Swamp Travel Guide

[mister d]

Speaking of travel ... anyone ever book a separate two-part connection? Like fly from A to B on one airline then B to C on another, both pieces booked separately?

[DSafetyGuy]

Speaking of travel ... anyone ever book a separate two-part connection? Like fly from A to B on one airline then B to C on another, both pieces booked separately?

Dangerous game. Likely to have to leave secured area between flights, pending connecting airport. No protection for second flight if first flight is delayed.

[mister d]

That's my fear, but it would turn a 7 hour layover into 3. Thinking maybe we just suck it up on the long layover and plan on leaving the airport for a bit in the middle.

[garyclark]

Speaking of travel ... anyone ever book a separate two-part connection? Like fly from A to B on one airline then B to C on another, both pieces booked separately?

I have not except in emergency.

It is almost always more expensive, and definitely risky unless you are spending the layover somewhere for a couple of days.

[garyclark]

I can't remember the details, but I deplaned a Southwest flight in Nashville that announced its delay after we boarded, rebooked on Delta while I was still on the plane, and got home that night. The Southwest plane was eventually grounded, so that was a business travel power move.

[sancarlos]

Yeah, I did that same move back when I was a business traveler. And I’d do it for sure to make a 7 hour layover into a 3 hour one.

[govmentchedda]

I can't remember the details, but I deplaned a Southwest flight in Nashville that announced its delay after we boarded, rebooked on Delta while I was still on the plane, and got home that night. The Southwest plane was eventually grounded, so that was a business travel power move.

Speaking of awful airports. Nashville really oughta get its shit together. Not as bad as old NOLA, but woefully small for a city that size.

[garyclark]

Agree. But they still run laps around BWI.

[mister d]

Yeah, I did that same move back when I was a business traveler. And I’d do it for sure to make a 7 hour layover into a 3 hour one.

It would actually be slightly cheaper to do it the split way but the cancellation risk + having the whole family has me leaning long layover and maybe renting a car for a few hours?

[garyclark]

Yeah, I did that same move back when I was a business traveler. And I’d do it for sure to make a 7 hour layover into a 3 hour one.

It would actually be slightly cheaper to do it the split way but the cancellation risk + having the whole family has me leaning long layover and maybe renting a car for a few hours?

Yeah. Especially traveling with kids. Eliminate as many unforced errors as possible.

[Nonlinear FC]

Apropos of nothing, really...

Flying home from Maine on Monday and they board a fully loaded Southwest flight and pretty much immediately after we are all seated, they tell us the Washington ATC isn't allowing any traffic for the next 2 hours.

We got on the plane at 2:15... We took off at 5:10.

My wife and I had loaded up on Netflix stuff so we were pretty much fine. But this flight had a ton of babies and under 3 kids. Felt bad for those parents. The time in the air is only about 90 minutes, so parents had mentally geared up for that... Over 4 hours in a metal tube is way different than a little under 2.

[Nonlinear FC]

I'm curious, what airports are you guys blown away by? Because BWI is... fine. I've been in a lot of airports the last few years and there isn't one that I've been, like... Holy shit, this place is awesome!

Like, Las Vegas is garbage. Denver is pretty OK. O'Hare and Midway are... whatever. Dulles, National... Sure, fine. Logan is not great.

Nashville and New Orleans are butt. Jacksonville is whatever.

[L-Jam3]

Bozeman is done up like a hunting lodge. I'll give points there for interior design.

[Giff]

I don't have too much to draw on, but I like Austin's a lot. We will fly out of there sometimes if we find much cheaper tickets since it's only about an hour longer from our house than the two here in Houston.

[garyclark]

I'm curious, what airports are you guys blown away by? Because BWI is... fine. I've been in a lot of airports the last few years and there isn't one that I've been, like... Holy shit, this place is awesome!

Like, Las Vegas is garbage. Denver is pretty OK. O'Hare and Midway are... whatever. Dulles, National... Sure, fine. Logan is not great.

Nashville and New Orleans are butt. Jacksonville is whatever.

