Marisa T. Martin

I’ll be logging some serious air miles this year, so before I booked my first flight in January, I had a decision to make: which airline?

Back when I traveled heavily, I flew Continental.  They had conveniently located hubs – Houston when I was in New Mexico, Newark when I was in NYC – and weren’t Delta. 

But from Knoxville, Continental is expensive and inconvenient, leaving Delta, United, and US Air.  US Air planes tend to be scruffy and loud and old and their teams are rude and mirthless – no thanks.

Down to Delta and United.  I chose United because a) they’re not Delta and b) I like that they give me options, even if I have to pay for them.

Delta sucks.  Their flights are frequent and well-timed, but unless you fly 50,000 plus miles, you’ll never, ever, ever get upgraded out of Atlanta.  And they do little things that drive me nuts, like not letting me choose my seat when I check in if the flight is more than x% full.  That’s crap.  If I wanted to get there early to wait in line to get a good seat, I’d fly Southwest.  Last thing: I get that your flight attendants are here for my safety, but can we not make it such a grumpy experience?

So I fly United because they’re not Delta, but also because they give me a thousand options.  When I check-in, I’m given the privilege of paying extra if I want to board first, get a better seat, or upgrade completely.  I love it.  Sometimes I do want to pay $40 to go to the front of the line; other times, not so much.  And I’ll happily pay an extra $5 to sit farther forward than everyone who’s not willing.

Now if only you’d offer outlets.

That’s wrong, right?  I hadn’t traveled much in the past four years, spending most of my time in my home office.  In the past three months, though, I’ve logged quite a few air miles – and opinions about airports.

Knoxville: my home airport and one of the nicest.  The bathroom stalls are big – so I don’t have to awkwardly wrangle my carry-on – and the aesthetics (and people) are just plain nice.  Plus, if you’re there for any length of time, you can sit on rocking chairs and stare out at the mountains.

Charlotte: you suck.  Really.  Stapling pieces of paper over outlets – with a hand-scrawled “Do Not Use” - is tacky and ridiculous.  Charge me to use them, or charge me for something else, I don’t care, but don’t keep me from charging my laptop and phone while sitting in your stupid airport waiting to board a delayed flight.

Phoenix: moving walkway after moving walkway after moving walkway.  And this one needs a coat of paint and a deep-cleaning.  Bonus, though, for having a Starbucks deep within each terminal and not just in the connecting areas.

Indianapolis: love this one.  Bathroom stalls are big, moving walkways are convenient, and each terminal has a massage place that’s actually open most of the time!  And they keep your frequent massage card on file for you! And the restaurant bar has a view! (of the boring, flat Midwest, but still….)  It’s the little things.

Seattle: honestly, your airport is nothing special, but the people here are so very nice, and the open carpeted areas are nice for stretching out legs and (apparently) sleeping on one’s duffel bag.  If only you had more conveniently located (and, ahem, cleaner) bathrooms.