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Seattle Airport review by Alex George
5 April 2008 Customer Rating : 
Immigration is smooth and hassle free. But coming out of the airport is terrible. The baggage claims
are so confusing and the luggage carts are not free. You better carry US$3 in hand or travel with a
companion. When I went alone I could neither get $3 change from some body nor any body is willing to
look after luggage till I get change. This is ridiculous.
Seattle Airport review by L Pyne-Mercier
17 January 2008 Customer Rating : 
Seattle residents pride themselves for being open to people and ideas from around the world.
However, visitors arriving at Sea-Tac Airport could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. The airport
has a terrible and confusing international arrivals system. In most airports, international visitors
go through the following three steps on arrival - passport control, baggage claim, customs. Due to
poor planning by the Port of Seattle, passengers arriving here need to go through several additional
steps - passport control, baggage claim, customs, dropping bags on a second conveyor belt, riding an
underground train to the main terminal, walking a distance to reclaim luggage and carrying luggage
up and down escalators to reach the taxi stand. To make matters worse, while free luggage carts are
initially made available to international visitors (a common courtesy in most airports), visitors
are left to try to find US currency to rent luggage carts when they reclaim their luggage. This is
most inhospitable to visitors who might lack US currency on arrival. At this point, there is little
to do to remedy the situation, save to congratulate the Port of Seattle and its architects for a job
very poorly done.
Seattle Airport review by Aden Hayes
4 December 2007 Customer Rating : 
Just back from a mileage run that included SEA. Was there at 10:30 pm (mostly closed, but not
nearly as closed as SAT at the same time), and again at 6 am. First, airport hotels. LOTS of them
(a dozen or more) conveniently located on a single strip just outside the airport. Good deals on
Priceline. I paid $60 at the Doubletree. You could actually walk to the hotels if you didn't have
a lot of luggage, but the shuttles run frequently. Easy system for shuttles -- all on the same ring
road through the airport. In the airport. Earlier comment that arrival / departure screens were
few. I found the same thing -- you have to wander quite a ways to get your travel information.
TSA was TSA. Here friendlier than EWR and JFK, but so are most provincial cities. There was an
elite line that was barely working. Sleepy agent not interested in whether you are elite or not.
Anyone who shows up can go through the elite line. What I liked: good shops (the Washington State
souveniers store has nice things, there's a good bookstore) and food (Ivars open at 7 am for some
excellent chowder). Airport is clean. What I didn't like: CO President's Club was a cracker box
with nowhere to sit, even at 7 am. Should have checked out Alaska Air, but didn't have time.
Seattle Airport review by David Cox
11 September 2007 Customer Rating : 
In transit from Calgary to Tokyo. A very disappointing airport. Very hard to find anywhere that
accepted Canadian dollars. No wifi access in the terminal, although I was told that if you sit just
outside the NWA business class lounge, you can sometimes get access.
Seattle Airport review by M Blanck
2 September 2007 Customer Rating : 
Many airports much smaller than this one have taken the trouble to install "moving sidewalks" to
increase both speed and comfort while transferring from one concourse to another for a connecting
plane. SEA-TAC, instead, requires that we walk the equivalent of several city blocks, and even climb
some little hills to remind us that we are, indeed, in Seattle, toting "carry-on" bags that are
sometimes rather heavy. This gets old in a hurry! In the absence of moving sidewalks, couldn't they at
least have trams stationed at each concourse to take people to the other concourses, and treat this as
a normal way of moving from one part of the airport to another? (They do have a few little carts,
generally used by handicapped people, but I'm talking about "mass transit"; i.e., trams parked in
obvious places, ready for boarding by anyone - no matter how able-bodied.)
Seattle Airport review by M Sullivan
6 June 2007 Customer Rating : 
SeaTac has been my home airport for about a year. Compared to other
domestic US airports, SEA is probably one of the better ones I've been
to. Concourse A, having been recently renovated, is modern and has
plenty of shopping and restaurants. I mostly fly jetBlue and Delta out
to JFK so this is the concourse where I spend most of my time.
