Airports

Airports fascinate me. My first flight was Miami-Heathrow, so I experienced very large airports (and very large aircrafts) first. The first time I flew out of Tallahassee, I was shocked that sometimes you have to actually walk out onto the tarmac and climb stairs to board the plane... as if it was still the 1970s. This past summer I flew in and out of the tiniest airport... Cedar City, Utah. It was pretty much a lodge, with a whopping 40 seats in one room, with a fireplace. There were about five employees in the whole place, and you had to wait until someone was "manning security" before you could pass through an all-glass room to get to the "terminal room." But, there was free internet, so that worked for me.

When I'm planning a trip (which I do quite a bit of), part of my planning process is choosing airports for layovers. There are a few airports I've hit several times, and a bunch that I loathe (along with a few that I LOVE). I'm sure you feel the same (assuming that you enjoy flying, since there are people who don't, and tend to book non-stop flights if at all possible). What makes a good layover airport for me:
- good choice of eateries of all types. if they only have good lunch places, they're not going to be ideal for an early-morning flight. this also means that they need to have more than one coffee shop, in the event I want something caffein-y, as I do not enjoy a 20-minute wait.
- no more than three terminals. I inevitably end up needing to travel from one to the other, and if the layover is short, I freak out about rushing to the far-end of the airport.
- some neat shops. not the typical bookstore and Brookstone, but something regional. I VERY rarely buy anything, but I love to browse.
- free internet. when I travel, I tend to get behind in correspondence and other reading, so I try to get online when possible (especially if I'm staying at a hotel that charges big bucks to get online).
- accessible wall outlets. I know that many airports now have charging stations. But those areas are generally crowded, and I appreciate being able to find a more secluded spot, yet still be able to charge my cell phone or plug in my laptop (because I think it's selfish to use more than one outlet, and people at the charging stations generally feel there's no shame in taking up four spaces each).
- interesting architecture. this one isn't as big a deal as some of the others, but particularly if I'm traveling alone, I love to wander the entire airport, marvelling at the design of the place.
- terminals that don't regionalize their gates. Meaning, I don't like sitting in a terminal (example Salt Lake City) and every gate around me is going to a really close place (in SLC, I sat near people going to various California, Utah, and Nevada cities). I much prefer sitting in a terminal where people are going to NYC, Chicago, ATL, Vegas, etc. This makes for much more interesting people-watching. ;)

Using these standards, my absolute favorite layover airport is Cincinatti. My least favorite is LAX.
Cincinatti: Wetzel's Pretzels (2), Auntie Anne's, Dunkin Donuts, Starbucks (3), Peet's (2), Quizno's, Subway, Carvel/Cinnabon, Mrs. Fields/TCBY, Sbarro, QDOBA, a chili place. Then there's a "Kentucky" shop and a toy store. Internet's free in Terminal B. And there is a ton of seating with NOBODY there... outlets are a little sparse, but worse has happened.
LAX: omg useless. the place was designed a million years ago, and the trams and planes share travel space. Don't change terminals (and there's like 8 of them) or you have to go through security AGAIN. There may be a Boudin (2) but not much else of interest aside from See's Candy. The place is crowded. And delays are everywhere. People drag their kids behind them. There are no outlets. The only thing I like about LAX are the commuter flights to San Diego... easy.

Other thoughts I have on airports:
Airports I favor: Orlando.
Airports I have no opinion about: Atlanta. Miami. Denver. Raleigh. CDG.
Airports I avoid: Tampa. Salt Lake City. SeaTac.

This weekend, I'll add Phoenix to the list of airports I've had a layover in, and I imagine I'll talk about it a bit over on my other blog. Which airports are your favorite? What qualities do you look for?