<p>I think that parents are more well-traveled than the students.</p>
<p>You can list the top 5.</p>
<p>My favorite is probably West Palm Beach, Florida. Believe it or not, I also like O’Hare.</p>
<p>My least favorites are Detroit (though they were refurbishing it last I looked), LAX (a madhouse), and in Charlotte, NC you can watch the paint peel.</p>
<p>My favorite is White Plains NY (HPN)-- just four gates – security takes no time – and they fly to lots of places that I seem to need to go. I also like O’Hare (ORD) and Orlando (MCO).</p>
<p>Kona, Hawaii. It smells like plumeria and sea breezes. And you’re in Hawaii.</p>
<p>Portland, Oregon. Small, friendly, has a wine bar, and fast security lines.</p>
<p>Seattle, WA. I’m either coming home, which is nice, or leaving on a trip, which is also nice. They have a great seafood restaurant and two Starbucks–one inside security, one outside.</p>
<p>Minneapolis. Lots of good food and a zillion stores for those long layovers.</p>
<p>Minneapolis was the easiest airport to get into and out of while we lived in the midwest. I also really liked the Albuquerque and Phoenix airports, mostly for their decor. I like Atlanta, for the restaurants and shopping. Boston is a mess, but it has improved over the last five years. I agree that LAX is bad, but Orange County is nice.</p>
<p>I have been to Seatac- blech-
um- some little thing in Co Springs? was that an airport?
I like the Portland train station- Vancouver BC is ok too- although it is a little disconcerting to see men going out of the womens restroom ( one or the other is always closed)
The Seattle station is being updated and I was just there this morning- I think it could be pretty nice- if they would add an espresso cart 
Ive never flown to Portland- I always either need my car- or it doesn’t really seem like it would save much time because Seatac is often a pita w traffic- unless I remember to go the backroads
Seatac wouldn’t be bad- but I have been there waiting for flights that are delayed for hours and had little kids with me who were “starving to death” but we couldn’t find anything- not even machines
really airports are just glorified bus stations
( of which I cannot recommend the Greyhound station in Seattle- GOD- D for some reason took greyhound coming down from Bellingham/well I told her to, otherwise her friend was not only coming to pick her up, but she was going to drive her back- she has only gone Greyhound a couple times- but such interesting stories!!!um ya-)
The buses you get from Amtrak though A+ We took a Amtrak bus to Vancouver BC- very nice-</p>
<p>I love Long Island/Islip because there are no lines, Southwest kicks ass, and there is a TGI Fridays right by the gates so I can have awsome food before a flight.</p>
<p>Mini, my son says O’Hare stinks. What do I need to know about using it to make my visit pleasant this summer? I’ll be using it for an internal and international flight.</p>
<p>Also, does anyone use Albuquerque? What is it like?</p>
<p>McCarran in Las Vegas is the best. You can shop, eat, gamble, drink, smoke and people watch to your heart’s content. It’s Vegas baby! :D</p>
<p>Overseas, my kids have always liked OHare. It is huge, crowded, and full of people, but it has some cool things, like a great neon sculpture in one connection area. If you have enough time between flights and aren’t rushed, it’s not so bad.</p>
<p>Oh, and I was in Albuquerque a few weeks ago. Small and easy to deal with. Didn’t find any good food, though. Friendly security people, and very quick to get through security.</p>
<p>I was stranded at the Albuquerque airport once, while flying with H and kids. There was a mixup about whose car I was riding in to leave the airport, and I spent a couple of hours hanging around, checking out the bookstores, and findind a latte. It was actually fun, and is something we still laugh about – I guess I’m not that easy to lose! (I just waited until another family member’s flight arrived, and caught a ride with her to the destination.)</p>
<p>Sounds good! I will look for artistic touches to O’Hare and not worry about New Mexico…except for maybe the chili.</p>
<p>Also best place to get a real street-vendor style Vienna Beef. And Stage Deli. It’s bright and atmospheric. And…if your plane is cancelled, there is probably the largest number of alternatives.</p>
<p>Ask a college admission officer about this one and you’ll get more than a top 5! My picks:</p>
<p>1. Boston - In my 10 years in Boston, I had fewer than 5 delayed flights going out of that airport. It’s a big airport that feels small. They have a separate security check point for those on the BOS/LGA/DC shuttles, too, which is great for frequent fliers.</p>
<p>2. Regan - It’s expensive to fly to/from this one, but it’s on the DC metro line, which makes up for that (flights from Dulles and BWI are cheaper, but require a rental car).</p>
<p>3. Cincinnati (CVG in Covington, KY) - By far, the friendliest TSA people ever work at this airport. It’s a hub, but tiny compared to ATL and O’Hare.</p>
<p>4. Minneapolis - Physically, a great airport. Sadly, I’ve had bad experiences with staff there.</p>
<p>5. STL - St. Louis is another “big-little” airport. Lots of flights, but it doesn’t feel chaotic. Friendly staff, good transportation options.</p>
