Airport Reviews
As the descendant of an aristocratic family of flight attendants, I've been fortunate enough to visit many of our nation's airports. I've been writing reviews of some of the airports I’ve been most moved by in the past few years. And yes, I care so much about airports that I’ve found it necessary to put these reviews on my portfolio site.
Washington Dulles International
Washington Dulles (IAD) is a stunning airport. Like a great work of art, it’s beautiful. Its structure is carefully considered, its form evokes emotion, and it’s fundamentally flawed. Dulles was the last significant design from legendary architect Eero Saarinen. Saarinen’s uncompromising vision and eye for detail is clear in the main terminal’s spectacular roof. Massive glass curtain walls and kiosk-mounted amenities allow the roof to ascend as a single, unblemished curve without lights, speakers, or sprinklers. Thanks to an efficient underground security system, there are no lines on the main floor and the structure buzzes with movement. A gorgeous underground rail system between terminals was built a few years ago, finally relegating the once cripplingly slow mobile lounge buses to a comedic footnote. Despite all this, IAD will never reach the status of America’s great airports. IAD is some 30 miles away from the city it serves, and relies on a spotty system of buses. This limits IAD’s traffic to international flights and the few passengers who value IAD’s beauty over DCA’s convenience. Nevertheless, IAD is the only midcentury American airport that still truly functions after nearly six decades of operation. LAX’s Theme Building and JFK’s Pan AmWorldport and TWA Flight Center are either inoperative or razed. And yet IAD’s cantilevered roof continues to soar, as it will for decades to come.
New York John F. Kennedy International
When traveling through John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), this reviewer felt a twinge of solemnity. Opened just after the War, the airport formerly known as Idlewild was the class of the world during the waxing stages of the Jet Age. Today, this airport yearns for a renaissance. At its height, JFK was home to 10 glamorous terminals, each an architectural marvel in their own right. Now those still standing are crumbling from neglect and overuse. There are remnants from air travel's romantic era still visible - mid-mod light fixtures at Delta, the decaying overhangs at United, and the rubble of the timeless Pan Am Worldport. Now obscured by signage and scaffolding from construction never to be completed, these remnants are a sad reminder of what was. Once an international icon, JFK struggles to stay modern. With hideously outdated infrastructure and a raft of new problems every year, no relief appears to be in sight. Simply put, it is the Cleveland of airports.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Those prone to high blood pressure or panic attacks are advised to avoid Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). Upon exiting an aircraft, travelers are greeted by a tsunami of people no less lost than them. Not since the fateful Hindenburg Disaster has the phase "Oh the humanity" been so applicable. Though the airport sprawls across miles of Georgian land, its narrow halls and short ceilings cocoon its patrons with a perpetual sense of claustrophobia. Reliability is another area where it struggles. Gate changes and missed connections are always a part of the song and dance at ATL. And that's on a clear day. Snow and sleet are more paralyzing to Atlanta than polio was to Franklin Roosevelt. Constant efforts to renovate and improve the airport's facilities have been remarkably underwhelming. As a result, ATL is much like IH-35: Always under construction, yet never getting better.
Nashville International
With a pleasant atmosphere and plenty of local stores, Nashville International Airport (BNA) is undeniably charming. However, its outdated decor and carpeted terminal beg for a refresh. The result is a bit like a professor in a tweed suit. It's a little old-fashioned, but does it really need to be in style?
Write to Me.
Like what you see? Think I’m full of it? Either way, let me know. While you’re at it, let me know what your favorite airport is.