
Why do so many people hate US airports? - hvo
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34704775
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jzwinck
Not only do US airports make me take my shoes off, many of them now have the
"naked picture machines" instead of regular metal detectors. I was presented
with those twice recently. The first time I went through it, then afterward
the attendant frisked me anyway, including an incredibly awkward "search" of
my hair. If they need to X-ray my shoes and search my hair by hand, what use
is the naked picture machine?

So the second time I opted out. I was lucky enough to get a gentleman who was
quite amicable and professional. And I served as a spectacle for the other
passengers--a visible warning of what awaited them if they decided not to let
the TSA see inside their clothes.

On another flight, I visited the Delta business class lounge. This was the
first and only time I encountered a business class lounge with no actual food
inside. British has a freaking restaurant in some of theirs. Delta had potato
chips and similar stuff that nobody should eat, much less people about to sit
for a dozen hours. So I went out, bought some food, and brought it back. The
counter staff abruptly informed me that outside food is not allowed. Only pure
junk food may be consumed in the Delta lounge!

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teekert
Once I arrived late at Boston Logan airport, my colleague forgot to fill out
the back of the then used green "I'm a terrorist nor a Nazi between 39-45"
form (the ESTA form). The guy at the desk than screamed at the top of his
lungs: "The next one to forget to fill out the back of his form I'll send them
back to their home country!!!"

What a warm welcome to the US :). The rest of the Americans were warm,
welcoming and very helpful whenever I whipped a map out though :).

~~~
maxxxxx
I always think that the immigration guys at airports get selected for being
the most obnoxious a...holes they can find. I have seen a lot of instances of
really bad behavior like berating tourists that don't speak English well for
not filling out the forms perfectly right.

I remember I wanted to visit a friend who was supposed to pick me up at SFO
airport. I didn't know his address so I didn't fill the destination address
field. The immigration guy just sent me back in line without listening to any
explanation. Luckily one of the cleaners told me to fill in "Hilton, San
Francisco"and I finally got through. I can't even imagine how somebody who has
traveled less and speaks English not as well could handle the situation.

It really gives the US a bad image.

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EliRivers
No sterile transit [1]. That's it for me. That's why I will pay extra to get a
flight that does not require changing within the US.

Everywhere else [2], if I am on my way from country A to country C and will be
changing aircraft in country B, I follow the sign for "International
Transfers" and effectively just walk from the gate at which I got off one
aircraft to the gate at which I will get on another (an airport in Europe
somewhere - can't recall which one - even managed to provide me with sterile
transport to another terminal to do this; half the train was isolated by
locked doors from the other half, and my side of the platform had different
entrances and exits that were already within the security-checked section).

No security checks necessary because I went through them in airport A, no
immigration because I'm not entering country B. To force me to go through
immigration and then turn around and come back through the entire security
theatre again is such a massive waste of everyone's time and resources. So
painfully frustrating.

[1] I hear that a handful of US airports can actually manage this, but
generally not. I recall having to go through immigration at JFK many years ago
purely to be able to walk across the concourse and go back through the system
again, just to change plane. What a massive waste of everyone's time and
money.

[2] Not quite everywhere else. Of all airports, I had to go back around
through some security in _Dubai_ just yesterday. Which is utterly ridiculous,
as Dubai airport is a shiny modern airport that is in many other ways very
good.

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microtheo
Honestly, I've traveled quiet a lot the last year in Japan, China,
Switzerland, Germany, Canada, USA, Sweden, London... The american airports are
not always pleasant (this is especially due to over arrogant security
personnel). But they are at least efficient. My worst experience in term of
waiting lines (mainly at the boarder) was Montreal, Tokyo and Beijing...

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aidenn0
I really don't get the hate for the Dulles buggies. I don't find that it takes
any longer for me to go between terminals at Dulles versus other airports. I
think I've had to wait more than 5 minutes for one to leave once in over 100
flights in/out of Dulles.

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amai
It is really a shame that American airports usually have no connection to
public transport.

~~~
wmichelin
Where have you experienced this? Every major city I've flown to has a terminal
for public transport inside the airport

~~~
hwstar
San Diego, California. No connection other than cabs, limos or buses. Sure
would be nice if the trolley went there. The cab companies would scream bloody
murder, but they're under assault anyway.

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simonblack
Airports are a good indicator of the health of the country's infrastructure.
If the airports are bad, it's very likely that the country's roads and bridges
are bad too.

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hwstar
High priced food and Internet service in the terminals due to the captive
audience effect. I suspect if business travel expenses were made non-
deductible, this would change very quickly.

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byoung2
It is unfair to compare the US to smaller countries that may have only 1 or 2
international airports (e.g. Singapore or Hong Kong). They can pour all of
their resources into fewer airports while the US has at least 400 hundred
international airports, with at least 100 of those being major airports like
JFK or LAX.

~~~
colinb
I suppose it depends on your definition of 'major', but if you can name more
than 20 I'd be surprised.

Also, the thing that makes US airports unpleasant is not necessarily the same
as the irritant in other places. Travelling through the US gives us the
indignity of the TSA's security theatre. But take a trip through a British
airport and you really see capitalism tooth-and-nail. I think this the result
of the sell-off of the airports to a dutch corporation several years ago, and
the resulting dept-repayment load.

The only airport I've been in, that is actually a pleasant place to hang out
for a couple of hours is CDG.

~~~
byoung2
_I suppose it depends on your definition of 'major', but if you can name more
than 20 I'd be surprised._

At least half of the states have at least 1 major international airport, with
some having 2 or more. For example, Hawaii has Honolulu, Florida has Orlando
and Miami. Nevada has McCarran, etc.

My point us that the US has lots of international entrypoints, so each airport
has to be less grand than say a Hong Kong or Singapore, where that is the only
airport where you can enter. For them that single airport has to be a
flagship, so they put hotels and butterfly gardens, etc. Phoenix Sky Harbor
will never get anything like that, so it can never compete.

~~~
EliRivers
Airports don't have to compete on butterfly gardens. They can compete on basic
competence and being able to efficiently and quickly allow people to get
through it, and not being a total misery to have to wait in for a few hours
when transiting. Singapore beats the crap out of US airports on that _and
also_ has a nice butterfly garden to look at. You could put a nice butterfly
garden in JFK and JFK would still be a miserable, frustrating experience;
nobody would even look at the butterfly garden because they'd burn all their
time in just trying to get through the airport.