<p>Honorable mention: Providence, RI (PVD) - One terminal with speedy lines and quick service. A fantastic alternative to BOS.</p>
<p>My bottom 5:
1. ATL - Yuck, yuck, yuck! Cancelled flights, delayed flights, limited food choices, complete chaos</p>
<p>2. O’Hare - More delays, more chaos</p>
<p>3. Dulles - Horrible traffic, horrible parking situation ($9 per day!), constantly under construction, you have to ride in what feels like an old military vehicle to get from the main terminal to certain other ones.</p>
<p>4. BWI - Out of the way, lost baggage is common, very, very crowded.</p>
<p>5. Las Vegas - Insane security lines, non-existent staff, poor signage (red, blue, north, south, which way do I go?).</p>
<p>Reagan is my favorite; in several years of using it at least once a month, I have never had a delay or bad experience of any kind, plus, I can do all sorts of work while I’m there. Have never used Dulles but BWI comparatively is sort of yucky.</p>
<p>Tampa is also fast and easy, and I absolutely LOVE Atlanta - can do all sorts of things there - work, shop, etc. </p>
<p>I used to like Logan but recently endured a flight delay there. And Newark is o.k. once inside the gates. Miami International is a nightmare but endlessly entertaining. I don’t like San Diego, or LAX. </p>
<p>I think what makes an airport good or bad is the experiences you have while there, and your flight connections, and is it clean, etc.</p>
<p>Probably the BEST airport is your home base - there’s nothing like the fantastic feeling of finally arriving home after a business trip, and you know that you’re a short car ride away from your own bed and all that is comfortable, happy and familiar, oh a where there is also lots of healthy, “real” food.</p>
<p>I’ve been to a lot of em, and as a foreign national sometimes my experience at the airport has a lot to do with what the immigration officers are like. </p>
<p>The Good</p>
<p>Kona, HI-- There is no terminal building! You just walk off the plane and there’s the baggage carousel covered by a shade :)</p>
<p>Denver-- We’ve had layovers at this one a few times, though we’ve never stopped in the city itself, and we have never lost our bags or missed a connection. It’s crowded, but hardly chaotic, and pretty nice and well maintained.</p>
<p>Newark-- Same distance to Manhattan as JFK, but flights are on time and it’s far less crowded! Also the immigration and customs officers are nice (a lot of them are “people of color” so seeing some baklava in your suitcase doesn’t make them freak out and treat you like a criminal)</p>
<p>San Jose-- Coming in on an international flight I think this was the quickest I ever cleared immigration.</p>
<p>San Francisco-- Okay so the lines are very, very long! But there’s free internet usage, nice places to eat, and it’s aesthetically pleasing, hehe.</p>
<p>The Bad</p>
<p>Dallas-Ft. Worth-- We flew in here on an international flight, on our way to DC. PRE 9/11 we were treated like criminals by the immigration officers and spoken to like we were ■■■■■■■■. Btw, it was a woman (my mom) travelling with two children (13 and 11) so I don’t think we were particularly menacing. Plus it was clear that we spoke perfect English. Also they didn’t let us into the Red Carpet Club even though we had first class tickets, just because our tickets were international. Typical xenophobic Americans.</p>
<p>Myrtle Beach-- Good lord! I’ve been there twice and had bad experiences both times, but I’m not sure if either one was the fault of the airport. Either way, I can’t help but associate it with those incidents! The first time we flew out of Myrtle Beach there was bad weather and our flight got diverted to Atlantic City, where my brother and I (we were unaccompanied) sat in the airport for 3 hours. The second time, our baggage didn’t arrive on the way in.</p>
<p>US Customs and Immigration is not run by the airport. Sorry for your experience, but DFW Airport has nothing to do with what happens inside of the government run areas. Clearing customs is a crap shoot at every airport IMHO, depending on what officers you get. I’ll take DFW and San Juan over JFK, Miami, and O’Hare any day for clearing customs. That said, I’m not crazy about DFW (home airport), but the new international terminal D is very nice.</p>
<p>Overseas, chile I can help you with. EVERYTHING comes with your choice of “red or green” which means red chile sauce or green chile sauce. They are from the same kind of hot pepper–red chile is dried and powdered (and has a very faint sweetness to go with the heat) before being made into sauce and green chile is a chunky hot sauce made from not quite ripe peppers. My favorite breakfast in Santa Fe had red chile sauce over homefried potatoes as part of it. And “adovado” means the meat was simmered for hours in the red chile sauce. Pork adovado tacos were wonderful. I bought pounds of red chile powder to bring home–the local variety was better than anything I’ve bought around here.</p>
<p>Best in what regard? Passenger comfort? Lack of delays? connections? As a recently retired air traffic controller of 34 years I automatically think in terms of which airport is best to move planes in and out of quickly. The answer to that one is Atlanta. Period.</p>
<p>Me and your congressman like National…</p>