Small airports suck

Here here on the small planes. Only enjoyable part was the walk on the tarmac.

Yet some of the smaller airports have been delightful for me: DLH, CWA, MLI, DSM. Also for Florida, I love flying into Clearwater. So efficient.

 

Fond memories of that airport I have. Christmas Day, 1986, your humble correspondent flew an American Southeast Airways (Delta regional) turboprop into Columbus from Atlanta (I was scheduled to work the desk that afternoon/night after spending Christmas Eve at home). I was feeling the first hints of a stomach bug as I boarded the flight in Atlanta. It took maybe an hour to make the flight, which was punctuated by a barrel-roll before landing. I climbed down the stairs, took a left at the bottom, kneeled down on the tarmac and puked my guts out. I staggered my way to the parking lot to find that my car's battery had died. Fortunately I caught one of our stringers at home and he came out and gave me a jump. I got to my apartment for a few hours sleep before heading in to put out the section. Merry effin' Christmas indeed ...

 

I really like the Reno and Sacramento airports. Both are pretty efficient. I remember Anaheim being OK as well, but that would have been 12-13 years since I've been there...

 

If memory serves, Columbus, GA is on east coast time while Auburn (40 minutes away) was on Central. That was on me, but it fucked me up too... I've had that issue with Detroit as well, I once flew from Minneapolis to Indy through Detroit (don't ask me why), but I'm sure the paper saved at least $20 on the ticket and it was easy to forget that I was changing time zones...

 

Pressurize?

That's not a small plane.

And I'll take an airport with a gravel parking lot and a breakfast counter every time.

 

I've been on some pretty fucked-up flights over the years. The worst was a flight from Golden Triangle Regional (prop jet) to Memphis and that was the only time in my life where I started to wonder if the end was coming. When we landed, the flight attendant got on the loudspeaker and in one of the thickest southern drawls I've ever heard, said...


"I JUST WANT TO THANK Y'ALL FOR BEING SUCH TROOPERS..."

 

Reagan National is hell on earth if you're hungover, flying AirTran, and forget the fact that Terminal A is only barely connected with the rest of the airport. It might as well be in Richmond.

 

John Wayne, Orange County, whatever they call it, is in Santa Ana, not in Anaheim ... but to the point, what takes 2 hours at LAX takes 15 minutes at Orange County.

 

Kansas City sucks only in that it's way the hell north of downtown K.C. and its restaurant choices suck.

 

My bad. I thought it was Anaheim.

You just added a third thing I have done in Santa Ana:
Eaten at a really good tacqueria.
Purchased a tiara for a quinceanera.
Flwon into and out of the airport.

 

I love my hometown, but Milwaukee's airport is the worst I've ever connected through. Individual security for each terminal without freedom of movement between them? Maybe four restaurants in the entire dump?

Billy Mitchell is rolling around in his grave.

 

I had to make an international connection through O'Hare last summer. I got off plane number one with 90 minutes to spare to get to flight number two. The process took so freakin' long, I sprinted the last section of terminal and they closed the doors behind me as I got on the plane.