Airport Reviews

Manchester Airport

Manchester Airport is a major international airport here in the UK and as such has the full range of shops and food places. Nothing spectacular in the food stakes- there used to be a kind of sushi bar there which was quite cool but I'm not sure it was still there last time I looked. Just all the bog standard things, nothing too hideous, nothing too great. I do like their O'Brien's Irish Sandwich Bar because it has nice comfy sofas in it, but you have to be quick, because it's small.

I did sleep there once as previously mentioned which was OK.

Warning: there is indeed a train station there, but it is a bloody long walk from the terminals so don't be thinking it's a quick change and there's no coach service between or anything so you have to walk it.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

This will have to be a quick and dirty review of the airport in Detroit, as I was only there the once, and briefly (after my niece's wedding in Detroit we drove up to my sister's place in Ontario, then my Aunt Kitty who lived then in St David's near Niagara Falls drove me down to Buffalo Airport in New York, from where I flew back to JFK).

Which reminds me, it's really crap how in the UK, virtually every transport system (buses, underground systems, trains, planes) forces you to buy return tickets by making singles (one way tickets) nearly as expensive as a return, thereby doubling your cost if you want to go back via a different route. It cost me no more to return to Scotland from Detroit via different airports than if I'd gone via the exact same airports because singles are half the cost of returns.

Anyway, yes, Detroit. Grubby little airport from what I saw, but the staff were really nice and helpful. Sums up Detroit itself in a way- it's no surprise that Michael Moore and Eminem are from that region. A sad place because the evidence is all there of a once great city and region, but it's very depressed and full of desperately poor people. You certainly don't get that "Have a nice day!" attitude in the shops which makes you realise that the US is not the same all the way through like a piece of Brighton Rock. What you do get is similar to that Glasgow attitude- people will be friendly and helpful if you need it, and if you approach them in a friendly way. I had a lovely taxi driver when I spent about $US100 on a pair of tights for my wedding outfit- there were no shops in the city centre and I had to be driven out to a nearby town. The service in my hotel was crap but the staff themselves were nice as anything. It's overwhelmingly African American there too which might lend a different style to the culture that I'm just not used to. I finally got to try grits; it was standard as part of the hotel's cooked breakfast. I liked grits.

There were signs on the motorway (the one that takes you under all the bridges, such as the Eight Mile Bridge) warning you that there is a fine of however many $US if you injure or kill a workman on the motorway. I was deeply shocked by this as it seemed to be implying that the workers' lives were worth very little, and basically only a monetary value at that. Surely people would avoid hitting a workman on the motorway for the simple reason that it's wrong to kill another human being? And surely if you did you would be charged with something accordingly by the police?

Philadelphia Airport as a stopover

It's quite important to review these small American airports because if you are ever travelling via the US, you will likely have to make some odd detours because of how the routing system works there. There is often a choice about which stopover you use.

Philadelphia Airport is great. It has an enormous Ben & Jerry's stall, the likes of which I've never seen here, and other good American style food outlets. I bought a top for about $US90 in one of the boutiques- put it down to jetlag and boredom but I still like the top, it's very unusual and the shop was clearly an outlet for local designers. There were nice views of greenery out the windows, and the place was clean and modern, and the seating was comfy enough.

Also the staff in the gates were nice. I had a good experience there. None of this cattle-market/security overkill bullshit. Some American airports are crap you see.

I don't really want to go down the road of reviewing airport websites here (too much like my day job) but at a quick glance Philadelphia's website is much better than any others I've seen so far; it includes accessibility features, has a nice design and has an interactive Flash map of the airport.

Didn't sleep at LaGuardia

Last year I had a journey which involved the most number of airports in a row that I've experienced yet. I went to my niece's wedding in Detroit and the journey went: Glasgow - Heathrow - New York LaGuardia - New York JFK - Philadelphia - Detroit.

I arrived at LaGuardia very late one evening and my connecting flight was from JFK early the next day. I'd originally planned to sleep at one of the two New York airports to save money; there are regular coaches between them. In the end though, I decided that since there would be a tiring journey after New York, I would sleep for a few hours in a hotel between them which also offered regular coaches.

I was very glad of it because my impression of LaGuardia was that it is like a large city bus terminal with all the variety of life that involves. I felt quite unsafe there just looking for my transfer to the hotel late at night. Although it was my first time in New York so my internal prejudices may have come in to play. I spent three days enjoying New York on my way back home and now it's my favourite place in the universe. However, I probably still wouldn't sleep at LaGuardia. JFK is different.

And that's all I've got to say about LaGuardia.

Sleeping in Airports

I haven't done much sleeping in airports- the one time I really needed to was at Manchester Airport on the way back from a fantastic trip to Lesbos for a work conference. The airport was really quiet so I had a good sleep if I recall. However, if this is what you are interested in finding out about, check out the website "The Budget Traveller's Guide to Sleeping in Airports".

Interesting that my no. 1 pick for UK airports is also their no. 2 pick for airports-to-sleep-in. Stansted.