- 4 May 2011
- 5:15pm
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Other
What would you like to see at airports?
Bill LawfordLonely Planet author
Airports. They’re that place you’ve often got an awkward amount of time to spend – not long enough for a trip into the city, but too long to just hang out drinking litre upon litre of bad coffee. So wouldn’t it be nice if airports were destinations in themselves, places where you hoped your plane would be delayed, just so you could linger a little longer.
That’s why we liked this post on the Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forum: Things I want to see in airports. N_rb, who started the thread, wants a barber shop and somewhere to buy clean socks and underwear.
What are the other most desired airport must-haves? We asked the Lonely Planet community of frequent travellers for their suggestions. It turns out that while airports have shown themselves willing to innovate with 4-storey slides, free spray tans, dance lessons and writers in residence, sometimes people are just keen for a really good version of the basics. Airports, take note:
A place to freshen up
Without doubt, a fresh change of clothes, a shower, maybe even a haircut and a shave, are exactly what’s required to freshen up between flights. ManchVegas suggests a push-cart style shop selling reasonably priced t-shirts, socks and underwear (rather than the leather gloves, cowboy hats and business ties that currently plague airports). And please, access to showers for us plebs who aren’t ‘special lounge club’ members.
A place to lie down
Sometimes all we want is a bit of a lie-down. And we don’t mean by trying to pretend that two hard plastic lounge seats maketh a bed. Rent-by-the-minute bedrooms sound good – thanks Pizza_Wheel for the idea – well, until you wake up and realise you have a bill coming to you for 700 minutes. A billing system that altered your rate depending on whether you’d stayed two days or two hours would fix that. Maybe the room could even be ‘aware’ of your flight number and wake you up when your flight is getting ready to board.
A place to recharge your batteries (literally)
We vote for ultra-compact, cubicle-style rooms that have free Wifi and ports to charge your phone, laptop, etc. That way you could leave your phone on charge somewhere secure if you wanted to roam the airport for a while.
A place to eat well
Food is a major bugbear for most time-stranded travellers. It seems what most of us want after consuming tray after tray of airplane food is not a palate-carpeting bucket of deep-fried chicken, an impotently deflated burger or some tepid yellow fries. Airports have a constant stream of customers who can’t really go anywhere else, so decent restaurants, using fresh produce to make tasty meals at affordable prices – as opposed to what you generally find in airports – shouldn’t be a rarity. Or, as one of our Facebookers Peg suggested, how about just somewhere that offered fresh fruit or ingredients to make your own sandwich with?
A place to stow the kids
For travellers with young children who have been ‘enjoying each other’s company’ during a long-haul flight, Andrea on Facebook suggested ‘safe play areas for children with child-sized bathrooms’ – yeah, basically somewhere to leave the flight-crazed kids for a couple of hours before you lose your mind. But what do you do while the kids are living it up at Chez Enfant? N_rb mentioned the frustration at forgetting to take that book you’re in the middle of. It seems Taiwan airport is already looking to solve this problem, setting up the world’s first e-library and giving commuters the chance to curl up with a good rented device. Or how about a big, comfy airport cinema to while away the hours?
A place to work out
But maybe sitting down to read or watch a film for a few of hours isn’t what you’re looking for after being on a plane…sitting down for hours and hours. An in-airport gym was a popular idea, for those wanting to remind themselves that they’re a living, breathing, vital being and not just another drooling queue-zombie with an L-shaped spine. And how about a pool? Surely heated and outdoor would be the way to go here, so you could enjoy a lazy float around while taking in some much needed fresh air (and yes, alright, maybe with a dash of aviation-gas fumes, too).
Other suggestions included a laundromat, a place to meet other passengers and play board games, as well as somewhere to meet other passengers and ‘meet up’ more intimately. While some of us can’t think of anything worse than getting off a plane to do the washing or getting up close and personal with more strangers, perhaps these could all be taken care of with one big laundromatic-Ludo-love-lounge.
Surely the most innovative idea we received, however, was from our Facebook friend Paolo. It was a little out there, sure, but he suggested a concept which involved extra staff at airports. These extra staff would help lessen the enormous queues at baggage, check-in, security and immigration, thereby cutting down our hellish waits at the airport. Keep on dreamin’, Paolo. I think you’ll see the advent of the laundromatic-Ludo-love-lounge before that happens.