I have yet to be in an airport where I would say I'm blown away by it (caveat: I've never been to Singapore). It's more about the airports I try to avoid. Those include Philadelphia, Charlotte, Atlanta (as a frequent Delta flier, I always try to go through Detroit instead of Atlanta if possible), Dulles (more about the location), and now BWI.

The new wings of Laguardia are probably my favorite airport experience. Same in San Francisco.

I like Logan a decent amount. Maybe I've just gotten used to it. But it's a well-run airport. Tons of good local food options.

The new New Orleans airport is actually pretty great.

I think the Albuquerque airport is pretty cool because the architecture reflects New Mexico. Portland, Maine is also cool looking. But I've never flown in or out.

Providence is a very well-run small airport with the best bathrooms of any airport I've been in (I think bathroom quality is one of the most underrated parts of an airport). It feels like you're in the Ritz Carlton in Providence's bathrooms.

Some other airports I think are above average: Indianapolis, San Diego, National, Seattle, and Austin.

[tennbengal]

I'm curious, what airports are you guys blown away by? Because BWI is... fine. I've been in a lot of airports the last few years and there isn't one that I've been, like... Holy shit, this place is awesome!

Like, Las Vegas is garbage. Denver is pretty OK. O'Hare and Midway are... whatever. Dulles, National... Sure, fine. Logan is not great.

Nashville and New Orleans are butt. Jacksonville is whatever.

Charlotte is a pretty decent place to be stuck on a long layover, actually.

[garyclark]

Charlotte is a pretty decent place to be stuck on a long layover, actually.

I'm 0-for-2 there. Once it was less about the airport, and more about the entire downtown shutting down at 10 PM, and me not being able to find anything to eat after a lengthy delay.

Philly's another one where I've just had bad personal experiences.

[tennbengal]

Charlotte is a pretty decent place to be stuck on a long layover, actually.

I'm 0-for-2 there. Once it was less about the airport, and more about the entire downtown shutting down at 10 PM, and me not being able to find anything to eat after a lengthy delay.

Philly's another one where I've just had bad personal experiences.

I'm just talking about being stuck in the actual airport for a layover between flights - they have a whole series of those nice cracker barrel style rocking chairs and some good eating options.

[mister d]

I don't think PHL is as bad as people say it is. I think O'Hare is the worst ever. PDX is nice.

[DSafetyGuy]

Yeah, I did that same move back when I was a business traveler. And I’d do it for sure to make a 7 hour layover into a 3 hour one.

It would actually be slightly cheaper to do it the split way but the cancellation risk + having the whole family has me leaning long layover and maybe renting a car for a few hours?

If you opt to rent a car, this would be a circumstance where I would endorse paying for insurance with the rental. A one-day rental charge plus insurance is likely less than what you would spend on transportation otherwise and if something minor happens (dinged in a parking lot, for example), you get to just drop off the rental and walk away.

[garyclark]

I don't think PHL is as bad as people say it is. I think O'Hare is the worst ever. PDX is nice.

Good call on O’Hare.

Philly is actually top 10 in the world in on-time departure. And they have some good restaurants.

But if you have to switch terminals - and need to get on these ridiculous people movers - it can be a nightmare. Those are THE WORST way to get around an airport anyone has ever designed.

Being stuck in one of those for 45 minutes once was one of the most stressful travel experiences I’ve ever had.

[mister d]

Maybe things were a lot different ~15 years ago, but when I had to fly out of PHL for work a lot, the delays were always announced on the early side, pre-boarding. They were frequent, but known and expected and, like you said, the restaurants/bars were solid enough and had enough seats it wasn't the worst thing in the world. O'Hare seems to have all the delays but with one seat per every 700 people in the airport.

[DaveInSeattle]

I think the Albuquerque airport is pretty cool because the architecture reflects New Mexico. Portland, Maine is also cool looking. But I've never flown in or out.

The "Great Hall" part of the Albuquerque airport is awesome. I remember the first time I flew into there, when my parents were considering moving to Los Alamos in 1979, they still had the "rollup stairs" and you had to walk across the tarmac, and I thought I was landing in the 3rd world.

Some other airports I think are above average: Indianapolis, San Diego, National, Seattle, and Austin.

