[watersz]

The staff looked at our family’s passports (Hong Kong) and then welcomed us with a “ni hao” in Mandarin

nice touch but didnt thay get the language wrong?

[samuel95]

@watersz, yeah, they did. Anyway, Mandarin is pretty close to Cantonese and I don’t expect them to know every single dialect in China.

[maxgeorge]

To turn this discussion on it’s head, I have a nomination for the Best Airport in Africa.

Durban’s new King Shaka International.

Admittedly it’s miles north of town, out in the bush by Tongaat, but it’s clockwork smooth, from the Avis Return to the swift security line, and BA’s lounge is nothing short of bloody marvellous.

As good as T5’s Concorde room in terms of food, drinks and service.

Both CPT and JNB were improved for the World Cup, too.

[CHINABOY]

To WATERSZ, “ni hao” is indeed correct for HELLO in Mandarin
which is spoken in most of mainland China except for Guangzhou
Province as well as in Hong Kong. Cantonese is the native
tongue for Hong Kong citizens but many do indeed also understand
Mandarin so greeting them with “ni hao” is perfectly acceptable.
Considering that they landed at a European airport I think it is pretty
amazing to indeed have been given such a nice greeting. That
certainly would not have happened at any American airport!

[JJ51435]

Unfortunately South Africa was not… Bad Winter weather, awful noise of the vuvuzelas, usual crime and of course the rate rip-off that comes with an international sporting event.

[JJ51435]

Surprising since the French would not care less, barely glance at passports – besides the ones from 3rd world nationals – and do not specially speak anybody else’ s language- besides French. On the other hand, I had a good experience with the Belgians at the Brussels National airport. Friendly, smiley and welcoming.

[Swissdiver]

Worse airport in Europe: FRA without any doubt. Lots of walking, poor shopping, lack of food choice, delays, losses of luggage, harsh staff, … Now I guess they get some good grades from Senators who seems to have a good treatment. That said, an airport should be judged globally, not just for its VIP services.

CDG is not that bad … unless it is crowded. If it is, it is a nightmare even for premium passengers…

Best in Europe? LHR T5 by very far.

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

“Best in Europe? LHR T5 by very far.”

Can’t agree with this, Zurich offers a significantly better user experience, Istanbul is good, Munich too, Orly is old, but much more efficient than T5, Barcelona is very good, Madrid equally good (you travel as far, but horizontally rather than vertically, Gardermoen is efficient and Schiphol is also pretty good.

Agree FRA and CDG are not nice, neither is most of LHR.

Best small airport is Malta.

[BABenji]

ZRH isn’t that great. E gates have the infuriating train with its bloody horns and cow. The B gates (I think) are awful. Never enough seating. If you land at or depart from the A gates then it’s alright.
There are never enough police at Passport control and they don’t enforce the EU/EEA/SWISS rule at the desk designated for these passengers (unlike at T5, where one is promptly sent on their way if in the wrong queue). Customs after baggage collection is also a bit of a bottle neck. The lounges are also dire. The SWISS lounge with its rice and vegetables offering is desperate. The generic lounge is a touch better, and at least it isn’t as crowded.

Istanbul is fine up until you want to board and then it all falls to pieces with the security check at the gate one of the most inefficient anywhere.

T5 is fantastic, although having to use the train, but at least at the other end the facilities are bloody good. The rest of Heathrow is not much fun by comparison. T3 is a disaster.

Barcelona is OK, apart from the naff generic lounge.

[Swissdiver]

DisgustedofSwieqi,

ZRH looks like an empty mall. Having to ride that train is ridiculous. Lounges are a joke. And even for such a small airport, we have to walk for miles. To be avoided!

IST: Nightmare to get there. For the rest it is more or less all right.

MUC: Agree. Far better than FRA. But you cannot compare LHR and MUC (in 2009, LHR handled 66,037,578 passengers while MUC less than the half, 32,681,067).

ORY: As you wrote: old. And not a hub. And not efficient at all.

BCN and MAD: Long time I haven’t been there. I pass.

AMS: It is a lottery. If you have to walk. Boy you walk. And their lounges are average (after renovation).

OSL is nice. And I like the speed train to go down town. But it is even smaller than DUB or ZRH. No comparison possible.

Best small airport is LTT… But not exactly the busiest 🙂

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

Swissdiver

To a frequent business traveller (which I am) Zurich offers very short and reliable transfers, which is very important.

I nearly missed my last connection at T5 due to the ridiculous transfer security arrangements and queues, even though I had 90 minutes in between flights, whereas on my last Swiss connection through Zurich, we left LHR 20 mins late due to congestion, had a go around due to winds, arrived with 15 mins to STD and still made the onward flight (whcih left on time), thats why I like Zurich. And my checked luggage made the onward flight, too.

The train ride to mid field is fine, with services every 3 minutes (and when the Swiss say every 3, they mean it.)

[Gin&Tonic]

T5 has 2 issues, the security for whatever reason and I still cannot understand it is so much slower than other places. There is no obvious reason it just is. Also if they showed on the screens the satellite earlier you could move at lot sooner creating more space in A and relax in B (or c) in the nearest lounge or terminal areas.

[Swissdiver]

DisgustedofSwieqi,

I am based in GVA and prefer flying long haul through LHR. BA is clearly a reason but not only. So you guess I cannot agree 🙂

Now security lines at LHR are not the most enjoyable part. This is sure. But I also spent hours in ZRH and elsewhere in those lines… That said, yes LHR is congested. And yes it is an issue. That said it is the only drawback of T5. So I just plan some more time. Which often simply results in a nice massage in the lounge or a (well, not often one :-)) glass of Grand Cru Classé…

BarnesG,

Agree. Actually I don’t like when it is B…

[Gin&Tonic]

DisgustedofSwieqi I now when I am in transit at T5 make the exit for arrivals and enter back again thorugh normal security at departures. I only did the connections twice and what a hell hole.

[Swissdiver]

BarnesG,

This is what I do in CDG. But I wouldn’t try now at LHR given the increased level of security their. 15 – 20 minutes queue at passport control earlier this month with a Swiss passport (= EU there) to enter the UK. OK it was on a Monday morning, but still…

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