primitives discuss Atlanta airport

[franksolich]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x9003507

Oh my.

Scratch yet another item off that rapidly-shortening list of things that the primitives don't bibble-babble about:

raccoon  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-26-09 09:21 AM
Original message
 
Anyone here had experience with Atlanta airport?
 
My sister and I are planning an overseas trip. Travel agent mentioned flying in and out of Atlanta.

I live in upstate SC and would rather fly in and out of another airport, for the following reasons:

-- I'd really rather not drive in Atlanta because the traffic is such a mofo.
-- I believe parking is real expensive at that airport.

Anyone care to share their experience?

backtoblue  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-26-09 09:25 AM
Response to Original message
 
1. I had to change planes in Atlanta two years ago

I didn't leave the airport, but it wasn't too bad. Very crowded, though.

mikeytherat  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-26-09 09:27 AM
Response to Original message
 
2. If you run down the moving sidewalks, when you reach the end you can crash and burn. Hard.

Well, at least I did once.

FarLeftRage  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-26-09 09:30 AM
Response to Original message
 
3. I found it to be a ****ing maze...

You just can't go directly from point "A" to point "B"...

RebelOne  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-26-09 09:31 AM
Response to Original message
 
4. I live in the Atlanta area and have flown in and out of Hartsfield-Jackson many times. It really isn't too bad. You just have to do a lot of walking. But everything is pretty well organized. Just be careful when riding the trains. You have to move fast to get on and off.

HopeHoops  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-26-09 10:39 AM
Response to Original message
 
7. Perhaps this will answer your question....
 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

The place is larger than some third-world countries and probably has a higher GDP. You have to take freakin' subway cars to get from one place to another and that's AFTER walking a few miles to get to the station. I had over an hour to change planes the last time I was there and I made it by 2 minutes - WITHOUT STOPPING, not even to PEE! If I had missed one of the two trains I had to take, I would have missed the connecting flight.

RUN, do NOT walk.

On Edit:

On the plus side, it is pretty nice compared to O'Hare.

Oh, I dunno.  franksolich has never used an airport he didn't like, other than Logan.

pitohui  (1000+ posts)       Wed Aug-26-09 11:02 AM
Response to Reply #7
 
11. funny you should mention o'hare, only airport w. worse rep than ATL is ORD --)

i'd think ATL should have less excuses for its weather delays, considering their location, but oh well!

HopeHoops  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-26-09 11:12 AM
Response to Reply #11
 
12. Well, there IS Newark.

But it sucks for completely different reasons.

Now, franksolich found Newark a perfectly nice airport; and being in New Jersey rather than in Boston, people there spoke English.

Grandma:

hippywife  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-26-09 11:56 AM
Response to Original message
 
14. I have both flown into Atlanta and driven around the city before and after the Olympics. Driving around the city is no worse than driving around any major city and probably better than some.

If you do fly in, wear walking shoes and do, do, do take advantage of the trams. 

gmoney  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-26-09 12:47 PM
Response to Original message
 
16. Been a while since I went through...but a friend recently did, said it was awful and they'd never connect through ATL if at all possible in the future.

MorningGlow  (1000+ posts)      Wed Aug-26-09 01:16 PM
Response to Original message
 
18. Guaranteed: Last-minute random gate change

Happened every phking time I've traveled through ATL.  Do NOT trust the gate printed on your boarding pass. Do NOT trust the gate that the ticket agent tells you. Do NOT trust the Departures list on the monitors. Go to said gate, yes, but check the monitors every 10 minutes (or, better, even more frequently than that), and EXPECT to have to run like hell to another gate before you actually get your ass safely on the plane. Trust.

mentalsolstice  (1000+ posts)       Wed Aug-26-09 11:56 PM
Response to Original message

36. Been there plenty of times and as we say in the south, we'll have to go through Atlanta on our way to hell.

suninvited  (1000+ posts)        Thu Aug-27-09 01:16 AM
Response to Original message
 
40. I was stranded at the Atlanta airport for almost 3 days

I had gone to San Fransisco on vacation and had a connecting flight in Atlanta before I got home (Pensacola, FL). They let me leave San Fransisco, but by the time I got to Atlanta all flights to Pensacola had stopped because of impending Hurricane Georges. (That was a crazy hurricane, it couldnt decide where to go for days) Since they should never have let me get on the plane in San Fransisco, they did pay for my hotel room but I had to spend the entire days at the airport waiting (or hoping, rather) for things to open up to Pensacola.

