Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How to fuck up an airport

radiospaetkauf.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

221–230 of 320 posts

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#221

Post by ivan_gammel »

kriz9 wrote: post #135
biztos wrote: post #115

Arguably off topic, but having suffered through BER several times, I have a few tips to share which might reduce your own suffering. First: post-security you will find some of the most disgusting food ever served in an airport, but hey it’s also expensive and the servers don’t hide how much they hate being there! However, there is a little shop near the left-side stairs that sells better alcohol as well as soft drink…

I would add two more suggestions here: 1) If you have 50€ to spare always take the taxy to the city center. If you take the train you will hate this airport as much as the one at Frankfurt. You can thank me later. 2) Use security lanes 1 or 5. They are the furthest and less busy. Everyone usually just queues up by the nearest one. Don't trust the indicators.

What’s the big deal with the train? I always prefer it as it’s faster than taxi.

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#222

Post by residualmind »

ginko wrote: post #47
franze wrote: post #26

I just landed in BER 20 minutes ago and I am just amazed how bad the signage is The signs tiny and all in the same red/white color. The monitors tiny and sparse. The placement of the tickets for the trains placed where you do not pass. And just good luck if you go down the wrong stairway and then reached the nowhere, without any visible signs. They cared about the CI way more than about fast passenger throughput.

>They cared about the CI way more than about fast passenger throughput. Continuous integration?

Counter Intuition

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#223

Post by jltsiren »

nradov wrote: post #197
Atsuii wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apron buses are very common in large airports and I always found it really efficient. From memory I’ve used them at Haneda, Narita and KL. Perhaps the ones in Germany are just altered metro buses though, which would be terrible. Apron buses are efficient due to being low to the ground, having very wide doors to accomodate quick loading and unloading, typically no seats.

Buses are a lot less efficient than proper jetways. Why are European airports so far behind?

European low-cost airlines are terrible. They do everything they can to lower the fees they pay. That often involves skipping major airports, unless they can negotiate a cheap enough deal with the airport. Those deals tend to involve things that make the passenger experience worse, because the airports don't want normal airlines to choose the same deal.

If you choose a normal airline and fly to any reasonably big airport that's not overcrowded, you'll get a jetway outside exceptional situations.

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#224

Post by notpushkin »

jonnybgood wrote: post #188
enlyth wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was just there over this weekend, they sold us those 9 eur train tickets saying you can use it for any train anywhere. Then we board the first train that Apple Maps suggested and the first thing we hear from the announcer "9 eur tickets are not valid on this train".

The 9 euro ticket is only for local and regional trains. However, you can just get about anywhere taking only local and regional trains, but it'll be a very long day.

Some more discussion here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31445822

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#225

Post by nradov »

jltsiren wrote: post #223
nradov wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buses are a lot less efficient than proper jetways. Why are European airports so far behind?

European low-cost airlines are terrible. They do everything they can to lower the fees they pay. That often involves skipping major airports, unless they can negotiate a cheap enough deal with the airport. Those deals tend to involve things that make the passenger experience worse, because the airports don't want normal airlines to choose the same deal. If you choose a normal airline and fly to any reasonably big air…

I've flown on major airlines through German hub airports and was stuck riding a bus to the airplane.

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#226

Post by iforgotpassword »

enlyth wrote: post #164
biztos wrote: post #115

Arguably off topic, but having suffered through BER several times, I have a few tips to share which might reduce your own suffering. First: post-security you will find some of the most disgusting food ever served in an airport, but hey it’s also expensive and the servers don’t hide how much they hate being there! However, there is a little shop near the left-side stairs that sells better alcohol as well as soft drink…

I was just there over this weekend, they sold us those 9 eur train tickets saying you can use it for any train anywhere. Then we board the first train that Apple Maps suggested and the first thing we hear from the announcer "9 eur tickets are not valid on this train".

Was it a white one (with a red strip)? Afaik these are the only ones you can't take.

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#227

Post by notpushkin »

benedikt wrote: post #154
biztos wrote: post #115

Arguably off topic, but having suffered through BER several times, I have a few tips to share which might reduce your own suffering. First: post-security you will find some of the most disgusting food ever served in an airport, but hey it’s also expensive and the servers don’t hide how much they hate being there! However, there is a little shop near the left-side stairs that sells better alcohol as well as soft drink…

> You can use a standard subway ticket almost. the airport is one stop into zone C, and a “standard” ticket would only be valid in zones A and B. you need either an ABC ticket or a standard ticket + extension ticket.

How often do the ticket inspectors come in right after the airport stop? If it's relatively rare, you theoretically could ride that one stop without a ticket (but of course that would be totally illegal, do not do it).

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#228

Post by ssl232 »

aldebran wrote: post #122

Frankfurt airport is marginally better. Flights stop in the middle of the runway. Take a bus. Buses are late. Walk for what feels like eternity. No regard for accessibility. I’ve met multiple senior citizens frail, waiting for their wheel chairs and worried that they’re going to miss their connecting flights. As good as German engineering is, the airport infra is equally worse. It’s a shame. I like flying lufthansa.…

Heathrow terminal 5 (almost exclusively BA/OneWorld) is on average the nicest hub terminal I've regularly been to. It's busy but once you've explored you'll know the quiet corners. Buses to the aircraft are rare. Security seems busy but fast. Baggage is a decent walk but I'm almost always connecting so don't need to go there. A London underground station going directly into the middle of the city. Food expensive but not Schipol or Frankfurt expensive (£4-5 for a decent sandwich instead of €10).

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#229

Post by ifelsethenyeah »

I don't care about ascetics much at an airport except decorating around functionality.

Around 2005, the newer Shanghai airport had information boards that didn't contain information except various permutations of Windows' BSODs. IIRC, it was that terrible, inefficient design of long and narrow.

In general, DFW is a better layout: almost circles of gates globbed almost contiguous to each other as lettered terminals relatively close together connected by a bidirectional tram, many security screening entrances and exits, and people moving devices (i.e., moving walkways, "golf carts", etc.)

Re: How to fuck up an airport

#230

Post by ManuelKiessling »

ginko wrote: post #47
franze wrote: post #26

I just landed in BER 20 minutes ago and I am just amazed how bad the signage is The signs tiny and all in the same red/white color. The monitors tiny and sparse. The placement of the tickets for the trains placed where you do not pass. And just good luck if you go down the wrong stairway and then reached the nowhere, without any visible signs. They cared about the CI way more than about fast passenger throughput.

>They cared about the CI way more than about fast passenger throughput. Continuous integration?

Caveat International-flyer
Post reply on HN