Which Airports Are a Destination in Themselves?

[Connemara]

Originally Posted by SoCal2NYC

Agreed.
+1, it's just awesome.

 

[JetBlast]

Originally Posted by rioni

madrid
The new Barajas terminal is badass.

JB

 

[Violinist]

Ben Gurion, Frankfurt, Zurich, Austin TX....

 

[globetrotter]

I have a new least favorite - cairo built a new airport and it is really horrible. Several terminals that are spread out with no good way to get around them. Full of misquitoes, really nasty.

 

[JetBlast]

I'll add as another interesting airport (or part of one), the Hajj terminal at King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah-

JB

 

[DrStacey]

Orlando Florida Airport it cool, Has an entire mall and Hotel in it. Sick.

 

[HORNS]

The international terminal at San Francisco is great in the fact that they have great displays - like a couple of years ago they had an exhibit of eyeglasses throughout history. It was a perfect way to pass the time waiting for your flight.

I think the airport in Austin is very nice for a smaller one.

Charles de Gaulle in Paris has to be the worst. I think it's shameful.

 

[gnatty8]

Atlanta (Hartsfield-Jackson) actually has some pretty cool things to see, including these amazing rock sculptures that blend polished and rough stone into massive (people sized) sculptures. I always stop to look everytime I am there. Decent stores too, but nothing to write home about commerce wise.

 

[audiophilia]

Duty Free shopping at Heathrow Terminal 3 is quite fine. All the best gear housed in individual boutiques. Airport looks like a khazi, though. And the new Terminal is a bit of a joke.

Toronto's new Terminal is very much like the city. Somewhat stylish, ultra clean, and as boring as ****. Oh, and Air Canada's ground customer service is the absolute worst. Truly ******* dreadful. A once good airline.

Fly over St. Louis. Don't land. For the love of God, don't land! LOL

Unless you are flying the absurd First Class or the equally ridiculously priced Business, most airports have become cattle barns.

 

[von Rothbart]

Originally Posted by JetBlast

I'll add as another interesting airport (or part of one), the Hajj terminal at King Abdulaziz Airport in Jeddah-

JB

Is that an Iran Air Boeing 747? How do they manage to get the parts to service that plane with US embargo?

 

[JetBlast]

Yes, it's an Iran Air 747-100. I'm honestly not sure how they got the parts, but considering the airline is still operating Boeing 747-SP aircraft and the Iranian Air Force is operating 747 tankers/transports they must be getting them from somewhere.

JB

 

[kwiteaboy]

I was impressed by T5 at LHR last month. Of course, I was viewing it through the windows of the Galleries Lounge, so that may have colored my perception a bit.

 

[dtmt]

Has anyone been to the new Nagoya airport yet? (Central Japan International Airport) I probably won't get the chance to really travel through there, but it sounds like it might be cool.

Centrair, as the airport is known, also boasts an indoor garden, replicas of old Japanese and European streets, and a 300-meter sky deck...

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08...s/source/6.htm

 

[RJman]

I really liked Schwechat. Any airport that's not hugely crowded these days is a plus. But that's rarer and rarer. Plus it had free wifi and exemplary duty-free shopping, including (chr!st) a branch of Zilli.

Charles de Gaulle is hellish, with the possible exception of the Air France terminal (Terminal 3?). I found Frankfurt huge and depressing...

 

[JetBlast]

A friend of mine passed through the Nagoya airport heading back to SFO last month and said it is worth the visit.

Charles de Gaulle sucks, as does Moscow-Sheremetyevo if anyone's been there.

JB