Airport food: Seems to have improved a lot but prices still crazy expensive

[scho63]

I've been on the road a lot this past year and with all the time spent at airports, it seems the food I have eaten is greatly improved over the first 35 years I traveled.

- Is it better quality restaurants?
- Needing to improve since it is so expensive?
- Am I just immune to shitty food and tolerate it?
- I have poor taste?
- I'm so hungry I would eat dog shit if they served it?
- I know some secret high class places for special people I go to?
- I think Airline Lounges serve good food for free?
- I drink too much and have no idea what the hell I am eating?

I'm currently sitting on an American Airlines flight from Norfolk to Charlotte and will be drinking soon, very soon.

So who is the travel food expert that can set the record straight?

[Shiver Me Timbers]

Originally Posted by DanT

The main issue with Heathrow is that it's very big and if you have to switch terminals, which is not unusual, you may have to go through security again. The layout hurt us a little on the way to Ireland........................ .

That is the problem. Also the fact they are always "remodeling" the place. Its been 30 years of "you can't get there from here, you have to go around this way". Wife and I went to Ireland last year and paid extra to fly into Dublin avoiding Heathrow.

[DanT]

Originally Posted by Shiver Me Timbers

That is the problem. Also the fact they are always "remodeling" the place. Its been 30 years of "you can't get there from here, you have to go around this way". Wife and I went to Ireland last year and paid extra to fly into Dublin avoiding Heathrow.

Aww, that makes sense. I've only been there four or five times and hadn't noticed any construction detours, except for the lounge remodel, but I can see how someone who's been there more times would notice that the place is full of headaches.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Shiver Me Timbers

That is the problem. Also the fact they are always "remodeling" the place. Its been 30 years of "you can't get there from here, you have to go around this way". Wife and I went to Ireland last year and paid extra to fly into Dublin avoiding Heathrow.

EWR is the same way, their remodeling has taken forever. Perhaps not as bad as LHR (which I avoid too), but it's bad. Frankfurt ain't great, but beats London by a mile.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by DanT

Heathrow doesn't seem that bad to me, but I've only been there a couple of times. Last year, a few of us from around the world flew there to stay a couple of days at one of the Hilton airports there (of which I think there are three different Hiltons, each connected to different terminals), in order to work on a research paper. My wife and I also went through there earlier this month, on a round trip to Ireland. The main issue with Heathrow is that it's very big and if you have to switch terminals, which is not unusual, you may have to go through security again. The layout hurt us a little on the way to Ireland because we didn't take advantage of the British Airways arrivals lounge we had access to in Terminal 3 because we wanted to get over the Terminal 2 in plenty of time for our Aer Lingus flight to Cork, but then when we got there, we weren't able to use the lounge that Aer Lingus had contracted with while renovating their own lounge. But that was OK, because the terminal itself was interesting and comfortable enough to wait in. On the way back home, we were able to use the lounges at all three airports (Dublin, Heathrow, and Dallas) on our way to Sacramento. The American and British Airways lounges were pretty solid. I don't normally fly that airline, but I was able to use the lounges because we splurged on business class seats (although the leg to Ireland on Aer Lingus was all economy and the leg from Dublin to Heathrow on the way back was a BA plane where the "first class" seats were still three across, but with the middle seat blocked off with a shelf for the two other seats to use, something I hadn't seen before and that was a little ridiculous.)
I normally fly United and have a credit card that includes a United Club membership. Although their lounges can get pretty crowded, they're still pretty comfortable, all and all, and worthwhile, at least for someone like me who mostly has to fly through multiple airports to get from Sacramento to where ever I'm going. United gets a lotta flack, and I had been wondering if I should switch to another legacy carrier, but watching Delta's response to the CrowdStrike snafu and experiencing American/British Airways on this latest flight is making me feel pretty good about United these days.

It is a little confusing I certainly had to pause making sure I was headed with the right way but they did a good job with security considering the volume. Once I went through it once it has made more sense the few times after that.

[Shiver Me Timbers]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

EWR is the same way, their remodeling has taken forever. Perhaps not as bad as LHR (which I avoid too), but it's bad. Frankfurt ain't great, but beats London by a mile.

That is funny- I avoid Newark at all costs.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Shiver Me Timbers

That is funny- I avoid Newark at all costs.

Me too, but sometimes I get tossed through the joint. On our next trip to Egypt one of the options had us going through ERW, that was a no.

[Mile High Mania]

I have also been traveling a lot this year and in two days, the family is going going on a week’s vacation. The food options are better and crazy expensive. I’ve told everyone that we are not eating at the airports and you better buy your snacks before we get to the airport. Prices are nuts.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Mile High Mania

I have also been traveling a lot this year and in two days, the family is going going on a week’s vacation. The food options are better and crazy expensive. I’ve told everyone that we are not eating at the airports and you better buy your snacks before we get to the airport. Prices are nuts.

We do indeed pack snacks if we're not going to have enough time in an airport to make the lounge worth it.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

We do indeed pack snacks if we're not going to have enough time in an airport to make the lounge worth it.

Bonus: have a home airport with a lounge that offers grab and go so you can just swing by and grab some snacks. (Capital One Lounge, to be specific.)

[scho63]

Originally Posted by GloryDayz

EWR is the same way, their remodeling has taken forever. Perhaps not as bad as LHR (which I avoid too), but it's bad. Frankfurt ain't great, but beats London by a mile.

That was my home airport for 1/2 my life and I have never seen it completed.

One massive construction scam. Lifetime jobs.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by scho63

That was my home airport for 1/2 my life and I have never seen it completed.

One massive construction scam. Lifetime jobs.

Is there ever an airport that is not under construction?

[George Liquor]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Is there ever an airport that is not under construction?

I want to go see the new MCI. Last time I was up there it was weeks away from closing the old terminals and the thing was no more than a concrete fallout shelter. It was grim.

[displacedinMN]

Originally Posted by displacedinMN

Is there ever an airport that is not under construction?

Terminal 2 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is getting bigger.

Work on adding two more gates on the terminal’s north end started Thursday, and when the $263 million job is completed in 2027 the facility will have 18 gates, up from the current 14.

The 168,000-square-foot expansion includes more seating for passengers flying out of gates H13 and H14, plus new restrooms, concession spaces, and additional space for airlines and tenants, the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which owns and operates the airport, said

Terminal 2, which opened in 2002, serves Sun Country Airlines and six other domestic and international carriers. The terminal had its busiest month ever in March with a record 711,612 passengers and 4,588 landings and takeoffs, the MAC said.

“We are seeing a surge in travel demand, highlighted by a string of record-setting months at Terminal 2 this year,” said Brian Ryks, CEO of the MAC. “This project is a long-term strategic investment to support our airlines, improve the passenger experience, and to keep pace with demand that fuels growth at MSP and in our local economy.”

Earlier this year, the airport received a $20 million federal grant for the Terminal 2 project through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Terminals Program.

In a separate project, two new gates are set to open this fall on the south end of the terminal, the MAC said.

And even more gates could be on the way. The MAC’s MSP Airport 2040 Long-Term Plan calls for adding as many as 18 more at Terminal 2.



Also a BIG remodel on terminal 1. Lasting at least 10 years.