I’d like to see a trusted traveller program implemented. And micro-hotels in more airports.
I’d like to see a garden or other outside area that isn’t concrete or tarmac only
Lending libraries
Several kiosks listing “real-time” recommendations for restaurants, hotels, attractions, etc. including current discounts when the traveler selects their destination and info type. (Esp. if your mobile phone is being charged.)
I would like to see somewhere where you can sit outside on a patio, some time of resting spot cafe, restuarant, where you can watch the planes take off. :)
“A place to stow the kids”
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol already offers a complete playground to set the kiddos away. Parents are able to acces the WWW by using one of the iPads in the lounge, which is accessible for ALL PASSENGERS!
What else do you want?
Free wifi, is a must!
Showers are essential. Something that I love about Singapore Airport is the ability to pop in for a shower while on a short layover…
For a start I just would like to see efficiency of services… and airports build for commuters.
I wish airports could be more like CdG in Paris, easy to get in by train, metro or car, easy to get out. Organized by satellites, with easy and fast access to airplanes. Fast luggage delivery. Ans without miles of corridors like in Amsterdam of the infamous Zaventem Brussels airport. And yes, I would like to see hotels that you can rent by the hour… like in Paris CdG…
FREE WIFI is primary, water station 2nd, duty free 3rd
DFW covers my basic requirements. Cool River Cafe in Terminal D has an awesome multi-napkin-requiring chipotle burger and wine by the glass. Both Terminal D and Terminal B have branches of La Bodega which has Texas wines by the glass. Don’t need clean socks/underwear as I travel with synthetic fast-drying clothes that I wash in my hotel room’s bathroom sink. The new international terminal of Madrid’s airport has some really good food options and some great shops for the mall-nuts. I second willyong on FREE WIFI. Most airports I’ve passed through have this. Stunningly enough, DFW has numerous free WiFi networks available, but I’ve never been able to get a good connection there! And @stephanebazin, Logan Airport in Boston has a transit stop a bit of a walk from the terminal. It is an elevated station there, but the train goes under the bay in a tunnel and runs by most of the main hotels, etc.
More places to just SIT, apart from flight waiting areas. I’ve often just wished for a college-studying type of area, where you could just sit in a comfy chair and go on your laptop without everyone staring at you. No more fishbowl feelings!
Singapore Airport is no 1 for me, has all of the above,that people seem to be looking for, I wish more countries would follow suite!! (Heathrow!! esp) Singapore has Hotels, in each terminal you can book in 6 hour blocks, beautiful gardens everywhere, Butterfly gardens free to look at in Terminal 3. Lots of comphy Seating everywhere,Free Movie Theatre.Pay Gym and Showers ( for a quick stopover(pretty reasonable charges) Hairdressers, oh and yes they do have a swimming pool in terminal 1 (charges) and Lots of Free Internet Kiosks everywhere. Its the Cleanest and most Plesant Airport I have been in, with Wonderful Restroom fac as well. Lots of Food outlets, even Burger King or McDs cant remember which. And never seem to be kept waitng in lines for checkins or departures10/10
Of all the airports I had stepped into, Suvarnabhumi (pronounced “su-wan-na-poom”) International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand is for me, 2nd to none in terms of the grandeur of its architectural design. Setting my sight on the three-ply membrane roof consisting of Teflon-coated glass fiber, a coated inner membrane and transparent polycarbonate sheets on a steel cable and mesh structure fitted with opaque fritted glass made me wish that I could spend much more time in the place.
Have been there last time many years back but I didn’t realize that it’s a swimming pool and showers. How ’bout SuwannaPum BKK? Hongkong? KL is not bad. Huge and spacious.
Yeah, more places for kids to play would be great! I suggested this to both the Customer Relations Manager and the Commercial Manager of Brisbane International Airport in Australia – my home airport – prior to their recent upgrades but was told this wouldn’t be pursued “for various reasons”… They couldn’t tell me what these reasons were though!
For me Singapore Airport ticks all the boxes though!
I would like to see “boredom busters” at the airport. This includes poker machines, pinball machines, wide screen tv and children’s playground. There is nothing worse than waiting around for delayed flights.
