What travellers really want at airports

[UP4014]

An outdoor area of some sort, like a beer garden

Great idea, with a view of the runway.

M

 

[lovestotravel]

The QF F SYD lounge at all airports BUT with this Star Alliance lounge at LAX features outdoor seating, fire pits | L.A. Airspace

Outdoor area with firepits and a water feature

Perfect for LAX - But for some reason I have my doubts it will open to the public like that....

 

[UP4014]

The QF F SYD lounge at all airports BUT with this Star Alliance lounge at LAX features outdoor seating, fire pits | L.A. Airspace

Outdoor area with firepits and a water feature

Perfect for LAX - But for some reason I have my doubts it will open to the public like that....

Would be good, but things never seem to end up looking like the artists impression.

 

[horseman]

They should make catching flights like catching buses. Just turn up 10mins before departure, and walk straight on.

No that time off the grid is kinda nice

 

[Algie]

Simple things like enough seats, open shops and enough power points to charge everything.

 

[samas]

hairdresser - would love to be able to get a hair cut at the airport. Great for those months you spend more time away then at home.

 

[coles525]

Minigolf for the family and young at heart (me!).

FREE phone charge (insert battery) machines like in Europe.

Train line to melb airport.

 

[Canny man]

I'm not much of a gambler but I always found the casino at Schipol kind of fun and a good way to enjoy your last bits of foreign currency

 

[JohnK]

Free internet access terminals with printing facilities.

 

[Catweazle]

I quite like ADL simply because there is always a quiet spot to relax in a corner, away from the hustle and bustle, even without lounge access.

Free wifi is always a bonus. Not necessary, alright, but it's nice to be able to check emails etc if we need to.

(Decently priced) train to MEL; also another vote from me. About time, seriously!

Things like the butterflies at SIN and the outside bar are always a nice bonus, which make for a more interesting and relaxed layover.

 

[Rebekkap]

Comfy seats with a view of the tarmac. Sea-Tac has a section with rocking chairs and a great view in all directions.

Starbucks. American terminals have this pretty well covered, but we could do better in Oz.

Posting boxes. I often have some last minute mail to post on leaving, and I like to send souvenir postcards home. Easy enough to buy a postcard, harder to buy a stamp, almost impossible to find a place to post the blessed thing! There was some place - might have been Miami - where the only option was landside. I had to leave my stamped postcard on a cafe table and hope that somebody nice would post my card. 'Cos I was only there for transit and I wasn't going to go out and hassle with the nudeoscopes and the TSA folk.

Good bookshops. Compass Books in SFO is an excellent example. So often the bookshops are chains that sell, well, airport books. Moleskines and fountain pens - is that too much to ask?

Chewing gum. You ever try to buy gum at an Aussie airport? I like to chew through the pressure changes in flight.

More dunnies.

in my experience Canberra has been the only airport where I haven't been able to buy gum. You certainly can in Mel and Syd, I may not have tried everywhere else!

 

[Rebekkap]

hairdresser - would love to be able to get a hair cut at the airport. Great for those months you spend more time away then at home.

Me too. I recently managed to get my hair cut but before that had gone six plus mons without a haircut as I never seemed to have time when the hairdresser was open and had time to cut my hair.

and I can't believe no-one has mentioned showers - if I didn't have lounge access I'd be desperate for showers mid long haul flight.

and I LOVE the pool in Changi.

 

[sjd]

Free wifi is always a bonus. Not necessary, alright, but it's nice to be able to check emails etc if we need to.

But without free wifi how would you read and update AFF?

 

[harvyk]

Free wifi is always a bonus. Not necessary, alright, but it's nice to be able to check emails etc if we need to.

IMHO free wifi is more than a bonus, it pretty much mandatory as far as I'm concerned these days.

Until recently I'd always wondered about the practice of coffee shops offering wifi given a large number of people have data allowances with mobile plans, but last week having access to free wifi at cafes and airports whilst OS was a godsend since I didn't want to be paying $20 per MB to use my AU sim.

 

[Nicholas Bignell]

A quiet place where you can sit and just vege out without all the suits and DYKWIA's yelling into there mobile phones.

Their mobile phones

 

[Chicken]

Free internet access terminals with printing facilities.

This! How many times you forgot to print some ticket / document / pass?

 

[markis10]

in my experience Canberra has been the only airport where I haven't been able to buy gum. You certainly can in Mel and Syd, I may not have tried everywhere else!

It was not that long ago it was off the shelf at international airports in Australia thanks to Singapore, this seems to have changed.

 

[Nizar]

Immigration counters that are fully staffed.

Has anybody seen this happen in MEL, ever ?
It is usually between 1/4 to 1/3 regardless of number of pax departing.
Arrivals always pretty efficient but departures are a nightmare.

 

[TonyHancock]

Their mobile phones

My mobile phone!

 

[Isochronous]

Has anybody seen this happen in MEL, ever ?
It is usually between 1/4 to 1/3 regardless of number of pax departing.
Arrivals always pretty efficient but departures are a nightmare.

Get WP and use an express card. It always works perfectly then!