Concourses B, C, and D are older and more 1970s-like, but are
serviceable and decent enough. Getting to the satellite concourses is a
bit of a pain with the underground tram and all, but the good news there
is that you don't have to exit/re-enter security to get there.
Getting there and parking however are nightmares. The access road into
the airport is being torn up to make way for light rail into Seattle.
Not as bad as the Van Wyck into JFK, but expect long waits during peak
travel times. Also, there is no reasonable on-airport long term parking
lot. Instead, you have to park inside the upper levels of the parking
garage across from the terminal and pay $22/day. Most opt to park off-
airport for about $10/day depending on the lot.
Seattle Airport review by Giuseppe Gigliello
1 February 2007 Customer Rating : n/a
Arrived from Milan, via Heathrow. I found the belt system to get you
baggage from South satellite to the terminal quite tricky. I had to roam
in the Terminal for several minutes in order to find a screen telling me
which belt to search for my belongings. Other thing is departing for a
domestic flight, such as SEA-ATL as I experienced. Really quick
procedures, nice and polite staff at the security screenings and
especially at the check-in desks (Delta), very neat airport, good choice
of food. It's also well provided by the king County public
transportation system and not so far from downtown. Quite an agile
airport to depart from.
Seattle Airport review by Jorgen Aberg
29 May 2006
I think Walter Mellon is too harsh on Sea-Tac airport. I arrived in SEA
on a flight from Europe (travelled in economy) last week. Mind you, the
immigration officer was not Mr Congeniality, but it was very quick.
After the 5 minute wait for immigration, my bag was waiting for me at
the conveyor belt. I had a domestic transfer, and there were several
helpful people who made sure my bags were transferred. I would be
thrilled if all US airports handling international flights were as
smooth and efficient!
Seattle Airport review by Walter Mellon
24 October 2005
My home city is Seattle, and I frequently (7x/year) travel to Europe,
and sometimes to Asia. Whenever possible I try to go through a decent
international gateway airport such as SFO or EWR. The TSA and
Immigration/Customs in SEA are by far the most offensive (and this is a
tough standard) that I have seen anywhere in the US. These people DO
vary from city-to-city. In Seattle (unlike the residents, who are
generally quite nice) these folks are in some kind of Third Reich
timewarp. Topping it off is SEA's unchallenged record as the slowest
place to retrieve checked baggage. And as an international arrival,
after waiting over 45 minutes for your bag, and getting treated like a
criminal by Customs and sniffed by dogs, you have to GIVE UP YOUR BAGS
again for another conveyor ride to nowhere. Amazingly despite having to
take the mini-subway and a substantial walk through palatial empty new
corridors with 80-ft ceilings, you STILL HAVE TO WAIT TEN MINUTES to get
your bags. SEA is semi-tolerable for domestic flights, do whatever you
can to avoid international travel in this unpleasant place.
Seattle Airport review by Masaki Oda
11
October 2005
B McDonald wrote about the design flaw of SEA-TAC. My comment is similar
to his. I often make UA Int'l to UA domestic connection at Seattle which
involves transfer from South Satellite (Where US Immigration and Customs
are) to North Satellite. While it is not unusual for someone to switch
terminals (like SFO, LAX or ORD), the same airline (UA) connection
involves three airtrain rides. (the south satellite to the south side of
the Main, the south side to the north side of main, and the north side
of the main to the north satellite). This is always a painful moment in
Seattle specially when the connection is tight. Can the airport
authority make it simpler?
Seattle Airport review by B McDonald
1
September 2005
The SeaTac airport, as it is called by locals, is full of design flaws from the 1960s
and 1970s, and is a very complicated venue to navigate, especially when one is renting a car. On my
flights with Air Canada incoming from Vancouver and outgoing to Toronto, I used the N terminal
both times. The N terminal is very outdated and not clean whatsoever. It has a depressing atmosphere,
stenching water closets, and insufficient dining outlets. To reach the main terminal to claim bags
from N, passengers must take a Subway train. While it proves to be an efficient mode of
transportation, there is definitely not adequate signage. Many passengers were confused as to where
to get off and on. Furthermore, after bombings in the London Underground on 7th July, I cannot say
that I feel particularly safe on any Subway anywhere, whether an airport or a large metropolitan
area. Baggage claim is the most poorly designed that I have ever seen. First off, there are
too many belts, and few of them are being used. With so many belts, it is necessary to have
screens which inform passengers of which belt a particular flight's luggage can be found on. For
our particular flight, the information was incorrect. The bags are dropped from a high level, and
then tumbled down to the conveyor belt. If a passenger had any fragile articles, I am sure that they
would be easily broken. Furthermore, the baggage cart system does not have sufficient instructions
and I wasted $2 because it did not prompt me to push the cart out of the rack.
