Good Terminal

Future Flights

John F. Kennedy International Airport The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which runs the three major international airports in the New York and New Jersey Metropolitan Area, approved in May 2008 a $20 million planning study to improve Terminals 2 & 3 , where Delta Airlines runs the bulk of flights. from the press release: The Port Authority has spearheaded a public-private redevelopment program at JFK that began in the early 1990s and has delivered more than $9 billion in improvements, including new passenger terminals and parking garages; more efficient roadway, runway and taxiway systems; AirTrain JFK; state-of-the-art cargo facilities; an award-winning concessions and retail program; upgraded utilities and much more. Terminals 2 and 3 were opened in 1962 and 1960, respectively, and handled domestic and international operations for Pan American World Airways. When that airline ceased operations in December 1991, Delta assumed its operations in the two terminals. My c...

Airbus A380 arrives at JFK yesterday. The luxury jetliner, which can seat up to 600 people, and more if they are strapped to walls and hung from the ceiling, lands at one of the busiest airports in North America. Unfortunately, JFK is an example of a declining infrastructure in the United States. From the New York Times City Room blog: Among the top 10 finishers of the World Airport Awards in 2008 were five airports in Asia, four in Europe and one in Africa (Cape Town, South Africa). The highest-ranked American airport was San Francisco International Airport, at No. 11. The top 10 award winners this year were: 1. Hong Kong International Airport 2. Singapore Changi International Airport 3. Incheon International Airport in Seoul, South Korea 4. Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia 5. Munich Airport in Germany 6. Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay 7. Copenhagen Airport in Denmark 8. Zurich Airport in Switzerland 9. Helsinki Vantaa Airport in F...

Are you a jet-setting, super-star international traveler? Do you take more than 12 flights a year around the world, for business and/or for pleasure? Is it a great joy to visit a hyper-modern airport and marvel at the technology, while enjoying a relaxing massage in Singapore's Chiangi Airport? Do you sometimes wonder, when you visit New York's JFK International, why the immigration line feels like the cafeteria line in a third world jail? If you frequent existing and new airports springing up in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and if you normally notice the finer things in airport amenities, then I would like to interview you for "Good Terminal," a technology and travel blog designed for the mobile airport lifestyle. Please PM me and let's begin a conversation about what it is like to embark on air travel in this rapidly developing global economy. I am particularly interested in stories about the wonderful and tragic experiences you have had flying in and out o...

Remember all those fees you were paying American Airlines to add another bag to your roster of bags that absolutely must come with you on the flight? That was meant to compensate for fuel, I'm sure. And you need those bags. So, you would hate it, right, if after all that fee-paying the clunk baggage system fouled up when you arrived in New York to visit your relatives. That happened at JFK this week. The Wall Street Journal reports that the baggage meltdown is one more reason to take your bag on board . This makes your flight nomad hack here reflect back on travels to other destinations in the world and how easy it is for other airports to consistently deliver baggage in a timely manner, while keeping things interesting. Hong Kong International Airport comes to mind. When you land in Hong Kong you go through this streamlined immigration process. They are good at this, because every destination away from Hong Kong is international. There are no such things as domestic flights, eve...