Sorry Bill, but you are wrong about airports and their functionality.

Bill Maher Fails To Understand What Airports Are Supposed To Be

Comedian Bill Maher ends his weekly Real Time program with a “New Rules” segment, starting with short social commentaries followed by a longer editorial. His writers often poke fun of Spirit Airlines and he frequently addresses travel. On last Friday’s episode, he addressed the functionality of airports:

Someone needs to explain what’s the point of leaving a review of an airport.

Oh look, [this user] says the food court doesn’t have enough vegan options. I guess we won’t fly to see Grandma ever again.

Airports aren’t supposed to meet your needs, they are pugratores with a Panda Express.

You don’t go because they are good, you go becuase that’s where the plane is!

I do like Bill Maher, but he’s profoundly wrong here, taking a very jejune look at airports.

No, airports are not purgatories…at least they should not be. They should meet our needs…why not?

I’ll never forget the first time I was at Frankfurt Airport in Germany and I saw that there was a grocery store (little did I know that the airport grocery is the busiest place in Frankfurt on Sundays due to Sunday closing laws…), a bank, and a dry cleaner. I found it odd at the time, but it makes perfect sense…why not make airports functional for both workers and travelers?

Look at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), which is the great counterexample to Maher’s blathering. It has the Jewel, an architectural masterpiece, some of the best shopping in Singapore, great lounges, great restaurants, a movie theatre, and even a butterfly garden.

> Read More: Butterfly Garden In Singapore Changi Airport

In SIN, the airport is a destination itself, not just a place to catch an airplane.

A few years ago, I would have said he takes a very American look at airports, but even that is no the case any longer, as airports invest heavily into not only functionality, but beauty and customer choice, including, yes, food courts.

I look at what New York (JFK) is building, what San Francisco (SFO) has already built, how Los Angeles (LAX) or New York (LGA) have transformed themselves, and all the smaller airports like New Orleans (MSY) or Paine Field (PAE) and I think every one of those airports proves Bill wrong.

He may have just been trying to make a joke, but I didn’t find this funny and frankly, why shouldn’t airports have vegan options in the food court? A captive audience is ready and willing to spend money: you simply must offer them the product(s) they want.

CONCLUSION

I do like Maher, but he’s wrong about airports. Actually, the airport experience should be about more than just getting on a plane. Why not make airports that are beautiful public spaces with the shopping, dining, and recreational activities that make the experience far more humane? Ol Bill should get off his private jet and see how nice LAX has become…