Flying Internationally

I haven't been to a lot of different European airports, but I have been to a few of them, and these are my observations about them -- First of all, I usually fly Delta.  I've had the fewest problems with Delta.  I did fly American Airlines to Europe once, and it was a little disappointing.  One of my layovers was at Dallas Fort Worth, and they held the plane at the airport for almost an hour because two passengers had decided not to fly, so they had to go through all of the luggage until they found theirs and pulled their suitcases off the plane.  As a result, I missed my connecting flight in London.  Also, I have never been to an airport that I liked as well as the Salt Lake City airport in Utah.  My standards are pretty high, but none of the international airports I have been to compare to the SLC airport.  

Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS):  

Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is my favorite international airport because it is easy to find your way around and has more food options than some other airports I've been to.  For a flight to Italy, when choosing between a layover in Paris or a layover in Amsterdam, I would definitely choose Amsterdam.  Signs are in English and flights are clearly posted so that you can see which gate to go to.  Gates are easy to find.

My very favorite thing about the Amsterdam airport, though, is the Man in the Clock in Lounge 2.  You can only see this clock if you are departing from Amsterdam on an international flight.  It is one of Maarten Baas' clocks from his Real Time series.  A man filmed himself painting on the time, erasing it, and repainting it each minute, for a twelve hour period.  Then this film is played in the clock.  There is another one of these clocks at Paddington Station in London.  I have heard that there is also one in Venice, Italy, but I haven't gone to see it yet (hopefully soon!).

Lounge 2 is very easy to find and you will almost certainly go past it when heading to your gate for an international flight leaving from Amsterdam.  

I've been in Amsterdam for an overnight layover before as well, and there are good and convenient hotels near the airport.  I've stayed at both the Hyatt Place Amsterdam and at the Hilton Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.  

The Amsterdam airport also has some fun places for kids to play while waiting for their flight.  At the Dutch Kitchen restaurant you can sit inside a giant teacup while eating.  There is a playground with an airplane that kids can play on in lounge 2 also.  

Another thing I really like about the Schiphol airport is that security isn't a nightmare.  When I have gone through, they didn't make me take my computer or liquids out of my bags.  I'm not sure if that's how it always is, but it sure made security go faster.  They also didn't require me to take my shoes off.

London Heathrow Airport (LHR):

I ended up spending several hours exploring the London airport after missing my connecting flight and having to wait for the next flight to Brussels.  My biggest complaint about the London airport is that they wait so long to announce which gate your plane will be departing from, that sometimes you barely make it there in time to board.  When they did book me on a new flight, I wasn't even sure where to wait in the airport so that I didn't miss my next flight!  Finally I saw on the board that my flight had been assigned a gate, and I rushed just as fast as I could to the gate and made it when boarding had already started.

Another thing I don't like about the London airport is that they do not have very many seats with electricity.  Again, I am comparing airports to the SLC airport, which has charging stations at every seat.  I did manage after some time to find some place to sit and charge my phone, but I had to wait for other people to leave on their flight.  There is also not a lot of choices of places to eat in the airport.

When I arrived in the London airport for my connecting flight to Brussels, I had to go through security again before my next flight, even though I had already been screened before boarding my plane in Salt Lake.  Security took a very long time, and after my flight being delayed nearly an hour in Dallas, it was no wonder that I missed my connecting flight after taking so long going through security.

Charles De Gaulle Paris Airport (CDG): 

This is by far my least favorite international airport!  When flying to Rome, I would definitely choose Amsterdam over Paris.  Finding your way around the airport is not easy, flights flash on signs so briefly that you can barely tell which gate to go to.  If you don't speak French, you will have a lot harder time making your way around this airport.

They are very tight on security, which of course is for safety reasons, but it does take longer when flying out of Paris.  When I have flown through that airport they have required me to take all liquids out of my bag and all electronics.  One time I forgot that I had a kindle with me, so I took my computer out of my bag but left the kindle in it.  My bag was flagged and this made security take even longer as they went through my bags.  Another man had also had his bags flagged and they pulled out all of his clothes onto the counter for all to see, underwear and all.  Of course I'm glad they are careful about security, but the attendants in my line were also not very friendly.

Another observation I have with the Paris airport is that it is pretty gloomy, probably because most of the times I have been to Paris it was rainy and cloudy.  This might have affected my overall view of the airport.  I remember feeling stressed about making it to my connecting gate because you have to ride the shuttle to get between terminals.  

My advice is that if you do have a layover in this airport, make sure it's at least 3 hours long.  That way you won't feel stressed and in a hurry to find your gate and make it to your next flight.  Keep in mind that this airport is about an hour away from Paris city center.  We rode the metro from the airport to our hotel, which was right by the Eiffel Tower, and we arrived so late for our flight that portions of the metro shut down before we reached our hotel.  A taxi ride would have been smarter, although it would probably have taken just as long as the metro to reach our hotel from the airport.

Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO):

Leonardo da Vinci, or Fiumicino Airport is a smaller airport, so it is easier to find your way around.  Unfortunately there are not direct Delta flights from Salt Lake City to Rome, so I have always had to have a layover when flying to Italy.  My most recent flight from Rome gave me a very favorable opinion of FCO, because the lady who checked in our bags was very kind and patient with us.  We had an overnight layover in Paris and my mom hadn't realized that they would be keeping our checked bags all the way to Salt Lake City, so she hadn't kept her sleeping materials in her carryon.  The attendant waited patiently as my mom went through her bags, moving necessary items to her carryon.  

Probably the best thing about the FCO airport is the Leonardo Express -- the fast train that goes directly from the airport to Roma Termini in the heart of Rome, about a 30 minute ride.  Tickets to ride the train are inexpensive (about 16 euro) and you can buy them at the airport directly before boarding the train.  If you miss the train, you can take a later train as long as it is that same day.  You cannot, however, ride the train before your assigned time, so I recommend buying a ticket for the next available train, even if you think you might not make it to the train in time.  

Brussels Airport (BRU):  

This is a small airport, but that makes it easy to find your way around.  Flights to the US will depart from gates B or T.  My flight departed from T.  I rode a shuttle to get to T.  I don't remember there being many places to eat at the airport or that the security process took very long.

Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE): 

One of the times we visited Italy we flew into the Venice airport rather than Rome.  We rode the Mestre Express Bus, which takes about 17 minutes and costs 10 euro each way.  The airport is small and easy to navigate.