> spending time at the airport is fun

People's preferences really do vary widely, don't they?

There's nowhere I feel less safe than a security checkpoint, and nowhere I feel less relaxed than a high-pressure commerce zone clamoring for attention I don't want to give and trying to squeeze me out of money I don't want to spend.

But there are people who voluntarily go to Las Vegas, on purpose, because they think they will enjoy it: so, we are clearly not all alike.

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dkarl 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

> a high-pressure commerce zone clamoring for attention I don't want to give and trying to squeeze me

I find air travel mostly unpleasant, but if it's a given that I have to go through the ordeal of security and the flight, I find extra time sitting in the airport quite pleasant. Everybody regards you as in transit and unreachable. Nobody around you knows you or wants to talk to you, and it's easy to find a spot where the only sound intrusions are announcements and nearby conversations. It's so easy to sink into focus on work, or even a book.

Many times I have exaggerated my concern about making a flight so I could catch an extra hour of solitude in the airport.

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ghaff 2 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Novelty is often a thing of course. I don't think anyone who travels a lot really enjoys airports even if distractions like butterfly gardens and nice airport clubs can make them more tolerable. Some people are probably into the duty free shopping though it's mostly not a bargain.

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disgruntledphd2 a day ago | parent [-]

> Some people are probably into the duty free shopping though it's mostly not a bargain.

Depends on where you are. Certainly, flying from Ireland you can get some really good spirits (particularly whiskey) for much cheaper than you would in the rest of the country. That's mostly because of our absurdly high duties on booze though.

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ghaff a day ago | parent [-]

You sort of have to have checked luggage though given the way re-entry to the US works in many airports if you're changing plains.

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disgruntledphd2 a day ago | parent [-]

Yeah, but I normally fly for a week for work so that's not an issue.

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ghaff a day ago | parent [-]

Never had checked luggage for a week work trip--at least post wearing suits and so forth. And carry-on can often be an issue when arriving in US at least for liquids and potentially having to reclear security.

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disgruntledphd2 12 hours ago | parent [-]

> Never had checked luggage for a week work trip

Are you US based, perchance? I'm based in Ireland and remember the first time I got in a plane on the states and saw the absurdly large carry-ons that people had. I guess I'd just do that if I were in the US but as I cut my teeth with Ryanair I tend to optimise for smaller cabin baggage and a checked bag for work trips.

> And carry-on can often be an issue when arriving in US at least for liquids and potentially having to reclear security.

This is totally fine as the duty free people put the spirits in a specific bag which they let through security.

	▲	ghaff 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I don’t use wheeled hard carryons. I’ve just learned to live with a 40L soft side travel backpack. Can travel with that for multiple weeks if it’s just fairly casual urban travel. But I basically never do the budget airlines.