JD Underground

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Wed, 20 Mar 2024 11:19:59 -0700
Andy from private IP
/all
An ode to smaller airports

When my wife and I were at my mother-in-law's place in Southern California from
2022-2023, I had to fly from Ontario to San Francisco about 12 times for
day-trips for trials and hearings.  Those were rough trips, as I had to get up
at 4 a.m. for the 6 a.m. flight, and then I got back at 2 a.m. the next morning.
 Flying in a suit with nothing but your laptop bag and then staying in your suit
for the entire day, evening, night, and into the next morning is the worst. 
That is not the purpose of my post.  My post is intended to praise smaller
airports like Ontario and SFO over massive ones like LAX.  At Ontario, you can
park across the street from the terminal and the walk to the entrance takes
about 60 seconds.  You then check in at a kiosk and get your boarding pass
inside of two minutes.  You then clear security in less than five minutes and
walk to your gate.  All in, it's about 10 minutes from parking to reaching the
gate.  It's close at SFO if you park in short-term parking, maybe 15 minutes
from parking to reaching the gate.  Makes things so much easier.  Although there
are less flight options out of smaller airports, they make up for it in
convenience.  Also, the smaller airports can be a lot closer to where I am.  SFO
is about 10 minutes from where I live now, putting a lot of destinations and
travel options within convenient reach.  The particularly frustrating thing
about LAX is the ridiculous rental car shuttles.  You have to wait at the curb
for 10 minutes to get the right shuttle.  Then it's a 7-10 minute ride to the
rental car place, followed by waiting in a long line for 20-30 minutes at times.
 By the time you get your rental car, you could have arrived by Uber to wherever
you were going, or taken a car service.  Contrast with Burbank, where you walk
to the rental car counter, get your car, and are on the road within 10 minutes. 
I dislike flying into and out of LAX because of this and the gigantic terminal
complex that takes forever to go around in a shuttle.  I try to avoid LAX when
possible, but it isn't always possible.  Praise be to smaller airports.


Wed, 20 Mar 2024 11:31:36 -0700
shithead from private IP
/all
On the other hand, the lounges in smaller airports suck.

Asheville (AVL) is a nice smaller airport. Arriving an hour beforehand is early
enough, and parking for a week doesn't require bank financing. Anything
international requires a connection in Charlotte or Atlanta though.


Wed, 20 Mar 2024 15:19:46 -0700
shithead from private IP
/all
This is an interesting small airport. I was living just down the coast from it,
from last September until January. It's one of the most difficult approaches in
Europe, and the runway is built on pilings. The main coastal highway runs under
it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeira_Airport


Wed, 20 Mar 2024 19:29:59 -0700
whiteguyinchina from private IP
/all
don't live in large crap cities, don't have that problem
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