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Comment by progbits | Hacker News Reader

Transfer can also be exhausting. I would rather have it done early so when I get out of the long haul flight I can directly go to the hotel.

For all my EU->US (and back) flights, if I have to transfer I always do it in Frankfurt/Zurich/Heathrow, rather than US. The fact the airports and lounges are nicer helps.

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Yeah but US airports are ridiculous. There’s nowhere in the world with worse processing.

I’d take Indonesia and Heathrow during a lockdown over LAX on the quietest day of the year.

LAX is maybe the worst one in the US though with its constant construction.

Maybe it’s different for non citizens, but I’ve had easy international transfers through SEA, SFO, ATL, DTW, JFK, and MCO.

ATL, SFO, JFK are just as bad - just less claustrophobic.

If you're just talking about immigration lines, that seems not correct at all. I've definitely seen much longer wait times at quite a few non-US airports than the non-citizen lines at most US airports.

Aside from that, at least you don't have to clear immigration to leave the US. I always thought it was super weird that you need "permission" to leave many other countries, which adds a bunch more unpredictable time to the airport experience, beyond what's already there with the security lines.

And LAX is not exactly a great example; it's one of the worst airports in the US. SFO, EWR, IAD, and even JFK (to name a few) aren't anywhere near as bad, and are just-fine to good at some of them.

And Indonesia... having to pay cash in the airport in order to be allowed to leave the country? And if you're out of rupiah by that point, they charge you much more in USD? Hell, I'd probably take LAX over that garbage.

And Heathrow! Oh man, Heathrow. It's been years since I flew into, out of, or through Heathrow, so maybe things have gotten better, but what a terrible airport it was! Transferring between terminals was a pain in and of itself, not to mention the need to go through security again if you need to make a connection between certain terminals.

> Indonesia... having to pay cash in the airport in order to be allowed to leave the country?

They've had card payments since before 2019.

What makes European airports nicer to you? I'm usually annoyed by them due to the larger number of duty free shops and fewer seating at the gate. My experience with US airports is mostly with west coast airports plus main hubs like DFW and ATL.

My guess is they’re referring to the business lounges as being better in Europe than the US, which agrees with my experience (to your point, yes, often the gate seating is lacking).

Airports in the rest of the world tend to be more impressive and have better services (restaurants, lounges, bars, shopping). It largely comes down to different ownership models where the airport is trying to get you to spend money on entertainment. US airports may have more seating by the gate but I don't want to spend my time sat by the gate... Especially if I have a few hours between planes.

I think in practice there are reasonable and bloody awful airports in both Europe and the US.

One thing I do find to be better, in general, in European airports is that they have thought more about how people will actually get to and from the airport; generally, you get there, you follow a sign, and you get on a bus, train, or get to a taxi rank. US airports (my sample's relatively small, but at least SFO and SEA) seem to enjoy making this awkward. For instance, when you get off the train to SEA, you seem to have to walk about a kilometre _through a parking garage_; bizarre arrangement. If you want to get an Uber/Lyft from there, you go to a random poorly signposted place in said parking garage.

Actually, now I think of it, last time I was in SF I got a bus to the airport, and that _also ended up in a random parking garage_.

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