Airports

[PJ]

Which airports are the busiest in America?

As far as I know, the busiest ones are not the ones in the big names like NYC, LA, or SF (they are busy, but not the busiest). The busiest ones, I heard, are Atlanta, Chicago (O'hare), and Dallas/Ft Worth (DFW).

Another thing... the security workers at the airports become more *******-like every day. It gets more unpleasant all the time. They treat everybody like a potential terrorist, except the good looking women. If the terrorists were smart, they would hire more sexy women to blow up things.

[bellamia]

Which airports are the busiest in America?

As far as I know, the busiest ones are not the ones in the big names like NYC, LA, or SF (they are busy, but not the busiest). The busiest ones, I heard, are Atlanta, Chicago (O'hare), and Dallas/Ft Worth (DFW).

Another thing... the security workers at the airports become more *******-like every day. It gets more unpleasant all the time. They treat everybody like a potential terrorist, except the good looking women. If the terrorists were smart, they would hire more sexy women to blow up things.

I would add Houston onto the list as well, just from observation though.
I travel a lot and I haven't found any grave issue with the TSA people, thus far. And I'm by no mean "attractive" or "good looking." I know people who work as TSA officers and their job sounds quite stressful, even though, it really doesn't appear like they do much while on duty.

[imthatlady]

god, am i the only one that LOVES airports?
i love the hustlin' and bustlin'.

and yeah, i also heard the Atlanta, Ga airport is very busy. never been but i have been to O'hare's and god, that airport is ****ing the lower level where u go from one section to another is hott with all the neon lights. i got so lost the first time but after so many times connecting flights, i'm good finding myself around

--oh, aside from the airport itself, the workers are

[bellamia]

Source: http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/busiest_airports/

1) Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int’l. (ATL)
2) Chicago/O’Hare Int’l. (ORD)
3) Dallas/Ft. Worth Int’l. (DFW)
4) Los Angeles International (LAX)
5) Denver International (DEN)
6) Las Vegas/Mc Carran Int’l. (LAS)
7) Houston/G. Bush Intercont’l. (IAH)
8) Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l. (PHX)
9) Charlotte/Douglas Int’l. (CLT)
10) Philadelphia International (PHL)
11) Detroit Metro Wayne Co. (DTW)
12) John F. Kennedy Int’l. (JFK)
13) Minneapolis-St. Paul Int’l. (MSP)
14) Newark International (EWR)
15) Salt Lake City Int’l. (SLC)
16) Washington Dulles Int’l. (IAD)
17) Boston/Logan International (BOS)
18) La Guardia (LGA)
19) Miami International (MIA)
20) San Francisco Int’l. (SFO)

Wow...I’m surprised that JFK is not even on the top 10 while Denver is at #5. I don't remember being impressed with its size or traffic when I was there.

[bellamia]

god, am i the only one that LOVES airports?

YES! The fun and the glamorous aspects of traveling get old after awhile. I don’t mind a short layover of 1-3 hours, but anything more than that, and then I start getting cranky!

What do you guys do while waiting at the airport? You can always find me at the bookstores, reading away all the trashy, tabloid magazines. One of my traditions is to collect books when I’m the road, so I would usually get 1-4 books per trip, depending on the length of my trip. If I have time, then I’m on the computer…never never never working though!

[Bangs]

I hate airports and all the fuss you have to go through just to get onboard. Specially getting in and out of the US, its so tiresome. I also dislike connecting flights, but all I do is read a book or sleep at the waiting area.

[john-e]

Reading is my #1 activity while waiting for a flight. I do a fair bit of walking around in larger airports, especially if I've never been there before.

My best experience was waiting for a connection in Toronto. There was a grand piano in the waiting area and I had about an hour to kill so I sat down and started to play. When I play, I tend to tune out everything else so I missed all the boarding calls except the last one. As I quickly gathered my stuff, I noticed that almost everyone around had put down their books and newspapers and were listening to me play. I received a round of applause as I ran for my flight. I'm still not sure if they were clapping because they enjoyed the music or because they were happy I stopped .

[Trien Chieu]

I hope the Houston/G. Bush Intercont’l. (IAH) is not that busy this season as I will fly there tomorrow....

[bellamia]

Reading is my #1 activity while waiting for a flight. I do a fair bit of walking around in larger airports, especially if I've never been there before.

My best experience was waiting for a connection in Toronto. There was a grand piano in the waiting area and I had about an hour to kill so I sat down and started to play. When I play, I tend to tune out everything else so I missed all the boarding calls except the last one. As I quickly gathered my stuff, I noticed that almost everyone around had put down their books and newspapers and were listening to me play. I received a round of applause as I ran for my flight. I'm still not sure if they were clapping because they enjoyed the music or because they were happy I stopped .

