Tuesday, October 18, 2011

SLX

I recently spent a little time outside the country, and had the opportunity to use Salt Lake City International Airport as a departure point for the first time since I last left Utah back in 2002. Only in retrospect (and in comparison to the absolutely abhorrent LAX which was also part of my trip) did I realize what makes SLX a good airport; you don't really notice that you're in an airport.

At LAX, there is never any doubt that you're in an airport. You are constantly surrounded by abrasive noises that are unique to airports; announcements are constantly blaring over the PA system, construction sounds surround you practically everywhere you go, and noisy traffic if you are unfortunate enough to have to move from one terminal to another. It's crowded at all hours, and the lines to do anything are unbearable. There are uniformed officials everywhere you look, but it's still unclear where you should be moving next. Due to the construction in some terminals, many signs are misleading or blatantly incorrect. It all adds up to a complete nightmare that makes SLX seem like a dream in comparison.

There are several important factors in this. Wifi is free and easily accessible; there are also cafe-styled tables and chairs scattered around the terminals. If you clear security early, you're not stuck staring at a gate until your plane starts boarding. Also, in contrast to LAX, once you're past security, you're not confronted by too many more uniformed airport or TSA employees. Finally, the layout of the airport is considerably simpler than lesser airports, and there is sufficient (and sufficiently clear) signage to assist you in getting to the right place. This all adds up to a much more intuitive and invisible airport experience.

1 comment:

  1. Having flown using both SLX and LAX this summer, I agree with your observations. I think the main problem with LAX is the sheer amount of traffic it receives. According to Wikipedia it is the 5th busiest airport in the world by traffic movement. It also served just under 59 million passengers, versus SLX's 21 million. Shutting down even one terminal for construction would cause a lot of trouble. Hopefully they can figure out something to increase the quality of the airport, but I doubt that much will happen soon.

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