Ways to make that airport delay tolerable

I was scanning through some travel sites this morning when I stumbled on this piece over at MSNBC.com.

The reading experience I had started with what the hell and ended only slightly more upbeat.

Harriet Baskas, who writes the sites's weekly "Well-mannered Traveler" column -- though has never, really, defined exactly what that means -- offers in her latest column, as far as I can tell, ways to make a flight delay more bearable when you're stuck in an airport.

Specifically, the piece's angle is this: "I've discovered that sometimes the line between a well-mannered traveler and a downright obnoxious one can hinge on the presence of an amenity or two in the airport."

Attending an amenities conference in Boston, she describes all the innovations coming to airport lavatories. Self-cleaning toilet seats! Pimped-out hand dryers! Sinks with a swing-out extension for your little one to wash his or her hands.

All pretty cool, granted, but would any of these make waiting out a flight delay really that much better?

That's pretty much where the specifics stop. Baskas tells us that most airports will soon have WiFi. And renting DVDs is a lot easier these days. OK, that will help. An airport amenities salesman tells Baskas that we can look forward to advancements on the food front too, but offers no specifics.

All in all, there's not much hope here that waiting in the airport will become better any time soon (unless you really like rotating toilet seats).

I'm still waiting for a serious campaign to install major hubs with a movie theater, perfect for longish layovers.

Until then, let's face it, nothing beats that old standby: The bar. A few good drinks passes the time like nothing else.

Filed under: Airports