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By: - 23rd April 2003 at 18:52 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I was at Menorca last year. It was ok but very crowded. I liked seeing the Spanish airlines.
Don't really have a favourite airport except the obvious, however, I did enjoy CDG (Not for the actual terminals, horrible places) but for the spotting. SAA 747SP, Thai 747, SQ 747, Air Transat L1011s, AF aircraft, TACV etc. Absolutely brilliant for variety.
By: - 23rd April 2003 at 20:51 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I was at Mahon last Friday doing a subcharter for Monarch. It's a very nice easy airport to operate into.
By: - 23rd April 2003 at 20:58 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Mines a toss up between LHR and LGW... boring I know! :p
Theres so much variety at each. Especially LGW now... I remember a few years back when i used to go there to watch the planes, there used to be the same old thing... all the chaters and BA and that was near enough it! But now theres a wide variety, which I like.
Lhr to has alot of variety. You get to see alot of the heavies from overseas, and that why I like going here. As for fav airport not in this country...Palma.
By: - 23rd April 2003 at 22:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Andy, whats the current status ref the LHR viewing area? My favourite airport is LHR closely followed by EMA, nice people at East Mids and the airport authority seems to have good attitude to enthusiasts and it has a cracking enthusiasts shop Airtrans. BAA take note!
By: - 23rd April 2003 at 22:32 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
MAN - Terminal 2 is a great terminal to fly from, new and roomy and quite pleasant, specially compare to LHR or LGW, horrible places!
Also MAN offers the best viewing areas (more importantly photography areas!) than any other in the UK by a long way! With airlines like Qatar (not seen yet though), Air Jamaica and China Airlines flying there now it can be quite interesting.
BHX is very nice now they've refurbished it.
PS T5 doesn't look like a typical jamaican day weather wise in that pic!
By: - 23rd April 2003 at 22:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Neil as far as know its still shut to the public.
By: - 23rd April 2003 at 23:00 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Dan - RE Manchy - agreed - its the best in the UK for what it has to offer - Viewing, variety, and access.
But personally Lanzarote Arrecife. Ok yes i was there last week BUT this is based on a couple of visits
It has the best Approach overflight paths (over ya head terms!), second only to Princes Juiliana - i was the only person not to move out of the way for the low flying Iberia B752 and Britannia B763 - Awesome.
Variety - charter airlines from every part of europe. I noted British, French, German, Italian, Swiss, Polish, Czech, Swedish, Dutch and Dansih reggies during my visits. Excellent photography, a walkway all the way along the side of the only runway 03/21 - and a great climate to watch it all go on with!
By: - 23rd April 2003 at 23:11 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Have to agree that ACE is one of the best abroad. If you stay fairly local you can have a pretty relaxing week with some good aircraft to spot.
Terminal is looking better now as well and the addition of a few Air Bridges is a good thing. Can get a bit crowded on a Thursday though!
By: - 24th April 2003 at 00:15 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Dan,
I "borrowed" that photo off of the internet, it was taken the month after we were there! But while we were there it was absolutely perfect weather!
I do like Gatwick. I recently experienced my first North Terminal flight for a very long time. It's not a bad terminal although not a patch on the South Terminal where everything is slightly more compact. We are more frequent visitors to Gatwick South.
I seem to be flying out of Heathrow more and more these days - terminal 1 and terminal 3. I have to say, I hate terminal 3 immensely. It is aimed at the upper class shop-wise with all these incredibly expensive jewellry shops and seafood bars - so not my style! :p
By: - 24th April 2003 at 00:40 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Copenhagen for me, it has excellent facilities and its well designed.
By: - 24th April 2003 at 00:58 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I never would have guessed at Copenhagen, but it does look quite different and pleasant judging from the pic.
I could be boring and say Changi, but I'll risk defeating the object by plumping for a former airport - Kai Tak.
By: - 24th April 2003 at 06:07 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Originally posted by monster500
Copenhagen for me, it has excellent facilities and its well designed.
totally agreed there...has to be Kastrup, Copenhagen. For its facilities and sheer charecter.
By: - 24th April 2003 at 08:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
i actually rather like schiphol.... though arlanda (stockholm) isn't too bad...i ahte LHR tho....i guess it must be cause it's always so chaotic....but that's just my taste....
By: - 24th April 2003 at 08:44 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Geographically : ORY , I live next to it.
sentimentally : SFO, LAX , LGB
The most impressive : ATL
By: - 24th April 2003 at 09:00 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
There are many airports I've enjoyed using. LHR - for the sheer range of airlines and types (inc Concorde), LAX - excellent for viewing and photography and for seeing airlines you won't see in the UK, HEL - for ease of photography and the best airport sandwich I've ever had (smoked salmon - gorgeous), LCY - a wonderful little gem of an airport, great fun on the approach which gives superb views of London landmarks whilst providing some extremely sharp turns whilst descending, Isafjordur in Iceland for the same reasons as LCY. My dear favourite is BRU. I cannot give numbers of airlines using it, but I think the dominant airline is SN Brussels Airlines. In the departure area, viewing is unrivalled, there is a good range of shops, good range of restaurants. Like most airports, the check in area is on the ground floor, departures, restaurants and shops on the first floor. There are three sections to the terminal, called Topaz, Sapphire and Diamond. A new pier has just been opened with more restaurants and shops. I am sorry I won't be using it this year.