If you have the time to enjoy it, Atlanta airport is actually quite nice. They had a lot of photograph exhibits and things to see while wandering aimlessly around. I did leave the airport on the second day, when there was no chance of anything happening, and rode the Marta into the city and went to the library and just walked around for a while. One man stopped me on the street and told me I really shouldn't be in that part of town alone, so I headed back to the airport.

dugaresa  (495 posts)       Thu Aug-27-09 09:51 AM
Response to Original message
 
44. i purposely routed my european flights out of Atlanta during the winter because the airports in my area (NE) typically have delays and from frequent flying I know that can really mess up a vacation or business trip to Europe.

So the only flight I have to worry about being delayed is the one from my airport to Atlanta.

If I can't get a connector out of Atlanta, I choose some other southern airport.

You know, I've never flown anywhere on business; only on pleasure, and so my attitude about airports might differ from others.

Flying somewhere is meant to be an adventure; exciting, stimulating, a great opportunity to test one's character.  I've never been in an airport I didn't like--other than Logan, which was dirty, decrepit, and full of hideous-looking and hideous-speaking Bostonians--or on an airplane I didn't like.

And I've been in plenty of airports, and on plenty of airplanes.

Using airports, and flying, is great fun, full of anticipation, drama, excitement.

[Vagabond]

I've been through Atlanta Hartsfield plenty of times.  Nothing to it.  I even arrived on a late plane once, I told the guy directing passengers at the jetway and he called ahead to let the other plane know I was there and would be close on making it, they actually held three minutes waiting on me.

[JohnnyReb]

DUmmie lives in upstate SC somewhere along the I-85 corridor and he has apparently never heard of the airport in Charlotte NC.

Hopefully he'll STAY or get stranded where ever it is that he's going.

[NHSparky]

Never really had too much of a problem with Atlanta.  Boston is improving, but if the fares are close, I'll fly out of Manchester if possible (SWA).

Worst airports?  Philly and LaGuardia, hands down.

[DixieBelle]

ATL can be a pain but if you plan for it, it generally isn't. But then again we're not DUmmies.

[USA4ME]

DUmmie lives in upstate SC somewhere along the I-85 corridor and he has apparently never heard of the airport in Charlotte NC.

Hopefully he'll STAY or get stranded where ever it is that he's going.

I agree.  For commericial flights I try to go out of Charlotte if I can.  Even Greeville/Spartanburg is getting better at some direct flights down to FL or up to NYC.  But you can get about anywhere you want to out of Charlotte without having to connect through Atlanta.

.

[DumbAss Tanker]

Just steer clear of Kenny Tarmack.

 

[Rebel]

FarLeftRage  (1000+ posts)        Wed Aug-26-09 09:30 AM
Response to Original message
 
3. I found it to be a ****ing maze...

You just can't go directly from point "A" to point "B"...

This is actually BS. Living in Augusta, and having to travel A.LOT for work, the only places I can fly to from Augusta is Atlanta (Delta-ASA) and Charlotte (US Scare). I always fly Delta. Atlanta is the easiest airport I've ever been to to navigate among the large airports. It's cut and dry. Crowded? God yes. Complicated? Not in the least. Try one of those airports built like a friggin' wagon wheel if you want complicated.

[The Village Idiot]

I don't fly much, ok, I flew twice.. but I kept hearing jokes that Denver International should be called Wyoming International.... is it all that far from the city?

[diesel driver]

suninvited  (1000+ posts)        Thu Aug-27-09 01:16 AM
Response to Original message
 
40. I was stranded at the Atlanta airport for almost 3 days

I had gone to San Fransisco on vacation and had a connecting flight in Atlanta before I got home (Pensacola, FL). They let me leave San Fransisco, but by the time I got to Atlanta all flights to Pensacola had stopped because of impending Hurricane Georges. (That was a crazy hurricane, it couldnt decide where to go for days) Since they should never have let me get on the plane in San Fransisco, they did pay for my hotel room but I had to spend the entire days at the airport waiting (or hoping, rather) for things to open up to Pensacola...

Is it me, or is this DUmbass a total waste of skin? 

They should not have let him leave SanFran?  WTF!   
Weren't you ABLE to make that decision for yourself?  Are you an adult?  Do you have the mental facilities of a 6 year old?  Is your IQ above double-digits?   

And what's up with spending 3 days in ATL?  HELL, you could have WALKED to Pensacola in 3 days!   
Have you ever heard of Hertz, Enterprise, or even Rent-A-Wreak?

You are a complete DUmbass!     

[Karin]

JFK is horrible, mainly because of getting your ass from your car and into the airport and then back again.  Detroit is awful and creepy.  Frank, you're right about Logan.  The thing I remember about Logan is that they don't tell you where to go and how to go about doing it.  I had to ask a human, and she gave me a big long tale of woe about catching some bus to go God knows where. 

[IassaFTots]

I don't fly much, ok, I flew twice.. but I kept hearing jokes that Denver International should be called Wyoming International.... is it all that far from the city?

