A Rant About Airports

I got back from Algeria yesterday. More on that later. After spending the night before at Newark Airport and having visited more than 10 airports this year, I realized that there are whole lot of things that airport designers should think of when making an airport. So here is my list of things that would greatly improve the air travel experience. Some airports do these things well. Some do them terribly.

1. Water. There should always be water fountains next to the bathrooms. I don't want to spend $2 on a bottle of water. Now that liquids are banned, I bring a stainless steel water bottle specifically so that I can fill it up before getting on the plane. Airports in the US are generally good about having lots of fountains, but in other countries they're almost impossible to find. Give us our water!

2. Bathrooms. Frankfurt airport somehow had single stall bathrooms in the US terminal. Planes to the US hold hundreds of people and the terminal holds more than a handful of planes. Do you know how long a line gets when there are less than 20 single-stall bathrooms in the whole terminal? Airports, of all places, should have, if anything, many MORE bathrooms than they think necessary.

3. Outlets. Everyone wants to charge their phone/Kindle/laptop/iPad at the airport. The worst thing is when you need to call home to tell them your flight is cancelled and you're stuck in X city but your phone is dead and you can't find a charger. Just put them everywhere. People will find them. And don't limit outlets to the charging stations. I don't want to sit in a small space with a bunch of businessmen who are talking on their phones. I want to sit on the floor somewhere with an outlet in the wall or in the floor and well away from obnoxious talkers.

4. Carts. There is no way a cart is worth $5. Or $4. Or even $2. At the grocery store you don't have to pay for a cart, even though it's a convenience. Now that people have to pay to check luggage this is an even more ludicrous fee. If I paid $50 to check the 2 big suitcases I now want to put on a cart, the least you can do is give me the cart for free! The worst part is in airports where it's banned to take the cart onto the train that connects terminals. I'm expected to pay $5 for a cart in Terminal A only to realize soon after that I can't bring said cart with me to Terminal C? So, I have to unload all my stuff, schlepp it onto the train and to Terminal C, where I have to pay $5 for another cart? Ridiculous! One could say, "Just don't pack so much stuff if you can't carry it, you hoarder." But sometimes you just need a lot of stuff, and don't want to drag it all around. And many times the wheels break of a rolling bags due to rough handling by airport staff, making even one bag a pain to drag around. Carts. Free. End of story.

5. Flight departure/arrival screens. There is nothing more infuriating than trying to find a flight time or gate only to realize that the screen, situated in a public space in the middle of the airport, only lists US Airways flights. Just put all airlines on the same damn board! Does it save anyone time to have to wander around aimlessly until they happen on the screen that is for their airline's flights? Sort them by time, not by destination city. I don't want to read through a list of 7 flights going to JFK until I find the one I'm on. Logic has it that people are thinking more about the departure time of their flight than the destination. So, put them in order by departure/arrival time. And, list the current time on the board as well. If you don't know what time it is now, how do you know how much time you have to get to your gate? And that leads to my next point:

6. Clocks. Not everyone wears a watch. Not everyone has a phone. And even those who do, phones don't always automatically update a time zone change. So put clocks everywhere. No one wants to miss their flight because their watch said 12:30 but it was actually 1:30 and they didn't know there was a time zone change. Often on flights, the attendants announce the current time upon landing, but not all do, and not everyone hears the announcements. Put clocks on every wall if you have to!

7. Food. People spend time at airports on both sides of security. Make sure there are food options on both sides, or at least make it painfully clear where the food purchase options are. There is nothing worse than going through security early to play it safe only to realize there are minimal food options. I want food court options, not just the short section of refrigerator space where shady fruit and $7 sandwiches are sold. Airports suggest people go to their gate immediately and not dally on the check-in side of security, but who wants to sit at their gate where there are no places to eat? Since flights don't serve food, there should be many options within the terminals for connecting passengers and departing passengers, but also on the public side of security. Nothing worse than a long drive to the airport only to find out that there's nowhere where my dad can buy a coffee or where we can have a last bite to eat as a family. Put food everywhere! People will buy it, even though it's absurdly overpriced.

8. Chairs. Why on earth would you put horribly uncomfortable metal chairs in an airport, one place where you KNOW people are going to be sitting for potentially hours at a time?? And for those people stuck at an airport overnight or due to long delays, just don't put armrests on the chairs so that people can lie down. Everyone within security is paying, traveling customer, so there's no excuse that if the chairs are too comfortable, the homeless will flock there. People want to sleep, and no one wants to sleep on the floor! Pad the chairs - it can't be that much more expensive. And your customers will be much more understanding of their long delay if they can nap comfortably while they wait to get home.

9. And finally, we get to my last rant. Code sharing. Twice this year I went to the wrong terminal because, while my itinerary said Continental Flight XXX, my flight was actually United Flight YYY. Duh? No! There must be some reason for the airlines to do code sharing, but I don't think it should involve me. If you want to sell me a flight as Lufthansa that is operated by Air Canada, fine, but just tell me what I need to know. Print my itinerary with information that is actually USEFUL to me. Put on the paper what the plane says on the outside. That's all. I don't care that the Air Canada flight is also Lufthansa, Delta, United, American and Alitalia on paper. I care that I can find the right terminal and the right check-in counter. I care that I'm flying the airline I think I'm flying - it's not cool to get to the airport expecting good international airline service and instead getting American airline service. Save the code sharing stuff for behind the scenes.