O'Hare sucks

[astanley]

Yup. Agreed 100%

Although if you think PHL is bad now, you should have flown through there 10 yrs ago. It's like a passenger paradise now -- but only in comparison to itself. To the rest of the world, it still blows.

I really feel for you guys down there. Seriously... can't you guys drive down to Center City and kick some a**?

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[astanley]

DFW's OK. There is decent food in Terminal D (the new one). I prefer the showers at the Terminal D Admiral's Club.

The new showers in A are very, very nice. Also, generally completely empty if you arrive on the early South America arrivals -- instead of a 30 minute wait in the D club.

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[Cap'n Jack]

BOS is not that bad. CVG is a security s-hole. As is BDL. And getting SSSS at ORD is the third circle of hell.

Cheers,

-Andrew

I don't know about that- I got SSSS my last trip through Chicago and my wife & I got to jump the line so I could get the the TSA "Special Service"- the lady that checked boarding passes at the entry saw the SSSS, got excited, and got one of her colleagues to walk me to special screening.

Got done so fast that I wondered if that's how it always worked. I wonder if I could get them to mark my boarding pass with SSSS just to avoid the lines at some Class B airports.

 

[wsuffa]

BOS is not that bad. CVG is a security s-hole. As is BDL. And getting SSSS at ORD is the third circle of hell.

Cheers,

-Andrew

I've had better experiences at CVG than BOS. But YMMV. Agree on BDL. LAX can be miserable, too. Really miserable. DFW's a mixed bag depending on where you end up bending over.

I broke down and got Clear. It's been a godsend at ORL, IAD, and (on my most recent trip) CVG.

 

[flyersfan31]

I broke down and got Clear. It's been a godsend at ORL, IAD, and (on my most recent trip) CVG.

Be careful with that Clear stuff! That's what brought down Barry Bonds and Marion Jones.

 

[ScottM]

I broke down and got Clear. It's been a godsend at ORL, IAD, and (on my most recent trip) CVG.

ORL has been trouble?? That is really strange, are you sure you don't mean MCO: Orlando International?
ORL is the executive airport. MCO is the big pax airport for Orlando. It used to be McCoy AFB and that is why it has the MCO deisgnator.

 

[wsuffa]

ORL has been trouble?? That is really strange, are you sure you don't mean MCO: Orlando International?
ORL is the executive airport. MCO is the big pax airport for Orlando. It used to be McCoy AFB and that is why it has the MCO deisgnator.

Yeah, I did mean MCO. That's what I get for doing this on very little sleep. There are no elite lanes there and the line nannies shove every stroller-toting family into the "expert" lanes.

The other REALLY, REALLY bad place for TSA is BWI. It is, IMHO, the worst in the system. And the FSD routinely ignores complaints. BWI is the place where the abusive screener covered his nametag and the supe refused to give me either her or his name. ANd the supe claimed ot not know who was in charge of TSA at the airport. They also managed to tear the lining in my bag: "We know how to open it, so don't mouth off or I'll make sure you don't make your flight". This was a time I had 3 hours before the scheduled flight (I was going to try and catch an earlier one), so I called the screener's bluff and demanded a supervisor. This was also the place where they gave me a hard time about my aviation headset and handheld (I was picking my plane up from annual), and where they dropped my handheld on the floor.

There was no resolution, and TSA denied the claim on the bag because "their screener wouldn't do that".

BWI - ranks right up there with EWR as being one of the worst TSA stations in the system.

 

[dmccormack]

BWI - ranks right up there with EWR as being one of the worst TSA stations in the system.

I agree. I've stopped using BWI since SW started serving PIT, and I'm very glad I don't have to deal with unpredictable BWI.

I've never had a problem at PIT, but then the volume is nowhere near BWI.

 

[flyersfan31]

Yeah, I did mean MCO. That's what I get for doing this on very little sleep. There are no elite lanes there and the line nannies shove every stroller-toting family into the "expert" lanes.

The other REALLY, REALLY bad place for TSA is BWI. It is, IMHO, the worst in the system. And the FSD routinely ignores complaints. BWI is the place where the abusive screener covered his nametag and the supe refused to give me either her or his name. ANd the supe claimed ot not know who was in charge of TSA at the airport. They also managed to tear the lining in my bag: "We know how to open it, so don't mouth off or I'll make sure you don't make your flight". This was a time I had 3 hours before the scheduled flight (I was going to try and catch an earlier one), so I called the screener's bluff and demanded a supervisor. This was also the place where they gave me a hard time about my aviation headset and handheld (I was picking my plane up from annual), and where they dropped my handheld on the floor.

There was no resolution, and TSA denied the claim on the bag because "their screener wouldn't do that".

BWI - ranks right up there with EWR as being one of the worst TSA stations in the system.

man am I glad I don't live there anymore. Used to be 20 minutes from my front door to United's A gate. Park in short term next to the terminal, 1 min to the front door, screen in 20 secs, boom, you're done. Couldn't do that anymore.