I flew to Denver earlier this year, to stay with friends that lived in Superior, which seemed to be about 15 min north of Denver proper.  It is WAY out in the country.  There seemed to be nothing around it for miles, and it took about an hour to get to her house from the airport.  (Obviously we were not traveling during any peak traffic times.)  We also took Side roads the whole way, because I was advised that the toll road cost $12 one way.  Seems a bit steep to me, and my friend tends to overexaggerate, but yes, the airport is way, way, out in the middle of nowhere.  Favorite airport?  DFW.  Least Favorite US airport?  Washington Dulles.  Hands down. 

[diesel driver]

I've flown only a few times myself, and every one of them went thru ATL.

The first time was in 1972, I was 13, and traveling with my parents and 2 younger brothers to Disney World.  We had NO problems whatsoever.

The second time was in 1979, I was 20 and traveling with my bride to Orlando for our honeymoon.  We had NO problem whatsoever.

The third time was 1981, I was 22 and traveling with my wife and parents to a dairy convention in Atlanta.  We had NO problem whatsoever.

To the DUmmies:  GET OUT OF THE BASEMENT ONCE IN A WHILE!  There's more to this world than a keyboard and delivered pizza....

[debk]

Since we almost always fly Delta...and you can't get out of Knoxville without going to a "hub" ....we go through Atlanta more than Cincinatti.

Is Hartsfield huge? Absolutely

Is it easy to get from one terminal to another? Absolutely

How often do you get in there late and have to do a sprint through the airport? Frequently

But given a choice between Atlanta and Cincinatti....I would take Atlanta hands down. You have to take buses from one terminal to another, and I have missed flights more often than not because of late arrivals....and they don't care!

Went through Newark in June when I went to Maine.....what a cluster!!! Given a choice, I would not go through there again!

I used to like O'Hare....but they removed the Fannie May chocolates kiosk....

[Carl]

I flew to Denver earlier this year, to stay with friends that lived in Superior, which seemed to be about 15 min north of Denver proper.  It is WAY out in the country.  There seemed to be nothing around it for miles, and it took about an hour to get to her house from the airport.  (Obviously we were not traveling during any peak traffic times.)  We also took Side roads the whole way, because I was advised that the toll road cost $12 one way.  Seems a bit steep to me, and my friend tends to overexaggerate, but yes, the airport is way, way, out in the middle of nowhere.  Favorite airport?  DFW.  Least Favorite US airport?  Washington Dulles.  Hands down. 

I have only been in a few airports and Denver with its tram was a bit confusing,Dulles seemed to be the least efficient (surprise huh) and DFW the strangest layout.
O`Hare is huge but well marked,had to walk from B22 to F1 a couple weeks ago and that is a hike but made it to catch my connection.

Every one I have been in has been staffed by polite and professional people that do their jobs without fanfare.
My guess is that outside of an occasional anomaly the only way to have a difficult time at an airport is because one wants or is determined to.

That would include all DUmmies of course.

[NHSparky]

Try one of those airports built like a friggin' wagon wheel if you want complicated.

You mean like LAX or JFK?  LAX is a bitch to get into and out of.  Boston isn't much better, especially if you're heading south.  Fortunately I get on Route 3A through Revere, then Route 1, then the 95, and I'm home free.  And even then, I usually take the shuttle to Portsmouth/Dover as it's much cheaper than parking at Logan.

And yeah, DIA is way in the hell out there (why did they build an airport in Tornado Alley?) but a lot safer than the old Stapleton airport.

Scariest airport to fly into?  Without a doubt Sandy Eggo.  Imagine a heart-in-your-mouth final drop, you look out your window and look UP at the buildings downtown.  Guam is a close second with it sitting on a mountain (a KAL flight crashed short of the runway there about 10 years ago and killed over 200 people).  Farmington, NM sits on top of a mesa.  God help you if you don't have enough speed when you try to take off or if your landing goes long.  The end of the runway is the edge of the mesa, and it's a loooooooonnnnnnggggggg way down.

[Carl]

Try this one for scary.

[youtube=425,350]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jvMTb0Lkhcw&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jvMTb0Lkhcw&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

[Doc]

haven't flown for a while, but my vote for the best would be Phoenix-Sky Harbor..........for the worst, it would be a tie between LGA and LAX, with Dulles coming in a close second.....

Never had a problem with Hartsfield......like DFW it is BIG, but well organized, and if you allow sufficient connection time, I've never had a problem......

For scariest.....I'll go with Burbank......

doc

[debk]

You mean like LAX or JFK?  LAX is a bitch to get into and out of.  Boston isn't much better, especially if you're heading south.  Fortunately I get on Route 3A through Revere, then Route 1, then the 95, and I'm home free.  And even then, I usually take the shuttle to Portsmouth/Dover as it's much cheaper than parking at Logan.