The car rental process was by far the most complicated affair at SeaTac. After
waiting in line for 25 minutes to deal with the single Avis agent, we had to find our gray Cadillac. This
involved taking a glass elevator to the lower level, crossing the Skybridge into the parking
garage, and then taking another elevator up to the rental car area. It seemed redundant to have to go
down an elevator and then up an elevator. When returning home to Canada via the SeaTac
airport, we were shocked that there were only two Air Canada agents checking passengers in for one 120-person flight and one 50-person
flight. Fortuanately, due to our status with Air Canada, the United agent was able to assist
us (as the flight that we were taking to Toronto, AC542, is code-shared with United). Had we not
had this privilege, I sincerely believe that we would have missed the flight. This is because
one must trek through the piteously disorganised airport after having checked in, through security
and then onto the gate. Seattle is a city with many distinguished features that tourists enjoy,
whether its location on the lovely Puget Sound or its gateway to Alaskan cruises. However, it needs to have a
much more updated, fashionable, and logically-designed airport to appeal to me.
Seattle Airport review by Padraic Rowan
24
August 2005
Flew to Seattle from Chicago MDW with Southwest in July. It was very quiet when we disembarked
the airplane, and it was easy to see where we were going. The bags were through in no time, and
we were out of the airport in fifteen minutes. On our way back, we went through security very
efficiently and spent some time in the main area, with a very large glass window and high
ceilings. It was busy, but it didn't feel crowded. We then made our way to the gate and were
onboard in no time. It was an easy airport to navigate around, and it had a great atmosphere.
Seattle Airport review by Chanson Kinney
13
April 2005
Seattle is my home city. The airport is under a massive renovation, which will be complete...
eventually (around may/June '05). All of the concourses can be reached, once through security,
without leaving the security area again/ The new A concourse (delta, frontier, american, ATA,
independence air, southwest..etc) is very nice with many restaurants, but is very large and if you
happen to be flying Delta you will be at the very end. It also has local artwork and very very high
ceilings, which make you feel almost like you are outside. The B and C concourses (Alaska/Horizon,
southwest, continental, america west) are merely okay. they have been renovated but arent as nice as
the A concourse and get cramped during peak times, but they both have a nice assortment of
restaurants and shops and are very easy to navigate. The D Concourse (alaska) is probably the worst
terminal because of its lack of space and the fact that so many flights depart from it. There are a
few restaurants but they get very crowded easily so i would recommend buying food elsewhere. The S
concourse (northwest, Alaska/Horizon (international), British airways, asiana, EVA, Korean, china
airlines (taiwan) , SAS, Aeroflot... etc) This is the international terminal and is also used for all
northwest flights. It is like terminals B and C and has a nice assortment of shops and restaurants.
It doesnt get very crowded because the flights are few and far between but there is not much to do
so if you have a lot of time dont go out there although the trains are convenient and you can travel
between hee and the manin terminal with ease. The N concourse (United, US airways, JetBlue) This is
mainly used by united although Us airways and JetBlue operate out of here too. This terminal is
almost exactly like the S concourse although it does have a nice massage parlor if you need one
between flights. The main terminal at SEA is being remodeled and will be finished around may 2005.
This new terminal will connect all of the concourses and will have many local shops and restaurants
including Anthony's, Starbucks, Ivars, and many others. It will be much the same design as the A
concourse and Will have large glass windows and great views of the Horizon air gates. When this (the
pacific marketplace as it is also called) opens the airport will feel much more put together and
less of a work in progress. One place to stay away from is the Check in counters. They get very
crowded due to the TSA screening machines in the waiting areas so expect to be crowded especially
during peak times. Overall Seatac will be a very nice airport when completed but until May wont be a
good representation of the beautiful city it is in.