That's a great story, John. It is so rare to encounter this kind of excitement at the airport. Next time when I hear someone plays the piano, I'd make sure to ask for his name.

[Sparky]

god, am i the only one that LOVES airports?
i love the hustlin' and bustlin'.

I love airports too! I think the idea of going anywhere is really exciting for me, since I'm a travel fanatic who wants to visit every country before I die. And even going home is awesome, because by then I'm quite excited to sleep in my own bed again. The other great thing about airports is that they sell TOBLERONE!!!

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So good but so ****ing expensive.

The TSAs are okay to me, but gosh I hate the customs officers! So you know how they ask you questions? This is what they asked me - "Can I see you smile?" And my forced smile is like the ugliest face I can make. I also don't particularly like some of the flight attendants. I mean, for people trained to act in emergency situations, their logic is a bit lacking. I was sitting next to a little boy once and the attendant asked me, "Are you his mom?"

My favorite airport is TOKYO! I've actually been to it THREE times, and I've loved it so much that I've never gone out of it (the art of transfer flights). I love all the Japanese goods they have to buy there, and while I don't have the experience to speak for Japanese people in general, the airport workers in Tokyo are by far the most courteous and polite I've met. In the US my favorite is New York JFK for sentimental reasons...plus they named it for a better president than the Houston airport did

The only not-so-great part about airports is that they have to x-ray your baggage, so I have to do a couple things to my bootleg DVDs beforehand.

And while I'm waiting (and I'm always waiting since I'm Asian and book transfers), I usually catch up on schoolwork on my laptop, surf the net if there's wi-fi, buy Toblerone (but not Godiva since it's cheaper at my local boutique), and go to all the Barnes & Nobles (and be dorky and read).

Why do I always write ****ing essays? Why am I talking like Jennie?

[bellamia]

The other great thing about airports is that they sell TOBLERONE!!!

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.focoz.com/pic/toblerone_w320_h448_Q75.jpg')
So good but so ****ing expensive.?

What is this? I have never heard or seen of it. That’s probably because it's freaken' expensive. You crazy child...stop wasting mummy's hard earned money on expensive chocolates. Try one of this instead...it's by far the best thing I've ever had and it only costs $1.25.

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.importladen.de/images/products/whatchamacallit.jpg')

I was sitting next to a little boy once and the attendant asked me, "Are you his mom?"

Why do you have to lie? How can you denounce your own child?

The only not-so-great part about airports is that they have to x-ray your baggage, so I have to do a couple things to my bootleg DVDs beforehand.

One of the absolutely worst parts is getting off the plane and finding out that your connecting flight is in a different gate terminal, which is 15-20mins of walking distance away...and your flight boards in 30 mins. So, if you guys ever see an Asian chick, dashing through the airports in heels, that person might be me.

Why do I always write ****ing essays? Why am I talking like Jennie?

No kidding, who knew that I have so much to say about the airports to contribute so many posts to this thread.

[Sparky]

What is this? I have never heard or seen of it. That’s probably because it's freaken' expensive. You crazy child...stop wasting mummy's hard earned money on expensive chocolates. Try one of this instead...it's by far the best thing I've ever had and it only costs $1.25.

Oh puhlease. I've never had that, but I don't think I'll like it as much as Toblerone because Hershey's just tastes cheap (but Hershey Park is kind of cool). Way too sweet. Might as well chew on a block of sugar. Too much sugar -> impairs insulin production -> type 2 diabetes -> needles I'm scared of!!! I've nothing against being a Jew with money, but your stomach isn't something you should abuse like that.

Why do you have to lie? How can you denounce your own child?

I have a DAUGHTER, not a son. And the father doesn't want to talk to me, remember? Oh mom, I've lived a hard life, and I'm still so young!

One of the absolutely worst parts is getting off the plane and finding out that your connecting flight is in a different gate terminal, which is 15-20mins of walking distance away...and your flight boards in 30 mins. So, if you guys ever see an Asian chick, dashing through the airports in heels, that person might be me.

OMG STORY TIME!!! Back to like 13-year-old Sparky.

The first time I was flying back from China, my brilliant relatives made the mistake of hiring a guy to drive us to Shanghai who had NEVER BEEN THERE BEFORE. Yay, exciting adventure!! I can't believe my mommy went along with that, and at age 13 I kind of lacked an opinion. From where I was that day, Shanghai's only about a 1.5 hour drive, but the driver wanted to save on ****ing tolls so he decided to bypass all the highways and go on these small roads. And he didn't even leave early because he was too busy smoking his frickin cigarettes even though smoking is the leading preventable cause of death!! And his frickin smoking raises my blood pressure! But, I digress. So anyway, we end up taking like 2+ hours just to get to Shanghai, and when we're there, the driver's like, "Zomg! I don't know how to get to the airport." At this point I'm like "****," except maybe I said something cleaner since I was 13 and all. So we pull over and ask for directions like ten million times, although we're already late for our flight! The result - we arrive like 30 minutes in advance. FOR AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT.