 

[Missa]

Plain and simple. It's like the people who built this place also built that other commercial aviation cesspool, PHL.

Cheers,

-Andrew
4 hour layover and prospecting for something that resembles food, no Flagship Lounge for Andrew tonight

The food at ORD sucks. Thankfully I am never doing a layover where I need to buy food. My experience is get into terminal 1, go to red carpet lounge wait for flight. I pity anyone that comes through ORD and has to layover or change terminals! YUCK!

Really... I found the best little greek like place at ORD. It's got a great spinach pizza... I think it's either C or A 5. I took a picture last time i was there so I could find it agian. Too bad I left my phone at home today or I'd tell you if it was A or C

Edit: Ok so I did have to take the picture so I could find it agian as it is the only resturaunt in the airport I like.

 

[vontresc]

Got a dumb question for all of you frequent travelling types...

Does any airport other than MKE have a bookstore anywhere as cool as the used book place in Milwaukee?

 

[gprellwitz]

Got a dumb question for all of you frequent travelling types...

Does any airport other than MKE have a bookstore anywhere as cool as the used book place in Milwaukee?

I think O'Hare USED to have a branch of Barbara's Bookstore. They were a pretty good independent bookstore in Chicago. I just checked their website, though, and they have two airport locations (LGA and PHL), but they're both "Barbara's Bestsellers", so they presumably don't have the sort of eclectic mix you get at the main store.

 

[astanley]

I think O'Hare USED to have a branch of Barbara's Bookstore. They were a pretty good independent bookstore in Chicago. I just checked their website, though, and they have two airport locations (LGA and PHL), but they're both "Barbara's Bestsellers", so they presumably don't have the sort of eclectic mix you get at the main store.

There are three Barbara's in Terminal 3 -- H, main concourse, and G. I went looking around for the new book "Joker One" and didn't find it at any of the 3 last Thursday. It's better than most of the Hudson News type places, but it isn't funky in the slightest.

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[astanley]

man am I glad I don't live there anymore. Used to be 20 minutes from my front door to United's A gate. Park in short term next to the terminal, 1 min to the front door, screen in 20 secs, boom, you're done. Couldn't do that anymore.

RIC isn't bad. I live 24 miles from the airport (by car); it's a 27-28 minute drive on average for me. (I actually kept track for three months when testing out a more optimal route and alternative routings). 5 minutes to security, 5 minute from line for ID check until laptop is back in the bag, and wait.

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[astanley]

I don't know about that- I got SSSS my last trip through Chicago and my wife & I got to jump the line so I could get the the TSA "Special Service"- the lady that checked boarding passes at the entry saw the SSSS, got excited, and got one of her colleagues to walk me to special screening.

Got done so fast that I wondered if that's how it always worked. I wonder if I could get them to mark my boarding pass with SSSS just to avoid the lines at some Class B airports.

My last SSSS at ORD was after a wx-induced missed connection and an impromptu overnight there. The United-side screener couldn't have been a bigger, uh, I can't use that word here. That guy really found a way to find every remaining button I had and dance on them. Argh...

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[astanley]

I've had better experiences at CVG than BOS. But YMMV. Agree on BDL. LAX can be miserable, too. Really miserable. DFW's a mixed bag depending on where you end up bending over.

I broke down and got Clear. It's been a godsend at ORL, IAD, and (on my most recent trip) CVG.

The AA side can really suck, but PLT/EXP really helps. The United/JetBlue side is horrific. Terminal A and E aren't bad, but I'm willing to accept that they are not easy-peasy like other airports.

I hate CVG. I hate it on so many levels. The DL side is a study in Escher-like architecture and the AA side is about as Byzantine as it can get. Security is usually a breeze, though.

Cheers,

-Andrew

 

[mikea]

If you haven't, sit down for a a viewing of "Talking Chance" on HBO.

U.S. Marine Colonel escorts the KIA across the country and gets treated like royalty everywhere with one exception: the TSA gate goon who insisted he send the personal effects through the X-ray scanner belt and take off his uniform jacket so they can X-ray all those dangerous medals.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

My last SSSS at ORD was after a wx-induced missed connection and an impromptu overnight there. The United-side screener couldn't have been a bigger, uh, I can't use that word here. That guy really found a way to find every remaining button I had and dance on them. Argh...

Cheers,

-Andrew

Thanks for the info- I guess I just got lucky then.

 

[flyersfan31]

If you haven't, sit down for a a viewing of "Talking Chance" on HBO.

U.S. Marine Colonel escorts the KIA across the country and gets treated like royalty everywhere with one exception: the TSA gate goon who insisted he send the personal effects through the X-ray scanner belt and take off his uniform jacket so they can X-ray all those dangerous medals.

I've read nothing but good reviews of the movie.

AND YEAH -- KUDOS TO THE PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, AND EVERYONE ELSE FOR SHOWING THE JACKBOOTED THUGS OF TSA IN A BAD LIGHT.

Am I a bad person for thinking that? Probably. Don't care.