Seattle, especially the baggage claim area, is a total mess right now, due to re-modelling work going on. But they do have the cool SubPop store, which is great.

[Nonlinear FC]

That's kind of what I'm getting at... Most of our feelings about airports come down (mostly) to personal experiences, and a lot of those come down to things like being delayed or having to get from one part of the place to another.

(The new wing of BWI has some of the nicest bathrooms I've ever been in at an airport.)

((Flown out of Dulles a lot... They have some decent restaurants and the place is never really crowded, so it's a very stress free environment. It's also very clean.)

For the record, having just spent 2 hours or so in the Portland airport... That's not a joint you want to endure a long delay/layover. There's pretty much one restaurant for the entire terminal. The other option was Burger King or a bagel/sandwich place.

[Nonlinear FC]

Also, having flown in/out of Denver a lot... It's fine, with an ok array of restaurants... It's VERY crowded and the bathrooms are pretty janky. Also also, if you check luggage there, be prepared for at least 25-40 minutes of standing around.

[sancarlos]

Every airport has its issues, but the most pleasant are those recently remodeled. As garyclark noted, the new wings of San Francisco and La Guardia fit this. Detroit’s Delta terminal is still nice. Albuquerque is nice. My least favorite is Phoenix. Overcrowded. Few electric outlets. And longest walks on layovers this side of O’Hare.

[garyclark]

That's kind of what I'm getting at... Most of our feelings about airports come down (mostly) to personal experiences, and a lot of those come down to things like being delayed or having to get from one part of the place to another.

(The new wing of BWI has some of the nicest bathrooms I've ever been in at an airport.)

((Flown out of Dulles a lot... They have some decent restaurants and the place is never really crowded, so it's a very stress free environment. It's also very clean.)

For the record, having just spent 2 hours or so in the Portland airport... That's not a joint you want to endure a long delay/layover. There's pretty much one restaurant for the entire terminal. The other option was Burger King or a bagel/sandwich place.

Yes and no.

Personal experience plays a major role, as in everything.

But at some point - and I’m not clear when - trend data becomes valid. I don’t like Philly, but I haven’t flown out of there enough to have a valid opinion.

I feel like I can speak confidently about Boston, Prov, Atlanta, Detroit, Indy, O’Hare, DFW, NOLA, LaGuardia, San Diego, SF, Minny, National, Denver.

And there are just some things that are factual (location, public transportation, ease of access, amount of seating, on-time departure).

[BSF21]

Hey your favorite Midwest jagoff checking in. What's the easiest way to rent a car these days? Expedia? Call them directly? Good companies/bad companies?

I need to get a car in Boston (probably at Logan) on a Thursday and drive to Lake Placid NY for the weekend and then drop the car in Albany on Monday when I fly home. Teach me your ways o Swamp travel mob.

[Nonlinear FC]

My wife handles that stuff. What I can say is that joining a few that have an elevated level of service usually doesn't cost you anything (they just want you in their orbit going forward) and you can usually jump any lines and you get the pick of a higher class of car.

We've had very good luck with Hertz Gold, for example.

The other thing she does is books a couple of different companies. When we just rented a car in Portland, we had Enterprise and National on the hook. It's kind of like restaurant reservations... It's kind of a dick move if no call/no show, but you aren't going to get charged for anything. (For the record, once we decide on the company, we cancel the other res.)

That pro tip came after a few REALLY fucking awful experiences at Denver renting from Enterprise. We now never rent from lower budget rental companies when we are flying into busy airports. We almost exclusively go with Hertz flying into those types of high traffic airports. Again, can't recommend enough going for the Gold membership. You get off the bus, your name is on the board, and you can pick from dozens of nice vehicles.

I can't really speak to doing the thing where you pick up at location A and drop off at location B. I'm pretty sure you have to pay a premium for that, but I'm sure other dudes on here have direct experience.

[mister d]

I've done that a bunch of times. I think as long as you're using airports and stuff you should be fine and not see much of an increased charge; its not like you're taking or leaving a car in nowheresville.

[sancarlos]

I’ll second the idea of joining their club so you don’t have to wait in lines. I’ve been an Avis guy, but I think all the big ones are about the same.

