Miami Airport is A Mess

[Queen]

I just happen to be sitting in Tampa. Really nice airport Free Wireless internet.

Good to know, thanks!

Usually ORD Park and Fly at the Rosemont Residence inn.

This trip out of STL on American with miles to Curacao. STL-Tampa-Mia

Boy, that's just an excellent itinerary.

 

[irie1029]

Caymaniac... Agree the whole bilingual I am cool with but it really PO'd me when the primary language is latin. my wife kept telling me to shut up but last I looked this was United States. As far as the reg set I carry on and get hassled a little here in fort wayne but no problem elsewhere. I also use a cheap blue suitcase for my other gear I check looks at the dive op but hey its cheap and unassuming.

 

[morecowbells]

Usually ORD Park and Fly at the Rosemont Residence inn.

This trip out of STL on American with miles to Curacao. STL-Tampa-Mia

We were supposed to do the STl-Tampa-MIA route also. About a week before our flight we got a call from AA. They said that route was no longer available and put us on a STL-MIA flight. Unfortunately it was a red eye and we had 7 hours to kill in MIA. I knew there was no way in hell I could survive sitting in THAT airport for 7 hours. We rented a car and walked around Coral Gables for a few hours. It was a great diversion.

If you can overlook the cafeteria ambiance of La Caretta it is actually pretty good. Cafe Versalles is also decent.

 

[irie1029]

November Flight to Curacao is Delta through Atlanta... Seriously I am Boycotting MIA.

 

[jd950]

I don't like MIA either, but to be fair about it, I don't care about the language issue. It is Miami, and that is how it is there. It's not like they don't understand you or the signs are in Cyrillic. I don't know about the rest of you, but if I'm going thru MIA on a dive trip, I am on my way to a foreign country anyway. I don't care about the accents and its not like I can't get where I need to be. Rude people? Yeah, but no worse than I have found in N.Y., Philadelphia and other large cities, especially in the East and Northeast. For a few dollars difference I might choose someplace else, but for the flights I take through MIA, going a different route would be at least a couple hundred more. It isn't worth it to me.

My solution is to take a paperback and an Ipod, leave a lot of connection time and look forward to a mojito and some cuban food.

I haven't had anything stolen from my luggage, yet. But I try to avoid putting valuable stuff in my luggage. Several times I have arrived at a destination or come back from a trip, mostly to to Mexico and not through MIA, and found evidence that my bags have been gone through, and probably not by TSA. Regs, cameras, computers, etc., go in carry-on. I think anything else is asking for trouble. It shouldn't be that way, but it is. I figure its unlikley someone will rip off my fins or wetsuit or whatever, but who knows?

 

[scubafanatic]

...sometimes I deliberately drive the long way to work, knowing I've just added a little bit extra CO2 to the atmosphere, enhancing the onset of global warming, the rising of ocean levels, and ultimately, accelerating the obliteration of Miami Airport!

 

[k ellis]

Wow nothing good comes out of MIA. I flew there for a scuba trip to Key Largo and by far was the worst nightmare I ever had. Lost a dive knife in my checked luggage, Car rental is a joke and you have to have a GPS just to locate it. They are rude as all get out and I found myself speaking to the staff for other tourist who were lost because the staff could not speak english.

American Airlines had more freaking check in stations and just finding out which one was the right one took an act of God. Traffic in and around the airport sucked and I could go on and on! This is one airport I can agree paying extra when possible to avoid is a worthy investiment!

 

[F106A]

