First-Class Airports! Guess Where?

As a manager in a 1st class airport in a 3rd world country (and not in Asia), I found your article quite interesting. What's surprising is that you actually noticed the difference. Most visitors rush through so quickly and pre-programmed that the effort we put in seems to go unnoticed. And it is about priorities - our upgrade took years of planning, getting funding, designs and building. It took committment at the national level from government, business, etc. I don't think the US has all 'bad' airports, just many uncomfortable spaces.

To say that Incheon International Airport is a 1st class airport in a 3rd world country is laughable. Korea is not 3rd world, it is 1st world. A better assessment would be 1st world airports in Asia. Singapore's Changi has been voted the best airport in the world for over a decade. It is now getting competition from Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok, Kuala Lumpur's KLIA, Seoul's Incheon, and some other new airports that are coming on line (Ho Chi Minh, Manila). American aipport designers and owners need to understand that American's aren't the only ones that can design great airports, and they should visit these award winning airports to learn from the best.

Dear Mr. Gross,
It has nothing to do with rich or poor countries. it is about prioroties. When we are busy fighting a war, we have no money for other things.

I agree wholeheartedly with the assessment that the U.S. aiports are long overdue. However, I have to disagree with your take that the short-term miseries of the American flier are a function of our nation's long term success. Rather, I would take it as we all just want to live in status-quo and not improve ourselves while others are passing by us. You just have to go to Japan, Hong Kong or Singapore to see their cities and their airports are equally splendid. It is just a convenient excuse to comfort ourselves for having bad airports because of our success. Instead, we need to catch up with other nations, be they the poorest nations or the richest nations, whether it's education or airport. If not, we will just keep falling behind.