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Swimming pools, movie theaters and more
With a few exceptions, the airports of yesteryear were grim assemblages of hangars, tunnels and waiting pens more suited to cattle than humans. Lines snaked into eternity, edible food was scarce, and traversing between gates required more than a little resilience.
How times have changed. Today’s best airports are closer to upscale malls, offering services and distractions like swimming pools and fitness clubs, expansive shopping facilities, play areas for children, first-rate hotels for overnights and in some cases, even fine art. Some of these places are starting to attract people who don’t have a plane to catch.
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that an airport which aspires to improve the level of comfort and convenience for the passengers who travel through it will have an advantage over those that don’t,” said Adrian Bridge, Commissioning Editor at the travel section of Britain’s Daily Telegraph.
In fact, many clued-in travelers are now choosing carriers because of what that airlines’ hub — whether that happens to be Lufthansa’s second offering in Munich, or Swiss International Airlines’ primary one in Zurich — is offering: in these cases, sparklingly beautiful exercises in design and efficiency.
See our slideshow of the best airports for a layover.
For many years, the airport to beat has been Singapore’s Changi, which as a regional hub has outshined many of its fresh-faced competitors in Asia and become a favorite for the traveling cognoscenti.
“For me, the most important thing is a short turn-around time,” said Leisa Kenny, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Karma Resorts, “and no airport does that job better than Changi. Plus, there are top-notch shopping, fitness and shower facilities available to anyone. Best of all, there are complimentary Internet and charging facilities.”
Kenny, who is based in Bali and travels around Asia via Changi, says the airport’s benefits are apparent: “For those of us who have to do the nightmarish overnight stay, you can choose the airport’s Transit Hotel to bed down for the night without even having to clear immigration, saving time the next day,” she said. “That, to me, is priceless.”
And things are looking up here in the States, where for decades passengers have been relegated to dank, pre-fabricated terminals that date back to the dawn of the jet age. Now passengers are enjoying the fruits of a late 1990’s terminal building boom; at least 10 cities around the country have new facilities — including Seattle, Miami, Detroit, New York’s John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles.
The most promising is Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport’s $1.4-billion Terminal D. Serving an estimated 5.6 million international passengers, the state-of-the-art 28-gate terminal offers the requisite smattering of shops and a posh 298-room Grand Hyatt Hotel, Wi-Fi access and a security screening center with three walk-through explosives-detection machines capable of processing 2,800 passengers per hour.
Back in Asia, meanwhile, new airports like Nagoya in Japan (with its unparalleled food court and popular viewing terrace) and South Korea’s Incheon are sidling up to stalwarts like Hong Kong, whose Regal Airport Hotel feels like a resort. MORE...
See our slideshow of the best airports for a layover.
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