We’ve turned airports into shopping malls, because airline passengers aren’t an airport customer they’re the product to be sold to. Longer dwell times to fill with shopping, therefore, have become a feature not a bug.
Restaurants, too!
Even if you resist the urge to buy books and souvenirs at the airport, arriving 3 hours early will probably mean you need to eat a meal that you would have otherwise eaten at home or at a cheaper restaurant.
And even if you’re not hungry, you might choose to sit in a comfy seat at one of the airport bars, having a few drinks and appetizers.
Fun fact, Portland International Airport mandates street pricing, meaning items should cost the same as they would outside the airport.
Jsut flew out of San jose and a whole pizza was $45
And it’s not even gonna be good pizza
The only decent pizza joint in San Jose is ASoNY
Sounds nice in theory, but the Hudson shops still charge a small fortune for a bottle of water and a bag of trail mix. I will say, however, that the restaurant pricing is good. I had a burger and a beer at the spot over the arrivals exit in the main terminal and didn’t get ripped off.
DIA does a similar thing too IIRC
That’s why I pack snacks and bring my Steam Deck.
Hank Green had a quick video on this recently. Airports like LAX are laid out in such a way that it can take up to two hours to get from the curb to the gate. Rather than try to offer more targeted advice, passengers are just given a flat 2-3 hour number to ensure the majority of people will get in on time. It’s overkill for most airports, but you need to do your due diligence
ETA: The mentioned video
I’ve had to walk down the 105 and all the way up sepulveda to catch a pre-xmas flight once. Wasn’t the only one. This was a few years after 9/11 and they were still doing random checks on vehicles. Hate that airport. Worst I’ve been too in any country.
