4 ms·

I guess this dude has never been to any of the Delta terminals in Atlanta, hard to do given it's a Delta hub. Most gates have a couple of pods to charge USB or

by ecspike 13y ago

I guess this dude has never been to any of the Delta terminals in Atlanta, hard to do given it's a Delta hub. Most gates have a couple of pods to charge USB or plug in a laptop. LAX is fail for me because I've often had to change terminals there and reclear security. Not only is changing terminals a pain but it is magnified when you have to take a bus. LAX feels like LA in general, a haphazard sprawling mess that was just thrown together. Here in Silicon Valley, I'd rank San Jose pretty highly. It doesn't have many lounges but makes up with adequate food options and USB/power plugs at something like 85%-90% of the seats in the terminals.

Anechoic 13y ago
I guess this dude has never been to any of the Delta terminals in Atlanta, hard to do given it's a Delta hub. Not really, I've been to/through ATL five times this year, but my flights are on US Air and their gates are a disaster area (partially due to construction, particularly due to neglect). I had three hour wait for my last trip so I wandered over to the Delta gates in search of Shoyu (my biz partner who flies ATL recommended to me) and it is truly a whole new world. But don't automatically think that because you're going through ATL you must fly Delta, that's not true at all.
aaronbrethorst 13y ago
Does SJC still have a moldy smell? I haven't flown in there since 2004, but it used to really stand out at me every time I came in.
- eitally 13y ago
  Yes, the old terminal does.
tfigment 13y ago
Just flew through SJC 2 weeks ago and pretty sure the USB plugs in seats don't work anymore. At least last 3 times I've had to use the dedicated charging station rather than the seat but at least that was there. Actually not sure I've ever had them work but food options are decent though I think SFO is better. Flew through LAX during last trip and I wouldn't rank it too badly but then I was just passing through. It also had charging stands available near the seats but not per seat. Having said that LAX has my second worst travel experience which included 3 hours of security lines that extended outside the building. Heathrow has my worst experience which had a 30 minute shuttle from the plane, 2 hours of security and had to leave the airport and take London Underground to next terminal to change planes and reclear security. Honorable mention to Denver (DIA) which is the most boring but clean airport I've had the privilege of getting stuck at.
eitally 13y ago
< Typing from a hotel in SJ after having transferred through LAX this morning.> LAX isn't so bad as a transfer spot. I fly RDU-->SJC pretty regularly using the [pretty new] RDU<-->LAX direct with a commuter leg between LA & SJ. My other alternative is SJC<-->ATL with the commuter leg between RDU<-->ATL. If I'm going to fly a redeye I prefer to land at home rather than some midway point.... LAX is far better than JFK, not to mention O'Hare. Having to leave security at JFK in order to do a terminal transfer via the sky train is one of the most frustrating things in flying. So is having to return your rental car seemingly ten miles and a half dozen sky train stops from a terminal like at SFO. In the US, I've really been quite impressed by the new Delta terminal in Detroit. There are quite a few shitty, big international airports outside the US, too. Imho, Guarulhos in São Paulo is the worst. Barely air-conditioned, awful security experience for non-Brazilians, and zero real food after security. I've never had Delhi or Mumbai as an endpoint, but flying through them and having to transfer from an international to a domestic flight, or vice versa, is irritating, too. Lots of time spent looking for unmarked transfer bus stops, and more lack of aircon. Also, what's with the Indian practice of forcing a pre-check-in x-ray of both checked bags & carry-ons, but then arbitrarily x-ray or hand-search after check-in? And, of course these x-ray stations have no signage and no indication of the fact that they're required. As maddening travel experiences go, this is right up there with visiting a country (like Chile) where they don't really go out of their way to tell you a visa is required, and then pop a $130 charge on you upon arrival (this was instituted, like the Brazilian visa requirement for US citizens) as reciprocity for Bush's US visa requirement for citizens of those countries. Writing this I realize I come across as particularly more bitchy than normal, and that isn't really intentional. International air travel, though, is -- imho -- broken and the experience frequent travelers have forced upon them is really quite awful. And I'm complaining as someone who has platinum status, lounge access, and a handful of systemwide upgrades. My $.02: when you get to whatever the top statuses are for any given airline, the "perks" they provide result in you actually having an experience that should be the status quo: free checked bags, economy "comfort" or "plus" seating, free onboard wifi and personal entertainment, snacks you don't have to pay for, and not having to put up with carrier's ridiculously inefficient boarding algorithms.

