Which Airports Are a Destination in Themselves?

[limping_decorum]

Originally Posted by Jerry52

Recently I passed through the Charlotte, NC airport, and several things about it did impress me.
The first time I flew into Charlotte, I thought it was a dump.

Denver is nice.

 

[GreyFlannelMan]

Copenhagen is nice. I also thought Incheon was very beautiful and well-planned.

 

[Etienne]

The Berlin Tempelhof airport is amazing for architecture and history. I hope to travel there before it closes in October 2008. Edit: can't seem to make my image link work.

 

[imageWIS]

Originally Posted by Brian278

I think JB waited his entire SF career for this thread. Is that pic from Princess Juliana undoctored?

Yes. I've been there and it the planes get very, very close. Also, all the sand kicks up on that beach, so only turists go there. Locals know better.

Jon.

 

[JetBlast]

As LK said, they are undoctored. Seems to be the paradise for airplane freaks like myself, we are planning another trip next summer. I'll be burning up frequent flier miles and doing Washington-Amsterdam-St Maarten on KLM

IIRC someone tried to sue the airports authority because all their crap they left unattended got blown into the water when a 747 pushed the throttle for takeoff. If you don't like being sandblasted I'd recommend avoiding that beach.

JB

 

[Artisan Fan]

Tampa is a gem in Florida. Modern and the best layout of any of the major ones in the world.

 

[Jerry52]

Originally Posted by limping_decorum

The first time I flew into Charlotte, I thought it was a dump.

Denver is nice.

Haven't been to the new Denver airport, can't comment.

I'm not saying that the Charlotte Douglas Airport is anything mesmerizing architecturally, but I think that considering that Charlotte is a mid-sized city it offered a surprisingly fine array of restaurants and shops, plus the nicety of the attended washroom, with the mouth rinse and fancy mints. Maybe those sort of very civilized washrooms are now commonplace at airports, I don't know. It's probably not a "world class" airport but to call it a "dump" is also extreme, IMO.

 

[WN2]

Not probably a destination as such, but the runway extension in Funchal is pretty interesting, especially with a highway passing underneath the structure:

 

[Journeyman]

Originally Posted by Britalian

In terms of architechture I'd love to see the Kansai or the new Hong Kong airports.

Well, apart from the fact that Kansai International Airport is built on an artificial island, there is absolutely nothing to recommend the place.

In fact, considering that it was built quite recently and cost a vast sum of money, it is both shocking and depressing that the end result was such a hideous and depressingly grey, ugly and poorly designed building.

The main hall is not too bad - albeit very plain with much use of industrial vinyl and plastic in shades of grey - but the ancillary facilities are awful. The food/shopping floor has a low ceiling and feels cluttered and claustrophobic. There are scant facilities and the choices for both eating and shopping are limited and unappealing.

In short, unless you desperately wish to fly into Osaka for some reason, steer clear of it. It's certainly not worth travelling to for its own sake...

The new Chek Lap Kok airport in HK is a better effort than Kansai International Airport, but I miss the old HK airport. It was always interesting and enjoyable to fly into HK in-between buildings and I always found it intriguing to stand up on the Peak and watch planes come into land - you could see the jets on the approach, then they would vanish amongst the apartment blocks, and then you would again see them taxiing out along the runway after they had come in to land. I understand that the people who live near Kai Tak are very happy that the new airport opened up, but I do think it is sad that such a unique aviation experience has disappeared.

 

[globetrotter]

the only airport I can think of that I ahve actually gone to see would be the old airport in Budapest - it is hardly used anymore, and I went out of my way to visit it a while back because it is such a lovely building. zinc counters, great art deco decarations.

 

[JetBlast]

Journeyman,
Did you actually like anything about Kansai? When I visited about a year ago I liked it, everything seemed to be laid out well. I guess I have a different view on airport designs

JB

 

[hermes]

in addition to beautiful people, helsinki vantaa for having wood floors
any airport that can pull off wood flooring and keep them gleaming gets a big vote

new hong kong international is just big but nothing super interesting
it's overwhelming and just one giant open carpeted space with lots of shopping

+1 for detroit and the light tunnel

+1 for tempelhof and also because you just check in and the gate is right there and you're on the plane - reminds me of berlin tegel which is an ugly small airport but where you can pull up in your taxi, walk a few steps and check in and then board the plane behind the check-in counter, terribly efficient those germans

heathrow is an interesting maze of a mess of terminals which sort of makes it a challenge in of itself - terribly inefficient especially when you arrive as one of the first flights from north america and find the airport lights and escalators off still
+plus they have the best newstands - british mags are the best

terminal 1 cdg (the doughnut) in paris for the interesting 60s vibe from the furnishing to the floor tiles to the monitors and the intersecting escalator tubes - it needs one massive overhaul though, it smells and is so filthy dirty ......

both cointrin (geneva) and kloten (zurich) get my votes for being utterly spotless and efficient, nothing much to look at but i'm always happy to land or fly through there (and the air baboo lounge in geneva is pretty cool)

 

[egoiste]

The Hong Kong International Airport is amazing and very large. I like it a lot because I like browsing the shops and they have really nice designer shops there.

I also heard great things about the Singapore International Airport I think? I heard from a friend she took a shower and had a complimentary massage there during a layover.

 

[Journeyman]

JB - I could appreciate the fact that Kansai was an impressive engineering project. However, the fact that the designers devoted absolutely no attention whatsoever to ensuring that it was a pleasant place to spend time, was a disappointment to me. The place simply reeked of institutional design from the 1950s and 1960s - linoleum covered stairs with red plastic handrails, that sort of thing.

Egoiste - Singapore airport (Changi) is very nice. Good food, interesting shops, a couple of nice bookstores, plenty of recliner chairs to relax in with views of the taxiways, a gym, and even short-stay hotel rooms where you can check in for a couple of hours for a nap and a shower, and then have them page you so you can check in for your connecting flight. The airport itself is also well-designed with pleasant carpeting, muted lighting, and garden beds and water features inside.

 

[Artisan Fan]

I have to disagree with our local aviator about Dulles. An interesting but non-functional design but the worst of it is those ghastly people mover cabins on scissor lifts. Slow and cramped.