i’ve been reading patrick smith’s “ask the pilot” column on salon.com for a long time. he’s extremely insightful and quite funny. i happened upon this gem today, in the column from june about the best/worst airports in the world:
Houston Intercontinental (IAH)
“I’ve yet to experience an airport in a third-world country, but I imagine Houston’s Terminal B does a good job of approximating one. It is dimly lit and depressingly colored; there is one tiny deli to serve everyone, and one bathroom. One only needs imagine crates of clucking chickens and guards toting machine guns to complete the effect. Terminal B houses the gates used by Continental’s regional jets. They’ve crammed as many tiny gates as possible into the space, with jets taking off for such glamorous destinations as Brownsville, Shreveport and Wichita. Taken as a whole, IAH is not a bad airport (especially the Pappadeaux restaurant), but avoid Terminal B at any cost.”
i’ve gotten stuck in houston three separate times for a total of like 26 hours of delays. he should have also mentioned the complete lack of air conditioning and the perpetual state of renovation they’ve been in for the greater part of 10 years. hilarious.
i don’t know what it is about aviation and aircraft that has always fascinated me. i never really flew all that much when i was little. we’d have vacation trips every so often, but that was it. as long as i can remember, i’ve been really interested by flight and airplanes though. not always the typical fighter-jet aircraft that seems to be such a popular subject of interest for kids. i was always more excited by commercial aircraft. i’m a huge nerd, i know.