Some of the suggestions in the main article are right off the wall. “Make your own sandwiches”? Sure.
As a traveller in transit you are a captive audience. The airport knows this. That’s why none of this stuff is there, and why almost none of it ever will be.
Also, bear in mind that when some of these services are introduced, the cost will be a minimum of 3 times what you’d pay outside.
Comments like this, “I would like to see “boredom busters” at the airport. This includes poker machines, pinball machines, wide screen tv and children’s playground. There is nothing worse than waiting around for delayed flights.” remind me how ill-at-ease people can be with themselves.
What’s so bad about sitting for a couple of hours in one spot, observing yourself and observing life.
Instead of all these shops selling the same rubbish you can buy everywhere else, I would like to see a skatepark. They could rent out skateboards and bmx bikes, and employ local people to carry your bags while you transit between flights in style. Or for more lazy people a fake beach. Also I’d like to see the airport staff dressed in really sexy , retro fifties style uniforms. And you should be able to adjust the speed on that walking pavement thing.
Hi all of you, :)
From my point of view, I would like to have: micro-hotels (like this you don’t have to leave the airport for few hours), free wifi, cheap prices and better food.
Like always, here you have my blog bagpacktraveller.blogspot.com about my trips and pictures of my trips
hope that you will enjoy it
Daniel Murillo Mir
Singapore Airport has it all for me, too, all that people have asked for above. Again, 10 out of 10 for that airport! I even love the smell – it is particular to Singapore Airport and you know you have arrived when you smell it. ;-) Loving it!!
I would like to take out all “insecurity establishments” such as passport controls and visas, make airports accessible to everyone, and stop employing people who are paid to treat passengers as if they were criminals or terrorists. No one benefits from this.
Only after this situation is improved, one can talk of free wi-fi, showers, food…
Iceland’s Keflavik is one perfect airport (in occasional ash-free conditions, naturally). Try to beat the Blue Lagoon hot springs spa mere 10 km away!
KL International is definitely one of the best for me. Always clean, spacious, a train zipping off to the arrivals terminal every 5 minutes, 3 very comfortable lounges (trust me, I was stuck there for 9 hours!) 1 being a Sports lounge, a Movie lounge and a News lounge. :D
There is a Eco-Garden right in the middle of the Station Terminal too!
The night staff at the Burger King were hilarious! Most staff are quite friendly in general.
If you’re lucky and your stop-over is timed just right, you can go on their short tour of the city too. :)
The only thing I didn’t like were their toilets.. I respect other cultures and customs, but I really do prefer sitting on something when I use the loo. :O
Wouldn’t mind having a stop-over there again!
All this is very good to read i enjoyed this article
After spending hours cramped up breathing in recycled air, the last thing I want is to sit inside breathing in air-conditioned air, so for me a nice outdoor garden area with plants/grass/tress and seats, preferably also non-smoking!
Agree with the above posters, Singapore Changi is the best airport by far.
Sorry to be controversial but I don’t want any of this stuff. All I want is a domestic terminal at Heathrow (a bit like T1 used to be).
If I’m flying within the UK , I want to get off the plane and be in a cab in two minutes and when I come back I don’t want all the crowds and hassle of T5.
I would like to see shorter queues. In fact no queues at all . In fact no people , just air hostesses offering neck massages and free booze
Free wifi! “Free” meaning without payment. In most airports “free wifi” means that wifi is “freely available – against payment”! But you can try and seat yourself near a lounge where it is NOT against payment!
How can anyone in his sane state of mind praise Souuvanna-something in Bangkok. It surely is a candidate for “world’s worst airport”. Endless queues at check-in, immigration, security. Signage for gates is hopeless. Nowhere to sit quietly (except on metal chairs at gates). Only very expensive shops. Always very crammed. It seems there are some many people there, since everybody’s lost! Surely a good example of how NOT to make an airport!
1. English Must be use as common language at all airport around the world. I was at TRIPOLI airport and it was only Arabic being use there.
2. Free WiFi
3. Free Internet Cafe Zone having some PC for those who don’t carry LapTop or Wifi devices.
4. Shower Zones with facility to hang our bags and other items. in some airport shower places are there but nothing to hang our bags while taking shower.