By: - 25th April 2003 at 02:16 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hand, once again, props for you giving the Cali airports some love, you too Comet. LAX is a pretty good airport, on all fronts. They did lots of refurbishing and beautifying in recent years, and it has helped tremendously. I've always like SFO as well, and my cousin loves LGB. T5, as far as Sangster goes? I didn't enjoy checking in on my outbound. Then again, I did fly AirJamaica and their check in queues were absolutely chaotic. I've never seen such utter disorganization at any airport. There were no queues, just blobs going towards the designated desks for a particular destination. Even the facilities were very lacking. But you liked it so hey, good on you. Other than the aforementioned Cali airports, I loved Changi. Everything was just amazing. The aircraft on example, the decor, the facilities, the duty-free shopping, the outdoor smoking area (even though I don't smoke), etc. I also like Sydney for all the aforementioned (except the smoking area), but especially for the Tarmac tours and 'the beach' spotting area. I also like Schipol, Dulles, new ATH, and a few others. I just mentioned the ones I really like.
By: - 25th April 2003 at 02:27 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
LIH (Lihue, Hawaii) is my favorite becasue it is the airport for my favorite place on earth, the Island of Kauaii. This is the tropical island where they filmed Jurasic Park and Raiders of the Lost Arc.
LIH is a small airport, no jetways and the waiting areas are open to the tropical breezes. There is something sterile and impersonal about a modern airpoprt with jetways, you never really get the impression that you are boarding a plane, just walking down a tube to sit in another tube. I love the smell of Av Fuel and walking along the ground and looking up to my aircraft.
Scott
By: - 25th April 2003 at 13:26 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hong Kong, by far.
By: - 25th April 2003 at 15:45 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Can i just add that i was extreamly impressed with Liverpools (LPL) new terminal from my only visit - very modern, clean and airey, and steadily becoming busier!
By: - 25th April 2003 at 17:10 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Schipol is definately my favourite followed by Dusseldorf, both airports are spacious and airy with good spotting and good facilties
In the UK LGW and BHX get my vote
Saab, I agree with about CDG, good variation of traffic, but the terminals are terrible.
Dave
Posts: 6,503
By: T5 - 23rd April 2003 at 18:10
After seeing the topic about Antigua airport, share with us your favourite airport.
- What facilities are on offer?
- Airlines flying there?
- Movements per day?
You get the idea. If you can post a photo of the airport, that would be brilliant!
Sangster International (Montego Bay), Jamaica
My chosen airport is Sangster International Airport (Montego Bay), Jamaica.
Sangster International Airport is named after Donald Sangster (not sure who he was but his photos are pasted all over the walls of the terminal). It is the hub of Air Jamaica, too. This is one of very few airlines whose hub is not in the country's capital city.
In 2001, Montego Bay saw 3,000,000 passengers passing through the airport. 28% of the movements were cargo flights.
The airport deals with domestic flights of Air Jamaica Express as well as South American and North American Airlines. European airlines include Martinair, Lufthansa and British Airways. Being a major holiday destination, many charters fly into the country including Monarch and MyTravel of the UK.
The airport is not incredibly big but handles A340s and 777s every day. On average, an aircraft was landing every 5-10 minutes while I was there with many of the flights being Air Jamaica A320s from neighbouring countries.
A single runway is used by the airport (7 & 25) with the majority of flights departing and arriving on runway 7. This runway is 2,539 metres in length and 45 metres in width.
There is space for 24 aircraft at the airport; 14 of these are for international flights. 4 of these can handle 747 aircraft and the remaining 10, up to DC-8(?) sized aircraft.
The airport is open all day every day.
Inside, check-in is split up into different airlines with Air Jamaica obviously dominating the check-in halls. From check-in, you proceed to security which is small, thorough and efficient. The departure lounges have plenty of shops, with some even selling souvenir marijuana. There is plenty of viewing spots from the huge windows and other such areas. There is an Internet cafe also available in the terminal.
Landing at Montego Bay is brilliant with all flights flying at incredibly low altitude over the Caribbean Sea as they approach runway 7. To your right is the beautiful beaches and to your left, miles and miles of clear blue sea.
Also, one more thing before I shut up, Sandals Montego Bay can be found to the right of runway 25. Hardly the best location for a 5* hotel!