In terms of my top cities, I tend to stay away from them as much as possible when on holidays and focus on the regional areas. If I make it to Canada next year I’ll spend a couple of days in Vancouver but my real focus will be the rural areas in and around the Rockies and also the coastline (Vancouver Island etc.)
I would like to see NYC and maybe Tokyo, though, to experience a proper ‘uber metropolis’ or alpha world city. Sydney and Melbourne-for all their pretenses- don’t cut it as ‘alpha’ global cities.
Smaller metro areas with cooler climates such as Dunedin, Hobart and Canberra (well, 6 months of the year) are my pick.
The three favourite cities in the world that I have been to:
London, United Kingdom (back in early 2009)
Beijing, China (back in 2002)
Christchurch, New Zealand (last year)
The only airport we have here that’s somewhat decent is Adelaide, namely because it had a full rebuild, and it was not a half arsed job, certainly was something a bit different. I haven’t been there in 10 years so no idea if the terminal is now at capacity.
Looks like Western Sydney will be another step change.
Another bad one is Melbourne Terminal 4. If you look closely on the outside, you can see the old Tiger Airways T4 ‘Shed’ is actually still there, it was been built ‘into’ the new T4. Who remembers the Tiger baggage jail arrivals hall?
Gold Coast Airport, was a shocker last time i departed through it (2 years ago i think). People sitting on the floor everywhere due to a total lack of seats, felt a bit 3rd world.
With OOL, They upgraded the International Wing, which has minimal flights a day, meanwhile the domestic side is still the pits.
Airports here get a lot of band aid work done. It’s just polishing a turd. I see Sunny Coast airport is next Ho getting a revamp.
I’ve been told LAX is quite good now after its upgrade. My favourite in the US was Palm Springs Airport.
Have many memories mid winter zero degree temps waiting half an hour for the bags in that shed, you couldn’t leave the shed as you couldn’t get back in. The only plus is they a carpark next to the shed so was quite easy getting picked up and moving on quickly.
I wonder if these improvements were carried out during the pandemic? My vision of LAX is endless immigration queues and getting the third degree from border officials. Or are you just talking about the appearance of the airport?
I don’t care if the airport looks shabby; it’s the ‘UX’ factor that matters above all else. The Tiger experience at Melbourne doesn’t surprise me- you do get what you pay for with air travel (except First class; you’re still on public transport at the end of the day!)
No, the whole UX experience. I only transitted through LAX last time (from SFO to SYD) but had no issues getting food, a table to eat at (6.30pm) or at the bar or a seat in the departure lounge.
It looks nice too, and that to me, is also part of the UX experience. HNL just looked and felt so old that it detracted from the experience for me.
I had the same experience with heathrow. as much as people moan about it, i found it to be pretty good. longest lines were for immigration, but on departure especially no issues getting a seat or food and its got good connections to central london.
Melbourne Airport has been voted the best airport in Australia and the Pacific at the Skytrax World Airport Awards for the third consecutive year with the airport finishing in sixteenth position in the world.
Singapore’s Changi Airport was named the world’s best.
T4 is nice since they did it up, except for the huge trek from some of the outer gates to the terminal itself. You’d swear they make Jetstar land in Sunbury and walk you back to Tullamarine. Trying to find a seat in that central food court bit can be a bit challenging at busy times too.
I’m a frequent flyer through there on Virgin, and it’s an absolute pain that they’ve removed their dedicated gates at T3 and you have to detour all the way out to the T4 security to get back to the Virgin gates. Adds at least an extra five minutes walking and means you’re always stuck in a queue.
Haven’t flown Qantas in a while, but last time I did T1 was fairly old and ordinary, although I believe it was being renovated.
Changi however is a deserved winner for worldwide. It’s like a mini city in there, and with the Jewel shopping centre a short walk away, there’s so much in and around it.
The airline has apologised and launched an itinerary change claim program, as it begins informing passengers who are eligible for refunds over the incorrect fees charged to customers making changes to their bookings between 21 April 2020 and 31 March this year.
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said the company recently discovered the issue and launched an internal investigation, which has found about 61,000 customers – or about 0.1% of all bookings processed in the five-year window – incurred the incorrect charges.
The refund program is open for 12 months. Eligible customers will be contacted by the airline.
Yeah I loved Shanghai. I wasn’t that big a fan of Beijing. I also loved Xi’an. The terracotta warriors was such an amazing thing to see. I would really love to go back to China.