Why Can’t the Airports Get it Right?
Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008I landed at LAX last week and was shocked! I flew from Taipei to LAX on an EVA Air full B-777. Not sure exactly, but I think that should be about 250 passengers. The flight was smooth and comfortable and I was excited that we landed on time. My journey wasn’t complete as I had to go through customs and check into a domestic flight to New York. I was shocked to see that when we disembarked we had to be bussed to the terminal. I understand when small aircraft are sometimes given the boot and not offered a gate, but a long-haul 777? Give me a break!
I also think people often put the blame for these inconveniences on the airline. The airline has absolutely no control over these circumstances and it is up to the airport. Now, I don’t know all too much about LAX, I will admit, but this instance actually made landing at JFK or Newark look good! I would be interested to learn more about the history of these airports and why, when landing in major hubs of the US, it often feels like a developing country and not a country that (still) has the strongest economy in the world. English is barely spoken and travelers are not given a warm welcome, but instead are greeted by bad signage. In fact, when I land in developing countries, I usually have great experiences, at least a warm welcome, and more times than not nowadays, there’s even a high speed train into the city. When I finally did land last week, it took me two hours to get from EWR to Manhattan (approximately 20 miles) on the train.
To me, security is always number 1, but the consumer experience follows right behind it and with the traffic these airports support year in and year out, why can’t we figure out how to do an efficient overhaul to make the travelers’ experience a pleasurable one?
-Alex Young, vice president and associate publisher