5. Free zone for passenger to lay down and relax.
6. Cheaper food
7. Cloak Room
8. Free Gifts as souvenir of that country or airport.
9. Proper and complete information display
10. Airport Map to placed at different areas of Airport with showing the locations of different available facilities and amenities at airport.
Macdonalds and Burger King are not food! That’s half the complaint with the foods available. Heathrow (not a great airport otherwise) has Pret a Manger – fresh, fresh food, for example. Cape Town And Johannesburg airports have full grocery stores where you can buy ready-made fresh foods or make-your-own ingredients…and excellent coffee shops that sell real coffee.
Comfortable seating and proper ablutions would be top of my list for a long lay-over – I wouldn’t even mind paying for a shower. Schiphol has better loos than most, but no place to change properly after a 12hour flight.
Rather than post suggestions here, send them to this bloke
Colin_Matthews@baa.com
He runs Heathrow and keeps telling EVERYONE that their customers come first every time and ALL the time
Nick_Cullen@baa.com
He is the Chief Operating Officer,
This is what they have to say about him
quote.”His role is critical to continuously improving operations at Heathrow and making every journey better for our passengers and airlines” unquote
These are the people that can make it happen at ALL BAA Airports, it wont happen in here
I don´t know. I can only tell what I saw once at JFK while I was stucked for three days !
http://vimeo.com/17790667
this article is describing DUbai’s airport to the T. they’ve got airport smoking rooms, quiet areas with extended chairs that are built to lie on, plenty stations with tv and plugs from all over the world where you can charge your laptop or cell phone or anything you need. showers accessible to anyone who wants – just bring your own shower jell; there’s a nice garden and fo koi pond in terminal 3.
has anyone figured out how they could build Terminal 5 @ Heathrow without showers … they say you must transfer to Terminal 1 … that, wifi, recharging stations and fresh food restaurant are my essentials
I hate airports so I’d love to find myself in an airport that does not look like an airport: trees, open air, ponds. I like the Jakarta airport because it’s simple and has trees… it’s just that there is glass between passage way and the gardens!
trvler – pretty arrogant that everyone in the world must speak English. You should learn their language.
More places to sit comfortably and good food. Not sure I would want to shower with strangers. Just get me in and out in a timely manner. I have a hard time beleiving anyone traveling would really want to stay longer in an airport even with more ammenities. It is a means to an end, your destnation as fast as you can get there.
Have to Agree SINGAPORE – number 1 place to stop over. It has a swimming pool – great as you just need swimsuit and they provide, include in the fee a towel, showers, locker with the fee (about £5) for as long as you want. Also includes tea/coffee!! :o) Great sun loungers too and nice space to relax. In terminal 1 but easy to access from all areas.
I think all airports should provide:
- WATER, with the liquids issue – drinking water points so that you can refill bottles once you go through the other side so you don’t have to pay silly money for bottled water.
- sleeping (short term options for 1/2 hours)
- refresh/relaxation : showers/swimming pool/gym/spa facilities
- good FRESH food – especially fresh fruit (not sure why this is so difficult)
- seating
How about a spa or at least a place where to get a nice massage to soothe the cramped muscles after a long flight in Economy class seats? Alternative therapies may be already too much to ask but if we’re making a list to Santa Claus, I can just add it… hehe
Good food a must, why can’t there be any good restaurants in many airports? Fresh food and more options for us vegetarians would be greatly appreciated.
And to insist on the point, free WiFi is essential these days, but one that really works!
I actually like the Vancouver airport; they did very nice renos for the Olympics. It has 10 and 20 minute massages for both domestic and international terminals, day lounges (like the airline member lounges) for a reasonable price and a great food choices along with free WiFi. Negatives are no green space and too few comfy chairs.
We would vote for KLIA (Malaysia). Very organised airport in the world.
In six weeks: LHR4 CDG2 AMS YVR SEA DEN SAT LAX OMA IAH MIA FRA BKK SIN REP RGN PNH KLIA SIN NRT LHR3 EWR..some of them more than once. Yesterday at EWR, looking at the food available and the price ($8 for a packet of mixed nuts), I am grateful for Lounges and the facilities available, including cooked meals, showers, massage among others. KLIA is a favourite, SIN is efficient but people are a bit grumpy including those at the clubs,
Skyteam Lounge at LHR4 is excellent. NRT is always pleasing with food and the most polite people on earth.