by ecspike 13y ago

Anechoic 13y ago

I guess this dude has never been to any of the Delta terminals in Atlanta, hard to do given it's a Delta hub. Not really, I've been to/through ATL five times this year, but my flights are on US Air and their gates are a disaster area (partially due to construction, particularly due to neglect). I had three hour wait for my last trip so I wandered over to the Delta gates in search of Shoyu (my biz partner who flies ATL recommended to me) and it is truly a whole new world. But don't automatically think that because you're going through ATL you must fly Delta, that's not true at all.

aaronbrethorst 13y ago

Does SJC still have a moldy smell? I haven't flown in there since 2004, but it used to really stand out at me every time I came in.

eitally 13y ago
Yes, the old terminal does.

tfigment 13y ago

Just flew through SJC 2 weeks ago and pretty sure the USB plugs in seats don't work anymore. At least last 3 times I've had to use the dedicated charging station rather than the seat but at least that was there. Actually not sure I've ever had them work but food options are decent though I think SFO is better. Flew through LAX during last trip and I wouldn't rank it too badly but then I was just passing through. It also had charging stands available near the seats but not per seat. Having said that LAX has my second worst travel experience which included 3 hours of security lines that extended outside the building. Heathrow has my worst experience which had a 30 minute shuttle from the plane, 2 hours of security and had to leave the airport and take London Underground to next terminal to change planes and reclear security. Honorable mention to Denver (DIA) which is the most boring but clean airport I've had the privilege of getting stuck at.

eitally 13y ago

< Typing from a hotel in SJ after having transferred through LAX this morning.> LAX isn't so bad as a transfer spot. I fly RDU-->SJC pretty regularly using the [pretty new] RDU<-->LAX direct with a commuter leg between LA & SJ. My other alternative is SJC<-->ATL with the commuter leg between RDU<-->ATL. If I'm going to fly a redeye I prefer to land at home rather than some midway point.... LAX is far better than JFK, not to mention O'Hare. Having to leave security at JFK in order to do a terminal transfer via the sky train is one of the most frustrating things in flying. So is having to return your rental car seemingly ten miles and a half dozen sky train stops from a terminal like at SFO. In the US, I've really been quite impressed by the new Delta terminal in Detroit. There are quite a few shitty, big international airports outside the US, too. Imho, Guarulhos in São Paulo is the worst. Barely air-conditioned, awful security experience for non-Brazilians, and zero real food after security. I've never had Delhi or Mumbai as an endpoint, but flying through them and having to transfer from an international to a domestic flight, or vice versa, is irritating, too. Lots of time spent looking for unmarked transfer bus stops, and more lack of aircon. Also, what's with the Indian practice of forcing a pre-check-in x-ray of both checked bags & carry-ons, but then arbitrarily x-ray or hand-search after check-in? And, of course these x-ray stations have no signage and no indication of the fact that they're required. As maddening travel experiences go, this is right up there with visiting a country (like Chile) where they don't really go out of their way to tell you a visa is required, and then pop a $130 charge on you upon arrival (this was instituted, like the Brazilian visa requirement for US citizens) as reciprocity for Bush's US visa requirement for citizens of those countries. Writing this I realize I come across as particularly more bitchy than normal, and that isn't really intentional. International air travel, though, is -- imho -- broken and the experience frequent travelers have forced upon them is really quite awful. And I'm complaining as someone who has platinum status, lounge access, and a handful of systemwide upgrades. My $.02: when you get to whatever the top statuses are for any given airline, the "perks" they provide result in you actually having an experience that should be the status quo: free checked bags, economy "comfort" or "plus" seating, free onboard wifi and personal entertainment, snacks you don't have to pay for, and not having to put up with carrier's ridiculously inefficient boarding algorithms.