#8 ENJOYTAKEOFF.COM

ENJOYTAKEOFF.COM

#7 EDITORIAL

Imagine all your bags are packed, all the preparations have been made; your neighbour will feed the cat and take care of your mail. You're en route and have just arrived at the airport, when it hits you: You never got around to buy that travel guide you wanted to get for the holiday. Buying it over in Spain doesn't seem to be a good idea since you don't speak Spanish. And maybe you forgot something else at home that you wanted to bring along? Who hasn't been there?However, this shouldn't be a big deal anymore, because today's airports are no longer just places where planes take off and land. They have evolved into airport cities with a mall like atmosphere, boasting shops to cater for your every need. From adaptors to cosmetics and clothes, there is almost nothing that you can't purchase at an airport. There was a time, when you only had to be at the airport only 60 minutes prior to departure. Today it is recommended to be there 90 minutes before take off due to more thorough security checks, and at least 3 hours for intercontinental flights. The amount of time we have to spend at airports has significantly increased, and frequent delays and cancellations don't help that matter either. As fast as air travel may be, the fact that it goes hand in hand with waiting time, cannot be ignored.

This is a complete guide to the airport, that will hopefully help you to make the most of the time you have to spend there, before you can finally board your flight and jet off...

#6 ...

I want to look at the airport as a space in general, as an inbetween place, where nobody ever really wants to be. Airports are a stop you have to make in order to get to your final destination. When you are the airport, you have left (e.g. your home) and arrived (at the airport), but you are not really 'there' yet either - because 'there' is the place you want to go and not the departure lounge. Once your flight has landed, you have arrived somewhere, but at the same time, you are still en route to your final destination.

In relation to that, I’m exploring the traveler-airport relationship. At an airport, one always has to prove his innocence (e.g. showing your ID, letting your bag be searched to prove that there are no harmful objects in etc.) which has become significantly more difficult since 9/11. I want to look into how the relationship between the traveler and an airport has changed, how airports were perceived in the past and how they are perceived today. I’m conducting a series of experiments exploring that relationship and showing how people move and interact within the space.

I also want to look about how airport policies can completely change the perception of certain things, i.e. water, which is generally considered completely harmless, but once it is in a bottle and taken to airport security, it is suddenly regarded as a potentially dangerous ‘weapon’ that could be used to hijack a flight.

# 5 Airport Terminals by CJ Blow

I came across this fantastic book, Airport Terminals by CJ Blow today which covers just about anything related to airports, from layout to organisation and logistic. It's by far the most interesting book on the subject that I've ever read.Unfortunately, it was published in 1996 and some of the information is a bit outdated (Heathrow alone was extended by a new terminals since the book came out). Nevertheless, I hope that I can still get some good information out of the book.

For some reason most of the good books on Aviation seem to be written pre-9/11 therefore don't encompass the many changes that have been made since then....

#4 Pack A Suitcase

In case anyone still wants to pack 'virtual suitcases' for me, here's the link to little suitcase project I did for my territory presentation:
PACK A SUITCASE FOR ME*

#3 Airport Experience

So I've applied for a week long work experience at London City airport, but considering they are the same people who wanted to arrest me the other day for being 'too intrusive' I don't know if I have a chance there at all. I'd would really love to it, because they offer insight into all the areas I've interested in (aviation management, luggage handling, transit and customer services). Fingers crossed!
On another I booked my flight home for Christmas the other day and arranged for an interview with one of the customer service managers there.

#2 Airport Statistics

WORLD'S BUSIEST AIRPORT
ATL - Heartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Atlanta, GA.
Largest number of passengers annually (since 1988)
Most arrivals and departures annually. (1999–2000, since 2005)