And yeah, DIA is way in the hell out there (why did they build an airport in Tornado Alley?) but a lot safer than the old Stapleton airport.

Scariest airport to fly into?  Without a doubt Sandy Eggo.  Imagine a heart-in-your-mouth final drop, you look out your window and look UP at the buildings downtown.  Guam is a close second with it sitting on a mountain (a KAL flight crashed short of the runway there about 10 years ago and killed over 200 people).  Farmington, NM sits on top of a mesa.  God help you if you don't have enough speed when you try to take off or if your landing goes long.  The end of the runway is the edge of the mesa, and it's a loooooooonnnnnnggggggg way down.

I flew in there when my son was stationed at Miramar...and that's exactly how I felt!!! I didn't know it had that type of location, and it scared the crap out of me!! Have had some rocky landings in Key West....went in for a landing 3 times - once was speed, once was wind, last was a little plane taking off as we were cleared again - pilot moved us out of the way reaaalllllll fast! I was sooo glad to finally get on the ground I almost kissed it! Landing in Salt Lake City in a snowstorm was disturbing too....

[JohnnyReb]

MINI-SKIRTS....just remembering the late 60's, early 70's. On any given Sunday morning, a bunch of us would be sitting around the local grass cow pasture called an airport. Someone would mention Atlanta and the next thing you know we'd be loading up to fly down to Atlanta to drink coffee and watch the young ladies passing thru in their miniskirts.....

Don't laugh, we lived 200 miles away in the sticks. Cheap thrills were hard to comeby here. Shoot, back then even a Cessna 150/172 could taxi right up to one of the main gates. Now they won't even let you fly thru their airspace.

[GOBUCKS]

The Atlanta airport, like the city of Atlanta, is a filthy, congested mess.

But as huge airports go, it's okay.

DUmmy comments are stupid. You can walk from any gate to any other gate in way less than 20 minutes.

[debk]

MINI-SKIRTS....just remembering the late 60's, early 70's. On any given Sunday morning, a bunch of us would be sitting around the local grass cow pasture called an airport. Someone would mention Atlanta and the next thing you know we'd be loading up to fly down to Atlanta to drink coffee and watch the young ladies passing thru in their miniskirts.....

Don't laugh, we lived 200 miles away in the sticks. Cheap thrills were hard to comeby here. Shoot, back then even a Cessna 150/172 could taxi right up to one of the main gates. Now they won't even let you fly thru their airspace.

I remember the summer of '72...I was flying from O'Hare to Syracuse NY to visit my boyfriend then on to Lake Sebago, Maine, where I was spending 9 weeks at an exclusive girls' camp as a swim-water ski instructor/lifeguard/counselor. (they hired mid-western college girls who needed jobs - studying education, psychology, sociology, etc- and had - they thought - a tolerance for spoiled rotten, incredibly wealthy kids....we had no clue what these kids would be like - they had very very few "repeat" counselors)

I was flying from Springfield IL to Chicago to Syracuse on stand-by - the way most college kids flew back then ...and couldn't get a seat to Syracuse and had to spend the night in O'Hare. Found 2 other girls who didn't make their flights and we ended up "banding together" and a guy who cleaned the planes, went on board on that was there for the night, got us blankets and pillows and we slept on the floor at one of the gates. He had security check on us during the night. They were very nice to us.....and concerned for our safety....

We were all wearing mini-skirts....

[BadCat]

I don't fly much, ok, I flew twice.. but I kept hearing jokes that Denver International should be called Wyoming International.... is it all that far from the city?

Yes, but it's in Kansas, not Wyoming.

[The Village Idiot]

I flew to Denver earlier this year, to stay with friends that lived in Superior, which seemed to be about 15 min north of Denver proper.  It is WAY out in the country.  There seemed to be nothing around it for miles, and it took about an hour to get to her house from the airport.  (Obviously we were not traveling during any peak traffic times.)  We also took Side roads the whole way, because I was advised that the toll road cost $12 one way.  Seems a bit steep to me, and my friend tends to overexaggerate, but yes, the airport is way, way, out in the middle of nowhere.  Favorite airport?  DFW.  Least Favorite US airport?  Washington Dulles.  Hands down. 

DFW is pretty well designed and they planned it for future growth and stuff

[IassaFTots]

DFW is pretty well designed and they planned it for future growth and stuff

Agreed.  I know it isn't similar to any other airport, and that is why I hear so much grief from people who travel into it.  But, they really had their locals in mind when they built it, and that is much appreciated.  With the addition of the new trams and trains, they have made getting from terminal to terminal much better from what I gather as well.