I have very few complaints about flying and using airports, which I do fairly often: Just yesterday I was toasted by the flight attendants with a glass of Chardonnay, for being a Professor in Havana! I always look forward to my next experience..always look forward to KLIA CDG MIA and enjoy being faithful to one or two airlines. I am Platinum on Continental/United and Flying Blue Gold on Air France
Cut the waste. Have you seen the amount of stuff that is thrown out at Security.
Put a hand baggage checking-machine BEFORE check-in and we can put all prohibited articles into our checked luggage.
Take a note from Berlin’s Hauptbahnhof or Central Station.
It has shops which open late, a chemist, a juice bar and an ice cream bar. A Hotel and Wifi, a Bakery and coffee shops and many other shops – oh and trains too. It’s clean and bright and not too noisy.
http://www.berlin-hauptbahnhof.de/site/berlin__hauptbahnhof/en/start.html
1) ranjan13 has an excellent idea: “Put a hand baggage checking-machine BEFORE check-in and we can put all prohibited articles into our checked luggage.”
2) connerg had another excellent idea: “lending libraries.” Along the same line, another idea is to have a book exchange/used-book store; people could either exchange what they’re finished with for something else, book-for-book, or could just buy a used book outright, using cash. The used books at these stores should be priced accordingly, similar to prices at Half-Price Books or thrift stores.
3) I also agree heartily with all those who want by-the-hour hotel rooms (which will include private bathrooms) to be available.
4) Adult-size swings (such as those used on patios and porches) would be wonderful.
A fairly recent trend at some U.S. airports is the “rocking chair section”. We had to take a very early flight out of DC National Airport, and arrived on the last Metro rail around 1:00 a.m. The huge rocking chairs are located in a long corridor between terminals. There are a few outlets for electronics and a wall of windows that face the runways. Dimmed lights. Very comfortable. Philly International has rocking chairs too.
I think airports should just incorporate Japanese style bathing complexes and capsule hotels. That would be the perfect way to relax. Actually airplanes could incorporate capsule cubes in flight.
All airports should be like Aitutaki’s – search it and you’ll see what I mean. On a more serious note, yes wi-fi, yes free showers (with free towels of course), but most of all SUFFICIENT comfy chairs in departure lounges. Can anyone please explain to me why there are only ever about 1/10 the number of seats in a lounge for the number of pax boarding the plain. A full A380 is a nightmare. Not sure if Auckland is better than it used to be but the departure lounge was crammed with people all over the floor prior to QF LA flights (on 747) departing. Makes paying for Qantas Club worth every penny but ties us to Qantas or BA for most of our flying….
I do agree with most that Changi is the most efficient lush etc, however Bangkok has great reclining seats for long stop overs. Beautiful orchids of many different species throughout all the terminals.
Perhaps what tops this for me now is Koh Samui airport. A quaint gardened open-air oasis, with friendly, attentive staff at all critical points, free wi-fi with plenty of tables and chairs to relax whilst enjoying the views of the mountains beyond. The restrooms have a small oasis separating gender with a healthy aquarium as a window at the entrance to the garden beyond. Even the staff cleaning the aquarium were very friendly! Then the best part, the plane take-off over the stunning scenery. A wonderful way to say goodbye to Thailand after two months. I’m not too sure how this airport would cope with peak season crowds, however right now currently it’s just perfect. 9/10
Some sort of overarching inter-airport lending library would be nice, so that you could sign out a book in, say, London, read it while you wait, take it on the plane and then return it to another “branch” in Toronto, or New York, or wherever your destination is. There’d obviously have to be some security so they weren’t stolen…perhaps the security tape in regular library books would trip an alarm if you left an airport with the book…I don’t know, just a thought :)
Definitely agree with krutch on places to sit outside where you can watch the planes take off, as a plane enthusiast this is often the reason for being at an airport. Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland and Japan are the best at providing these. Recently enjoyed a nice afternoon on the Stuttgart terrace which had a good cafe, garden chairs and sun loungers.
Atlanta Aiport seems third world comapred to Johannesburg airport. defintly want kids play areas both at departures adn arrivals. Also love Changi airport
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