Preferred Airports to Connect Through

Cheap traveldeals, such as cheapfares, cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, cheap auto rentals, discount travel packages, and cheap vacation specials,influence many peoples travel plans. Still, given that you often have a choicewhere you will connect when flying, it is useful to know some of the bestairports in the world.

Layovers often used to mean hours of boredom, crampedseating and stale sandwiches. The badnews is that since airlines today fly larger planes and have reduced the numberof flights, layovers typically are much longer. The good news is that select airports around the world have dramaticallyimproved their services and amenities.

The following are highly recommended airports, according toExecutive Travel:

• LondonHeathrows Terminal 5s Heathrow Boutique offers complimentary personalshoppers. The terminal is home to an11,000 square foot Harrods and a gallery showcasing sculptures of emergingBritish artists. There are 105 differentrestaurants to choose from, some quite high end.

• AmsterdamSchiphol Airport houses the worlds only museum to be annexed in anAirport. The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam isfree and showcases paintings by Dutch masters such as Jan Steen and FerdinandBol. It is also where you can find theworlds first airport library, with print and e-tomes available in 29languages. Free Wi-Fi, multiple spas,and showers at Departure Lounge 3s Mercure hotel comes in handy. This airport even has a totally device freeSilence Center.

• MunichInternational Airport is where travelers can sample some of the countrys bestbrews at Airbrau. This traditionaltavern offers a beer garden shaded by chestnut trees and an onsite brewery aswell as live music. Terminal 2 is hometo individual sleeping pods equipped with iPhone and USB ports.

• ZurichAirport is easy to move through in part because of an extensive renovation thatincludes two rooftop terraces as well as a kids zone. Visitors can find 16 locker style cell phonecharging stations in Terminal 2 as well as rooms for sleeping, showering, andplenty of shops and restaurants.

• ChangiInternational Airport is home to a butterfly garden, free movie theaters, a 40foot slide, and a Balinese themed rooftop pool in Terminal 1. It also houses the Kinetic Rain sculpturewhich is comprised to 1,216 bronze droplets of different shapes. Terminal 2 is home to an entertainment areathat includes Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 stations. Business travelers will be pleased to knowthat there are 200 iPad wielding agents, 550 free Internet terminals, freeairport Wi-Fi, 856 free USB ports and power sockets, and multiple businesscenters.

• HongKong International Airport sports all of the work related facilities andservices business people look for as well as many non-business distractionsincluding an outdoor nine hole regulation golf course, the worlds firstairport IMAX theater, and a iSports simulator for car racing andbasketball. Restaurants, includingMichelin starred ones, abound. $50 buysa pass to one of two super sleek Travelers Lounges that come with bars andshowers.

• IncheonInternational Airport has two movie theaters which play Korean and Hollywoodmovies, an ice skating rink and an 18-hole putting course. There are seven gardens at the airport. At the airports culture center, travelerscan make Korean paper crafts and watch traditional music and danceperformances. Just a few of the manyother amenities are massages, dry cleaning, free showers, free Wi-Fi, and evencomplimentary laptops available to be borrowed.

• SanFrancisco International Airport is where travelers can find the SFMOMA MuseumStores and the Airport Museum which hosts varied exhibits including InspiredDesign: Shaker Furniture and United WeStand: Female Flight Attendant Uniformsof United Airlines. Sea creatures fromaround the world can be found at a branch of the Stienhart Aquarium at theairport. However, perhaps the airportsbest draws are its food and drink.

• VancouverInternational Airport displays works of native artists including Bill Reidssculpted Jade Canoe and Joe Davids traditional 11 foot high Clayoquot WelcomeFigures. The tiles in the Graham ClarkeAtrium symbolize the rivers of British Columbia. The Vancouver Aquarium in the DomesticTerminal, Level 3, displays major exhibits. There is a 30,000 gallon tank which is home to over 5,000 sea creaturesincluding sea stars, giant kelp, and a separate tank devoted to jellyfish.

• DubaiInternational Airport is home to the worlds largest 58,000 square feet dutyfree shop, open air gardens, a G-Force gym open around the clock with a pooland showers, and shopping stands where travelers can purchase gold bars.