Seattle Airport review by M Moore
15
February 2005
Seattle's SeaTac airport is a work in progress. When I moved to Seattle in 2003 from Portland, I
was disappointed by the airport here. Portland's PDX is a jewel: it's beautiful, comfortable, tidy,
and convenient; plus, the restaurants are outstanding and there are very good shopping options
(what's not to like about browsing an outpost of the famous Powell's bookstore while you're waiting
for your flight?). SeaTac, though? Something of a mess. The confusion begins on SR 518, because
it's easy to misread the exit sign for the access road, end up in the wrong lane, and find yourself
lost in suburbia. The weird spiral parking garages are all right, as architectural excrescences go,
but again, it's not always clear how to get to the skybridges connecting them with the terminals.
How many airports were designed to keep passengers from actually finding them? Again, better
signage would be helpful here. Inside, one's first impression is "dark and cavernous": given how
much of the year Seattle's skies are grey, more effort should have been put into bringing light into
this area. You go either upstairs to the check-in counters (not bad), or downstairs to baggage
claim (the layout's sensible but it's just too dark). Once you've checked in, your experience
largely depends on which terminal your flight departs from; some are better than others. The new
South Terminal exemplifies everything SeaTac ought to be: light, airy, roomy, and there are good
places to eat. More seating is needed, though. The other terminals are pleasantly drab. Overall,
they're quite clean (and the renovated restrooms are a big step in the right direction) but the
restaurants and shops offer very little, and the lack of seating and electrical outlets is
problematic. Service to domestic destinations is good (being the base of Alaska Airlines, one of
the US's best carriers, is a nice bonus). However, international flights are limited for a city of
this size and stature; there ought to be more service to Mexico, Asia, and Europe. Granted, the
Port's renovation projects will do much to
Seattle Airport review by M Johnson
7
February 2005
Current food concession options behind security at SeaTac are very poor. If you anticipate having
to wait out a connecting flight for a few hours, it would be wise to check out your eating options
before getting on the plane bound for Seattle.
The airport is working on a new food area in the central terminal behind security but that project
appears to be many months away from opening. Even when this opens, it will be a very long walk from
the ends of the A, B, C and D concourses, where most of the gates are located.
The Port of Seattle and Seattle in general wants to offer itself up as a "with-it" location. SeaTac
Airport really misses the boat.
Seattle Airport review by R Hill
8
December 2004
One positive thing about the new South Terminal at SEATAC is variety of
food vendors (Manchu Wok) and low prices. The airport vendors were
required to have prices competitive with their other locations. The
rest of the airport has until late 2005 before they have to lower their
prices to normal.
Seattle Airport review by H Nguyen
14
November 2004
The South Terminal of SEA feels more like a bus station than it does an airport. The customs
process from immigration to luggage claim to re-checking luggage is frustratingly disorganized and
further aggravated by unhelpful airport staff (of which there was 1). Transiting through SEA is not
much of an experience, because there isn't much offered to passengers. Being the first time flying
to SEA, I honestly thought that the city would have an airport befitting of the beauty of the city.
I was wrong.
Seattle Airport review by G Ignacio
19
July 2004
Like most other US airports, SEA-TAC pays little regard to passenger comfort and convenience. The
new South terminal is light and airy, though with not much to offer in terms of food and shopping -
there are three places to buy food and a couple of newstand-type stores. SEA offers adequate
service but don't expect much if you're coming from one of the nice airports in Europe or Asia.
One thing to note is that curbside departure level always has bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Seattle Airport review by M Devor
8
December 2003
Sea-Tac is a very nice airport and am surprised by some of these comments. Someone said
security is lax - lines for security were terrible and security here is now intense. Bring a book and prepare to wait
in line forever. The airport itself is quite nice, efficient, and attractive. Everything is under one roof and with
modern trains to/from some of the gates.
