Design for Flying

This time of year I must come clean as a frequent-flier Miles Junkie. This week, I've been double checking my account to ensure I hit Platinum before year's end. Why the obsession with miles status? Mostly, because it's the only way I've found to ease the pain of travel. Status guarantees shorter lines at check-in and security, waived baggage fees, space overhead for bags, fancy lounge access, and every so often… a seat a the front of the plane.

A major reason flying is so unpleasant is that the vast majority of airport terminals are designed for travel in a different (pre-9/11) era – when in-flight meals were served au gratis, security was a quick scan for metal objects and even the most careful travelers arrived at the airport only 30 minutes before departure. Airlines receive too much blame for the hassles of flying... the flying public are in a lousy mood before they ever step on a plane.

It's no wonder we're miserable: beefed up security can't fit into cramped quarters at outdated airports, there's not enough food (or horrible choices) in the terminal before forced in-flight fasting and seating in the gate areas is sparse. If your flight's delayed, may the flying gods be at your side as you find space to charge your laptop or phone. That Wifi you need to change your flight/hotel/car service will cost you… if it's even available. Feeling parched? That's because you tossed your water bottle hours ago at security.

Several architecture firms, notably HOK & Gensler, are trying to make flying fun (for everyone) again. Allison Arief wrote in the NYT about a new crop of terminal projects for which planning and design began after 9/11. If you're lucky enough to fly from the North Terminal in Detroit, the JetBlue Terminal at Kennedy or Raleigh Durham's Terminal 2, you'll find more space, more light, and more pleasant places to spend a few hours. I'm hoping that SFO's long-delayed Terminal 2, set to open in spring 2011, will take some pain out of my travel on American Airlines.