Advice needed - American Airports

[Pancake]

Need some advice and opinions from those who fly often or fly recently in the USA.

Planning a trip from Canada to US this winter and it’s about half price if a chose a flight with a connection instead of direct non stop.

My options for connecting airports are Salt Lake, Denver, Ohare, Las Vegas and LAX which I’ve already mentally excluded.

Which of those is best? By best I mean easiest to navigate and shortest to get through customs? I’m pretty sure I’ll have to do customs when I arrive at one of these places before proceeding to Dallas.

I have the worst luck getting lost in airports or having to run across entire lengths of airports so I’m trying to make this as easy as possible.

 

[Essence Lumin]

Need some advice and opinions from those who fly often or fly recently in the USA.

Planning a trip from Canada to US this winter and it’s about half price if a chose a flight with a connection instead of direct.

My options for connecting airports are Salt Lake, Denver, Ohare, Las Vegas and LAX which I’ve already mentally excluded.

Which of those is best? By best I mean easiest to navigate and shortest to get through customs? I’m pretty sure I’ll have to do customs when I arrive at one of these places before proceeding to Dallas.

I always try to avoid OHare. It is so big. It seems flights are often delayed. I am not a frequent flyer though. Maybe once a year on average.

 

[Pancake]

I was thinking that as well, for no particular reason, but I feel like I hear about Ohare often in movies and such and figured it must be big.

Salt Lake and Denver are probably smaller?

 

[Pancake]

Actually it looks like Houston might be an option too.

Canada > Denver > Dallas

Canada > Salt Lake > Dallas

Canada > Houston > Dallas

The last being the least expensive but I think the Houston to Dallas is a small plane.

 

[Essence Lumin]

I was thinking that as well, for no particular reason, but I feel like I hear about Ohare often in movies and such and figured it must be big.

Salt Lake and Denver are probably smaller?

Way smaller. I haven't had problems with either of them. I think I only flew through Salt Lake once, Denver a bunch of times. With Denver they have this three stop train you might need to use.

 

[Essence Lumin]

I just looked it up and actually Denver and OHare are similar size. Maybe it is because of Denver's train that makes it seem not so big. O'Hare also has crap for food at least when I was there. Anyway, probably best not to listen to me. Here is a link about sizes of airports in the US. Denver flies 34 million passengers a year and has 148 gates. OHare flies 33 million people a year and has 193 gates.

These Are the 20 Busiest Airports in the United States

If you’re a frequent traveler, you're likely familiar with one or more of these U.S. airports. These are the country’s busiest air travel hubs and what they offer in terms of food, shopping, lounges, and more.

www.afar.com

 

[Lori Claremont]

US Customs is done in Canadian airports (well, the international airports anyway), so you shouldn't need to take into account time to clear customs in your layover city.

I've done a layover in Salt Lake City, as I recall it was a nice airport, but that was a looong time ago.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

Of those I have transferred in Houston, O'Hare and Denver. I'd prefer Denver. The layout isn't too complicated, and the train is easy to use. The Houston probably is a smaller plane. I connected to Lubbock through Huston and it was usually a much smaller regional plane.

 

[Pancake]

US Customs is done in Canadian airports (well, the international airports anyway), so you shouldn't need to take into account time to clear customs in your layover city.

I've done a layover in Salt Lake City, as I recall it was a nice airport, but that was a looong time ago.

Oh! That’s good to know. I thought I’d have to clear twice for some reason. First when I leave Canada and again upon arrival in the US. I won’t need as much layover time then.

 

[Khamon]

Layovers in Salt Lake City and Denver are generally comfortable. They're a reasonable size to accommodate seating and food without requiring mall walks and shuttles to reach a gate. We prefer SLC but that's strictly personal. Safe Travels!

 

[Rose Karuna]

Need some advice and opinions from those who fly often or fly recently in the USA.

Planning a trip from Canada to US this winter and it’s about half price if a chose a flight with a connection instead of direct non stop.

My options for connecting airports are Salt Lake, Denver, Ohare, Las Vegas and LAX which I’ve already mentally excluded.

Which of those is best? By best I mean easiest to navigate and shortest to get through customs? I’m pretty sure I’ll have to do customs when I arrive at one of these places before proceeding to Dallas.

I have the worst luck getting lost in airports or having to run across entire lengths of airports so I’m trying to make this as easy as possible.

If you're traveling in the winter you are least likely to run into weather issues with Las Vegas. It's a big airport and going through customs is kind of like going through customs in Toronto or Vancouver, nevertheless, I think you could avoid the weather delays with Vegas.

 

[Katheryne Helendale]

Another plus for Las Vegas (McCarren International, I believe) is that there are plenty of slot machines around to entertain yourself with if you end up with a long layover.

 

[Pancake]

If you're traveling in the winter you are least likely to run into weather issues with Las Vegas. It's a big airport and going through customs is kind of like going through customs in Toronto or Vancouver, nevertheless, I think you could avoid the weather delays with Vegas.

I didn’t think of that, good call!