The Best and Worst Layover Airports

Sometimes you can’t fly nonstop. I love airports so that’s not really a problem for me. I’m happy to hang out during a layover. But it has become my understanding that apparently not everyone loves airports as much as I do. With that in mind, I thought it might be helpful to readers to list out my favorite and least favorite layover airports, so, if you can’t fly nonstop, you can choose your layover wisely. I have ranked each hub by airline.

American Airlines

1. STL – Saint Louis
2. MIA – Miami
3. JFK – New York Kennedy
4. LGA – New York La Guardia
5. DFW – Dallas-Forth Worth
6. ORD – Chicago O’Hare

Not ranked: LAX (haven’t flown through there enough times to rank it)

Saint Louis isn’t too much of a hub for American anymore, but it is still a layover airport for them. American occupies only a few gates in a small area, so it is incredibly easy to get around and you could easily make a tight connection. Plus the terminal is recently renovated, so it’s nice to look at. I also appreciate the number of power ports available.

On the other end, O’Hare is an awful airport. There are constant delays. It’s old and gross. No power ports almost anywhere. Avoid it if you can.

AirTran

1. BWI – Baltimore/Washington International
2. MKE - Milwaukee
3. ATL - Atlanta

Not ranked: Fort Lauderdale, Orlando

BWI is a great airport. Power ports are everywhere and the terminals are very pretty. It’s also pretty easy to get around, as AirTran/Southwest share two terminals that are close together.

I can’t stand Atlanta because it just takes forever to get anywhere. The terminals are all separate, so you have to take an underground tram to get between them, or walk down a very long underground walkway. Either way, it can easily take 20 minutes to get between gates. Don’t make a tight connection there.

Delta Airlines

1. CVG – Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky
2. MEM – Memphis
3. DTW – Detroit
4. SLC – Salt Lake
5. JFK – New York Kennedy
6. LGA – New York La Guardia
7. MSP – Minneapolis-St. Paul
8. ATL – Atlanta

I love flying through Cincinnati and Memphis. Thanks to Delta, both airports are relatively empty as they were built to be monstrous hubs but Delta has cleared out of late. Also thanks to Delta, lots of power ports are available in both airports. This makes them really pleasant and easy to get around. Delta has confined its flying to two connected terminals (possibly one now in Cincinnati). Cincinnati beats Memphis because it is way nicer-looking, but Memphis has it beat on food thanks to the Corky’s inside security.

I also want to mention Detroit because it is probably the most beautiful airport in the country. It has high full-glass walls that look out on huge jumbo jets in all directions. The reason it is lower-ranked is because it is built in two really long corridors, so if you need to get from one end to the other it can take awhile, and if you need to switch from a regional jet (one terminal) to a mainline jet (the other terminal) it can also take awhile. You do get to walk through the “LSD tunnel” that runs between the two terminals, which is a fun stroll.

As I said before, I can’t stand Atlanta. Although one thing I will say is that all the white Delta jets make a pretty sight to see on landing and takeoff. Minneapolis is just as hard to get around with its own intra-terminal tram. I try to avoid laying over there as well.

JetBlue

I’ve never made a stop on JetBlue except once when we ran out of fuel on the way to Long Beach and had to land in Salt Lake for 20 minutes, but that doesn’t count.

Southwest

Southwest doesn’t have a hub model, it operates point-to-point traffic mostly. This means you can pretty much layover at any of their airports, which are way too many to rank in order. I will say in general Southwest’s airports are great spots to lay over because they tend to operate in smaller airports and in confined areas within those airports, so they’re easy to get around.

U.S. Airways

1. PIT – Pittsburgh
2. CLT – Charlotte
3. DCA – Washington Reagan
4. PHL – Philadelphia

Not ranked: Phoenix

Pittsburgh is probably my favorite layover airport in the whole country. The Wikipedia page on the airport is actually fascinating. Basically U.S. used to have a megahub there, and then it dismantled it. But not before the airport was completely overhauled and made beautiful and technologically advanced. There has yet to be a single occasion there where I haven’t been able to find an entire gate to have to myself.

An honorable mention must also go to Charlotte as the best megahub to fly through. There are something like five terminals in Charlotte, but they all connect centrally in an expansive area with a great Quiznos and rocking chairs with power ports. It doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to get pretty much anywhere in the airport. Besides the rocking chair area, it is generally lacking in power ports.

Philadelphia is a horrible airport. It is plagued with delays and is gross on the inside. I try to avoid laying over there at all costs.

United

1. CLE - Cleveland
2. DEN – Denver
3. SFO – San Francisco
4. IAH – Houston
5. ORD – Chicago O’Hare

Not rated: Washington Dulles, LAX, Newark

Cleveland is another one of those awesome Midwestern hubs that has the perks of a big hub but has been emptied. Highly recommended. Denver is not emptied by any means, but it is a very well-designed airport.

Again, O’Hare is terrible. And even though I’ve never flown through Newark, I’ve heard absolutely awful things.

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