irie1029, thanks for starting this thread. Disclosure:the following is from a flyer who's been through MIA only once. (And once was enough!) MIA is indeed a poster child for what an (American) airport should not be. I fear, however, that it is a model for what we'll be seeing in the coming years. Poster #9 - spot on. Poster #12: you have low standards. Poster #17: good decision! No. 20 - "How's TPA?" VERY nice, specially since their improvements. Poster #23: What does "I've never had a really BAD experience flying out of MIA (hundreds of times)" mean? You haven't been murdered, robbed, or missed a flight because you don't speak the lingo? And Spirit: I fly them frequently; they go from where I live to where I want to get. But, they're NOT all that cheap after they beat you up with their add-on fees. (IF you pre-pay for luggage be sure to take a copy of you're receipt to check-in!) And they've changed the seat pitch on their A319's (and, I think, 321's) - meaning, "Schedule knee surgery after the flight unless you're under 62" tall. And Spirit's FLL terminal: try them some morning around 7AM. Be prepared to be VERY vocal during check-in to get anything that even resembles "service" and make your flight. A study in Crisis Management or a CF, depending on your perspective. And Spirit's FLL terminal, #4 I think, is an arm pit the morning after. Poster #35: It's not like they don't really understand you - they just FALL BACK on that "I don't understand you" mode. ("Is my flight on time?"-"Yes." "Are my bags checked through to my destination OK?"-"Yes." "Are you from Neptune?"-"Yes." "What time does boarding begin?"-"Yes.") And, as far as NYC and Philadelphia - I don't like much of what those and other big cities represent but have many times been pleasantly surprised at how helpful and friendly the Americans in those cities have been to me. My wife had to work in MIA for a couple of two-week periods some time ago. She's said she would NEVER fly through there. MIA is confusing, excessively time consuming and to be avoided if at all possible.

 

[El Orans]

So far, my experience with MIA are on par with other international airports in the USA.

Maybe things have become worse in recent years.

In that case, I'll find out how bad it is next week.

 

[cappyjon431]

irie1029, thanks for starting this thread. Disclosure:the following is from a flyer who's been through MIA only once. (And once was enough!) MIA is indeed a poster child for what an (American) airport should not be. I fear, however, that it is a model for what we'll be seeing in the coming years. Poster #9 - spot on. Poster #12: you have low standards. Poster #17: good decision! No. 20 - "How's TPA?" VERY nice, specially since their improvements. Poster #23: What does "I've never had a really BAD experience flying out of MIA (hundreds of times)" mean? You haven't been murdered, robbed, or missed a flight because you don't speak the lingo? And Spirit: I fly them frequently; they go from where I live to where I want to get. But, they're NOT all that cheap after they beat you up with their add-on fees. (IF you pre-pay for luggage be sure to take a copy of you're receipt to check-in!) And they've changed the seat pitch on their A319's (and, I think, 321's) - meaning, "Schedule knee surgery after the flight unless you're under 62" tall. And Spirit's FLL terminal: try them some morning around 7AM. Be prepared to be VERY vocal during check-in to get anything that even resembles "service" and make your flight. A study in Crisis Management or a CF, depending on your perspective. And Spirit's FLL terminal, #4 I think, is an arm pit the morning after. Poster #35: It's not like they don't really understand you - they just FALL BACK on that "I don't understand you" mode. ("Is my flight on time?"-"Yes." "Are my bags checked through to my destination OK?"-"Yes." "Are you from Neptune?"-"Yes." "What time does boarding begin?"-"Yes.") And, as far as NYC and Philadelphia - I don't like much of what those and other big cities represent but have many times been pleasantly surprised at how helpful and friendly the Americans in those cities have been to me. My wife had to work in MIA for a couple of two-week periods some time ago. She's said she would NEVER fly through there. MIA is confusing, excessively time consuming and to be avoided if at all possible.

"Poster 23" here. No, i've never been "murdered [obviously] robbed, or missed a flight," out of Miami. My Spanish is minimal (it should be better having grown up in Miami), but I have found the large majority of airline and airport personnel to be helpful (when necessary). I've never had my luggage lost or delayed. It is easy to find a decent place to read and a decent meal or cup of coffee. Would I hang out at MIA on my free time? Of course not, but I certainly don't mind flying through there when necessary.

As for Spirit Air, I fly them monthly, and bottom line (even with the baggage add-ons which seem to be a coming trend with many airlines, along with pay toilets onboard) is that I pay less than $100 R/T between Panama City, PA and FLL.

The old days of air travel are behind us, planes are more crowded, service is not what it once was, there are more late flights and lost bags. That being the case, I really can't complain about my experiences at MIA.