’ve missed your flight due to delays and have an unexpected extra night here before being re-routed through another unplanned destination before going home, oh and by the way, they’ve lost your luggage–luckily, there are loungers that are pretty comfortable to sleep in).  There’s a gym where you can shower for free, arcade games, playground areas, a library, and massage areas to pass your time.  And everything is super clean here.

However, it can be confusing to navigate for not having technically that many gates (~ 40).   First of all, it is located about 30 minutes from Taipei, so plan accordingly, as traffic can be a bear.  Once you get there, it’s pretty big for only having two terminals.  Terminal 1 has concourse A (north) and B (south).  Terminal 2 is split into concourse C (south) and D (north).  It’s a little counterintuitive.  Terminals are connected by a SkyTrain (although not the easiest to get to); concourses are connected by the main halls (immigration, passport check, etc). Lounges are on the 4th floor, the departures happen from the 3rd floor, while the arrivals are herded to the 2nd floor from the same gates.  There’s a lot of up down, down up happening in this airport. Fortunately, there are a lot of signs in both Mandarin and English, which helps a lot.

Terminal 1: Emirates, Vietnam, Malaysia, Cathay, etc (flights to most Asian countries)

Terminal 2: Delta, United, Eva, China, China Southern, China Eastern, Singapore, Japan, KLM (flights to non-Asian countries)

Once in your concourse, it gets easier.  There are a lot of restroom facilities, breast feeding rooms, cultural displays, and restaurants–mostly fast casual.

The food choices are mostly Taiwanese/Asian inspired except for standard Starbucks, McDonalds and Subway.  I had an above average Taiwanese beef noodle soup in the Terminal 2 food court.  The shopping has a lot of local Taiwanese souvenirs, teas, aboriginal gifts, but not so much in terms of luxury boutiques (for some reason I only remember Van Cleef & Arpels and Bvlgari).

The best thing about this airport are the themed gates.  Namely one…the Hello Kitty gate.  Eva Air features a Hello Kitty flight, so one of their gates is decked out in all her glory.  IMG_0602.jpg

Remember: ✈️ = goodbye, kitty to ✈️✈️✈️✈️✈️ = hello, kitty

Ease of navigating through terminals: ✈️✈️

Convenience of check in/security lines: ✈️✈️✈️ leaving Taipei (the luggage carts are free), but immigration line on arrival was ✈️✈️

Dining: ✈️✈️✈️ (not bad for Asian food, not the best for variety)

Bathrooms:✈️✈️✈️✈️ (very clean facilities and a plus for availability of free shower)

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

Amenities: ✈️✈️✈️✈️ (gym, arcade, cultural exhibits, Hello Kitty, airline lounges, places to sleep, however I expect more variety from duty free shopping)