The negative, since 9/11, is all the TSA crap all over the place. There were previously decent
seating areas near the check in counters. Those have now all been removed for the TSA
monster machines. Lines for check in chaotic and walking through the terminal I was
bumping into people - there is just no standing room. The airport is one big construction site, so we should be patient. Once
you are airside it works great. Good airport hotels, most notably the Doubletree with a great view
of the planes.
Prices could come down and customs officers could be friendly. Hint, go via Vancouver
and do a pre-clear in Canada.
Seattle Airport review by M Hartt
20
October 2003
Flew into SEA over the summer coming from the East Coast (DCA-ORD-SEA) and was unimpressed, to be
honest. Airport was dark, overly crowded, baggage claim area had no markings that day to indicate
which luggage was where, and had huge piles of luggage just sitting around on the floor, etc.
Leaving SEA had a red-eye scheduled for 11:30pm (left more like 12:30am, US Airways' fault). The
entire terminal was dead, the little store was open but there was no real food to be had, just chips
and 2.50$ bottles of soda. Not a horrible airport, but just very underwhelming.
Seattle Airport review by Kate Hewitt
11
September 2003
I must agree with the comments by Jeffrey Sarver about Sea-Tac. After a long tiring flight, via
London, from the Middle East, maybe I was just being over-emotional, but the exceptionally rude
customs and immigration staff really got to me! I have no problems with extra security, and welcome
it, in fact, but the rude manner in which I was searched, and spoken to, made me wish I had never
chosen to holiday in the US. I have read in the forum where people have complained about rude
service in Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, Abu Dhabi, etc, but I have never experienced the same level of
discourteous behavior in any of these airports.
The airport itself was adequate, if slightly old and grubby looking.
If not for friends nearby, I would not fly into/out of Seattle again, and may choose Portland
instead, as I understand this is a much nicer, friendlier airport.
Seattle Airport review by R Warner
3
July 2003
I've come and gone from the Sea-Tac airport since I was a kid some 25 years ago. It was the first
place I ever saw pay toilets, which I am pleased they no longer have :)
Seriously, though, it is a crowded airport at all hours. I've been there early in the morning
through late at night and it's always busy and crowded. The cafes close too early for the most
part. But, there is always something open.
I like the family bathrooms. They are small, but private.
The last time I was there was a year ago and everything was under construction. I remember one
experience I had last June (2002). They had two buses running to shuttle us to the terminal. I
had just flown in from Pittsburgh and there were probably 200 people on our flight, so we had to
pack like sardines onto the bus. I was on the last bus, with the flight crew. That was
inconvenient.
Security is fairly lax, as in most of the larger airports. I thought it was funny, though, when
boarding a flight when I had a bottle of water I'd purchased at the gift shop and the security guard
had me take a drink to make sure it wasn't anything toxic. That's the only thing they did as far as
security.
Seattle Airport review by Jeffrey Sarver
25
June 2003
There are a wide variety of US airlines serving Seattle and several international
carriers.
The airport itself is large but convenient with many pleasant waiting areas. It has a particularly
"northwest" feel about it being made of what appears to be stone (really textured cement I expect)
but leaving one with the sense of sitting amongst pillars of rock. The two satellite terminals (one
for United and one for Northwest, both also used by international carriers as well) are easily
accessed by a clean and frequent-running monorail (underground), a very efficient means of
transportation between terminal building and gateside.
The staff are generally friendly. The restaurants and such amenities that the traveller requires
are outstanding. The shops are very good, some of them offering rather expensive "northwest" and
"native" artwork, not just the usual airport junk.
The baggage claim area is huge and easy to manoever through and the parking garages are just across
the road, reached by over-head walkways, covered so you don't get wet.
SeaTac is one of the very best airports I know and I would use it without hesitation to transit
between Europe and Asia if one is going in that direction. An overnight (or two) in Seattle would
be a very attractive plus to that itinerary.
I recommend those of you tired of those extremely long trips from London to the Far East to consider
BA to Seattle, then JAL to Tokyo and beyond. The jet-lag is less killing flying east I've found.
The only snag to this airport, as it is at all US airports now, is the officious Federal employees
who often-enough do their best to make one feel like your back in the USSR! Well, it's only the
USSA but it's still annoying. If you're going to frisk me...SMILE. Not SeaTac's fault however.
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