Luckily we make our flight, since it got delayed. The bad part was that our transfer flight was not delayed, so at Vancouver (which has a crappy airport) I basically go crazy. And since I was flying to LAX to visit my aunt, we had to go through US Customs at Vancouver, and those ****ing customs officers were SO SLOW and asked 20398509325 questions to every person!! We're not ****ing terrorists!!! And there were only TWO even though 23058230958 were in line!!! So I make the Vancouver-LA flight...barely. Let's just say that by the time I got to LA I had a lot of complaints!!

Let's put it this way - when everything runs smoothly at airports, it's a nice environment. Clean, generally courteous staff, nice bathrooms (after I show you my China toilet pic you will know why clean toilets are very important) and lots of Toblerone. But as Forrest Gump said, "Shit happens."

So, if you guys ever see an Asian chick, dashing through the airports in heels, that person might be me.

lol, I'd rather run in airports in heels than three miles in the rain. I was KIND OF excited for spring track for like a day because I needed to get my *** moving, and now it's just been two days of practice and this whole thing is not my cup of tea.

Omg, I think I'm high. Either that or I need to like, tape my mouth.

[LuNaR]

my favorite part about the airport.... the long straight esclator i use to get on those over and over again, and my parents would get so pissed anyways i havent been to an airport for the last 10 years, so... nothing much to say

[pemberly]

my favorite part about the airport.... the long straight esclator i use to get on those over and over again, and my parents would get so pissed anyways i havent been to an airport for the last 10 years, so... nothing much to say

you should go visit washington dc. one of the subways has the longest escalator in the world or something. it's very....boring. my friend took a picture.

[CrazyT]

you should go visit washington dc. one of the subways has the longest escalator in the world or something. it's very....boring. my friend took a picture.

I sure will! *trembling with excitement*

[jay_z]

If you haven't seen Tom Hanks' The Terminal, go rent it. It's interesting. Has anybody tried to sleep in the airport? The benches aren't very comfortable. For those on a tight budget and don't mind sleeping in the airport to save a very bucks, visit Sleeping in Airports. The site has tons of reviews and tips on sleeping in airports. Sound like fun.

Some airports have shower and room for rent and massage services. Check out HK Airport Lounge

My favorite airport is Las Vegas McCarran Airport because you get to spend all your money on slot machines before boarding your plane home.

Which airport has the best food? SFO was voted the best in the USA. HK airport has dim sums and Popeye's.

[KJ]

Which airports are the busiest in America?

As far as I know, the busiest ones are not the ones in the big names like NYC, LA, or SF (they are busy, but not the busiest). The busiest ones, I heard, are Atlanta, Chicago (O'hare), and Dallas/Ft Worth (DFW).

Another thing... the security workers at the airports become more *******-like every day. It gets more unpleasant all the time. They treat everybody like a potential terrorist, except the good looking women. If the terrorists were smart, they would hire more sexy women to blow up things.

Chicago is not a big name city? While not as popular as NYC or LA, it is a very well known and populous city. Atlanta and Dallas are not far behind either.

[PJ]

Chicago is not a big name city? While not as popular as NYC or LA, it is a very well known and populous city. Atlanta and Dallas are not far behind either.

My original statement was

the busiest ones are not the ones in the big names like NYC, LA, or SF (they are busy, but not the busiest).

I should have been more clear as to say it this way:

the busiest ones are not the ones in the biggest names like NYC, LA, or SF.

[blueberry]

I always try to avoid big & busy airports whenever possible. Last time I went from & to Newark Intl Airport, it got delayed like crazy. We even sat in the plane waiting for taxiing or waiting for parking space (the previous plane was still occupying the gate).

I generally like airports. I just like roaming around and seeing different things. I like watching the runway, specially at night with all the lights. I used to love watching the pilots and stewardesses in their uniforms, but ever since I got in US (here in my small city), that's pretty much not fun to watch anymore.

My favorite airports so far : Detroit, St. Paul and Las Vegas. I never had any problems with those airports. I don't like LAX (different buildings for domestic & intl flights) and Newark (bad bad experience from last time).

I like Netherland's Schipol (sp?) too....childhood memories of a lot of chocolates. I also remembered eating a really good dimsum before departure at the old HK's airport.

[Bai Qi44]

The only reason the NYC airports aren't the busiest is because there's 3 of them in the same city. I remember flying into NYC at JFK, then flying out of NYC at Laquadia (sp?) on the same trip.

In La, I just flew in and out of LAX on the same trip.