Post by Owen on Nov 2, 2014 16:08:12 GMT
1 ~~~ Airports ~ Worldwide ~ Hints & Tips ~~~ 1351
travel-forum.freeforums.net/thread/525/aircraft-airline-airport ~ another related topic
travel-forum.freeforums.net/thread/525/aircraft-airline-airport ~ another related topic
Visiting any airport ~~~ Please
~ wear comfortable footwear
~ take a water bottle
~ camera
~ light-weight wind and waterproof jacket.
~~ handy on any exposed external viewing area
~ Apple iPod or equivalent ~ great for "Find WiFi "
~~~~~
Airports are an excellent advert for the comment "If you cannot walk two feet ~ stay at home"
Just some observations I made over the past twenty five years or so.
There is No bad airport just lots of very different airports in terms of size, layout, number of terminals, general appearance and shared transport to hotels and or city centre.
and
Just your very own attitude to the fascinating world of international travel.
and
Yes, I like to take a checkin case of 15+kg and a carry on (soft sided and flexible backpack) type bag of usually 4+ kg.
Wear a comfortable long sleeve shirt and long trousers with socks and closed shoes.
Light weigh zip jacket means no worries about temperature at any transit or stopover airport.
Same applies within aircraft cabin. Temperatures can and do vary within a cabin and on aircraft of different airlines.
Yes, I have seen passengers board a lunchtime flight to Europe out of Singapore.
They were wearing t-shirt and shorts with rest of clothing in checkin luggage.
It did not take long for mild hyperthermia to set in. Lucky it was not a busy flight and plenty of blankets were available.
Same applies within aircraft cabin. Temperatures can and do vary within a cabin and on aircraft of different airlines.
Yes, I have seen passengers board a lunchtime flight to Europe out of Singapore.
They were wearing t-shirt and shorts with rest of clothing in checkin luggage.
It did not take long for mild hyperthermia to set in. Lucky it was not a busy flight and plenty of blankets were available.
Standing at the carousel looking, seeing and observing your fellow travellers is always educational.
It is unbelievable the number of suitcases (black and red) that have passed me without locks and or any form of identification.
Yes, I always use a TSA combination x3 lock and some colour ribbon and other identification.
Yes, I have always identified my bag as it approached on the carousel.
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AIRPORT
Airports are all very different complexes. International travel would be very dull if airports were identical clones. Many are made up of numerous free standing terminal buildings linked by monorail, shuttle buses, walkways and or underground railway.
First thing you tell your travel agent (TA) is about any mobility impairment health issues that you may be suffering from.
Always wear comfortable footwear and allow plenty of transit time at huge international airports that you may be visiting for the first time. Beware that some travel agents (TA) are more interested in the airline offering the best commission and not their clients welfare.
If you cannot "walk two feet ~ stay at home" is excellent advice for anybody planning travel.
Please hire some excellent travel videos.
Los Angeles, California, USA Airport_LAX
has 7+ terminal buildings all around a U-shaped two level (arrival on lower level and departure on the upper level) multi-lane roadway.
LAX terminal buildings have undergone huge multi million dollar improvements since 2008.
Yes, I like to stay at a hotel minutes walk from Terminal 1.
Yes, I like to walk around the airport (arrival and back up on departure level) before breakfast from about 05:20 once every visit.
Many overdue improvements seen in the last 15years.
LAX now has a brand new international building in the TBIT complex (Tom Bradley International Terminal).
It opened in 2013 and was completed in 2015.
April 2014 a large number of departure gates were serving a variety of Airbus A380 aircraft of many airlines.
It is an impressive building equal to Hong Kong or Singapore Changi Terminal 3.
Keep a water bottle handy.
Wear comfortable footwear and arrange a "golf buggy" if required.
The distances are very large and the signage around the complex is excellent.
Allow time to explore all parts of the departure area.
Never ever forget you will be sitting down for up to 14 hours.
Hong Kong (HKG) airport is a single vast glass sided complex with up to 80 departure gates.
Frankfurt am Main (FRA), Germany is a huge complex.
My favourite airport (landside ~ before passport and security control) for walking marathons in a interesting and never dull air-conditioned environment.
It is spread over two terminal buildings linked by a Skyrail (Monorail).
It contains over 500+ checkin counters.
These cater for very many International, most European airlines and numerous holiday/charter operators.
FRA was built in the 1940's and expanded many times since. It has undergone huge improvements since October 2000.
The most important was to level the floors and replace ALL broken tiles. It eliminated many trip hazards and made it easy to use the "wheelie luggage" around the airport. A similar improvement was carried out at the main central railway station in the city centre of Frankfurt.
Railways:- The airport has two railway stations.
The new international station was completed in the late 1990's in time for the Hanover Fair 2000.
It has a number of hotels, shopping arcade and offices above the train platforms on the concourse level.
A good walk (with moving travellators) to connect you with the airport terminal 1 proper, conference center amd a 5star hotel.
A local station is located deep underground at FRA_Terminal 1.
Trains S8 and S9 will take you to the city and the main central railway station in Frankfurt for under 5Euro single fare.
Beware railway ticket machines accept 5 and 10 Euro notes only.
Most (Germany) railway ticket machines Do Not Accept credit cards (Full Stop).
Visit a ticket office for credit card payment or online purchase.
The main central railway station in the city ~ Frankfurt Hbf (Haufbahnhof).
London Heathrow_LHR, Singapore Changi_SIN, New York_JFK are a few of the big airports that have undergone new or upgraded terminal building projects in the past 15years.
Always take a direct flight or same airline from your home airport to your foreign destination if possible. Sometimes direct flights are possible but travel agents etc will not tell you unless you ask. The travel agent may book you through another major airport in your home country so they can earn airline commission etc. Ask questions of your travel agent and find out what are your airline choices.
Please be wary of any domestic to international connection (of less than 2 hours) at a major airport that you are not familiar with. Same airline connections will simplify the situation with luggage transfer and getting boarding pass etc. Security checks and just finding your way around can be a daunting experience for many infrequent and novice travellers.
