Houston IAH

A wonderful airport but with 5 terminals split among 18 airlines including Continental which uses 2 whole terminals for its flights alone (A & C) it can get a little hectic and is not what I would've expected. With Houston I would've expected something better.

Flew BA into Terminal D on a Sunday afternoon. My experience with Immigration was shameful after a 10.5hrs flight : took about 90min to clear and reach the luggage pick-up. And after collecting my luggage another queue to check the customs form! Check-in for the return flight was a breeze. But seldom been in an intercontinental terminal with fewer choices of eating places : only one! And the "Lone Star Grille" served food one wouldn't even feed to his dog.

ORD-IAH-BJX January 2010. Easy connection outbound. Although it's not clear from the airport web-site the airport people-mover is inside security and the trains (at least in mid- afternoon) run frequently. It's not that easy to find but once you do it's quick to get to Terminal B. There's not a lot of seating there but a decent mix of places to eat. Returning from Mexico we landed at gate D-1 (regional jet gate). This was a very very long walk to immigration. Fortunately we landed just before the KL LH AF and BA so lines weren't long. Then you go downstairs to customs and back upstairs to go through security again for connections. Surprisingly TSA opened an additional line. I can imagine that line can get long so it's possible it could be faster to exit customs and just re-enter security along with passengers boarding in Houston. It took about 30 minutes from arrival gate to departure gate much of it walking. Overall a good return to the US.

IAH is a major hub for Continental and therein lies a problem. CO still seems to think that a 30 minute domestic to domestic flight connecting time is acceptable. However if one has to connect from the far reaches of Terminal E to Terminal A 30 minutes is simply not enough time - especially if one is deplaning from the back section of coach in a full 767-400 or 757-300 in Terminal E. There is an above ground people mover (the "Terminal Link") which works quite well; however it has not been extended yet all the way to Terminal A from the other terminals although this section is currently under construction. Other than that IAH is a large modern facility that works failrly well and now offers improved shopping and restaurants. Pappadeaux's restaurant in Terminal E is probably the best and there is also an elegant new wine bar in Terminal C that serves food as well. If you are flying into IAH on an international flight try to avoid arriving in the mid afternoon as most of the flights from Europe arrive at this time which can lead to huge crowds and long wait times when clearing U.S. Customs.

Flew from Rio de Janeiro to IAH on Continental's new nonstop on this route. I did connect to my final destination. I must say that Houston's Intercontinental airport is a very large impressive facility. High-ceilings with glass windows and plenty of natural light giving the terminal an airy spacious feeling. The airport is indeed a modern functional structure with courteous and professional immigration staff that seems to know what customer-service mean. I was in line for about 25 minutes which is not bad for an airport this size. The layout is practical the airport is clean and with plenty of good choices for dining.

Flew KLM from terminal D. check in and security were first class very speedy with no queues at all. However have never been in a terminal with fewer choices of eating places. Went to Lone Star Grille only to find that the bar tender was unable to mix a margarita.

My experience at IAH Customs was deplorable. Took over 1½ hours to clear customs because not enough staff on duty. The “helpful information” TV screen is in English Language only. Many traveling foreigners who do not speak English received no help filling out forms. One Asian couple tried to fill out forms correctly but to no avail and was repeatedly told to “try again” without any help. Shameful experience. And this all happened between the hours of 12:30am to 2:00am. We were the only flight in at that time. I can’t imagine what the Customs process is during the busy daytime hours.