[Brontoburglar]

the new Kansas City airport is the best midsize airport in the country and it's not even close. it's unreal how awesome it is and I'd love to spend a layover there if I had to even without a lounge to go to

eta: on the car rental thread, we've had great experiences with National lately because of the discount LA gets. BSF, check with your credit cards; if you have an upgraded card you may have an automatic status upgrade with a big rental company

[wlu_lax6]

Hey your favorite Midwest jagoff checking in. What's the easiest way to rent a car these days? Expedia? Call them directly? Good companies/bad companies?

I need to get a car in Boston (probably at Logan) on a Thursday and drive to Lake Placid NY for the weekend and then drop the car in Albany on Monday when I fly home. Teach me your ways o Swamp travel mob.

Hockey tournament in the miracle barn?

[govmentchedda]

Every airport has its issues, but the most pleasant are those recently remodeled. As garyclark noted, the new wings of San Francisco and La Guardia fit this. Detroit’s Delta terminal is still nice. Albuquerque is nice. My least favorite is Phoenix. Overcrowded. Few electric outlets. And longest walks on layovers this side of O’Hare.

Tampa gets consistently high marks in rankings, and I completely agree. It's set up as a hub and spokes for gates. Recently remodeled is definitely a sign of a good airport. The new Vegas terminal is great (International, mostly, I think). I have no problem with Atlanta. New NOLA, as mentioned above, is really nice.

I don't travel for business, so I don't have as much experience as OG Swamp GC.

Let me echo Nonlinear on car rentals. Absolutely sign up for the free membership, it's infinitely more helpful than randomly booking a car. I also like Hertz.

[BSF21]

Hey your favorite Midwest jagoff checking in. What's the easiest way to rent a car these days? Expedia? Call them directly? Good companies/bad companies?

I need to get a car in Boston (probably at Logan) on a Thursday and drive to Lake Placid NY for the weekend and then drop the car in Albany on Monday when I fly home. Teach me your ways o Swamp travel mob.

Hockey tournament in the miracle barn?

That's the plan bud

[garyclark]

+1 on the car rental membership. I'm a Hertz guy, but I'm sure Avis is the same.

There's also a newer European car rental group called Sixt that operates out of major hubs (I don't know if they're in Boston yet). I've used them a bunch of times, and I think that - because they're a European company - they have much better cars to rent at similar prices. I got a Mercedes SUV from them in SF for the same price as Hertz/Avis were renting full-size sedans. I could have chosen a Land Rover or BMW.

Also, if you have a credit card, there's a good chance they cover a decent amount of the insurance charges as long as you use that card for the rental. So call them and ask.

[garyclark]

I have no problem with Atlanta.

Atlanta isn't a bad airport in its design and offerings. The problem is, because it's the busiest airport in the world, when things go wrong, YOU ARE SO SCREWED. It's the sheer volume. I've been there when there are so many people stranded due to weather that the line to every restaurant is like 100 people long. I waited in line for 45 minutes to get a gross old pre-packaged sandwich from one of those food carts. And there was nowhere to sit at all.

That's the worst I've seen it. But it's been bad multiple times when big delays hit.

It must have been the fifth circle of hell when Crowdstrike hit.

[DSafetyGuy]

Your auto insurance policy may cover your rental car insurance. Worth checking.

[DaveInSeattle]

+1 on the car rental membership. I'm a Hertz guy, but I'm sure Avis is the same.

I joined the Hertz club for my most recent trip to Denver. Super easy...no idea why I didn't do that before.

There's also a newer European car rental group called Sixt that operates out of major hubs (I don't know if they're in Boston yet).

We used them a few years ago at LAX. We remarked that the rental counter felt like a euro-disco (in terms of lighting and music)

What ever you do, do not use a company called Fox at DIA. My daughter and I did that last summer, and we stood in line for over an hour, and then sat outside for 45 minutes to actually get a car. But at least we got one that worked...poor woman waiting with us got hers, and the check engine light came on when she started it up.

[Ryan]

Sixt is in Boston but it’s European in the same way an Aldi in the sewers of Dresden would be. Avoid.