Raleigh-Durham Airport

T2 impressive. Arrivals good however immigration could do with a few more staff especially when a full London flight arrives. Baggage delivered quickly. Staff easy to find which is always a good thing. Departures excellent with plenty of areas to sit and plenty of options for eating and shopping. Gate areas clean and I really like the seats with the charging outlets for charging ipods phones and laptops. Overall great airport which I look forward to using again.

Left from the new T2 last week - nice to see such a nice new modern facility. Check in and security quick and efficient many options for food and beverage as well as shopping. Concourse is one long linear layout with moving sidewalks so very easy to navigate and get your bearings. Not much in pre security side however.

My first visit in and out of the new terminal 2 and I have to say I was completely impressed! I live abroad travel rather often and feel that this terminal is one of the best I've ever traveled in and out of: open and bright design clean lots of toilets very comfortable and large chairs in all boarding gate areas a decent array of food options plasma displays all around baggage claim large and easy to navigate and a open and convenient check-in area. Terminal 1 on the other hand is really basic. Depending on your airline RDU can be a great experience or just an average one. Can't wait for the whole terminal 2 to be completed and hope I never have to go in and out of terminal 1 again. Good job RDU!

The renovation project has been finished and it looks beautiful. The terminals have been renamed "1 and 2" and most airlines have been moved over to terminal 2. There are multiple food options (both sit down and fast food) with several focusing on healthy eating. Security is a breeze. Hopefully terminal 1A is either renovated or torn down.

RDU is my home airport. The airport is divided between terminals A and C. Terminal A houses the majority of the airlines. However the terminal was never meant to be permanent as Terminal C used to be an American and Midway Airlines hub. As a result Terminal A is adequate but nothing special. The facilities are nice except for the Southwest and US Airways baggage claim area (it is a dump). There are enough shops to keep you occupied until your flight arrives (on the concourse level that is; the baggage claim and ticketing level which is also a waiting area for those waiting for someone to arrive has virtually nothing to entertain people). The downside is that there are no moving walkways and the terminal stretches a good distance (word of advice: if you have a flight with Northwest or Continental wear comfortable shoes as the gates are at the far end of the terminal). Terminal C on the other hand has fallen behind the times and is quite drab. Half of the terminal was torn down to be rebuilt by the end of summer of 2008. The side of the terminal currently open is pretty poor with barely any shops to entertain travelers and with much of the building seeming in disrepair. With the second phase of the construction of terminal C to be completed by 2010 or 2011 the terminal will be much nicer. There is nothing terrible about RDU but when compared to other airports it is average at best.

I have only used the new terminal C at RDU (which provides only for AA United and Air Canada). I flew on United who were terribly understaffed creating a huge queue. I had to wait in this line on two consecutive days due to my flight being cancelled because of weather. Terminal C is a terrible place to have a flight delayed - there are only two or three commercial outlets in the building (coffee alcohol newspapers). The terminal is clean and modern and would be fine if you were guaranteed to only have to stay for a small amount of time.

At the moment the airport is a bit crowded in terminal A and it isn't so "pretty" but with the new construction at terminal C the future looks to be better. At the moment terminal C is a bit quiet and uncrowded albeit plain. Terminal A is crowded but has enough shops to help kill time before a flight. I have used the long-term parking in lots 3 and 4 and found them to be fairly convenient for short trips. You have to wait for the bus but it comes pretty often. My only complaint is about the security. In terminal A the security checkpoints are so overcrowded (and they have two of them!) so it takes time to get through them. Terminal C seemed less so. After breezing through ATL and ORD’s security checks it was a shocker for an airport this size to have such long waits. Lastly on a positive note RDU has a great web site!

Although the terminals are getting older it is not that bad to find where you need to be. They have parallel runways so Terminal A (actually 2 connected terminals) are on one runway and Terminal C (being torn down but still operational) is on the other runway. The new super terminal ready in 2009 will be really nice and look well with what is the nicest "car park/garage" in the world. This huge goliath of a car park sits between the 2 terminals. Security is OK but a little tight in Terminal A. If you fly NWA their gates are at the very end and is a "nice" walk. Busy airport but not super big or super large. The triangle is great place to visit and do business.

Anyone that is coming into RDU and is not from the area should be aware that the airport has building/concourse A A C. Not A B C or A1 A2 C. The only way I describe it to people in the first A or the second A. A bit confusing. Both A's are fairly close together thankfully. Really not sure how the airport describes it but found the locals as confused as I.

This airport is a nightmare for anyone waiting to pick up a passenger unless of course you happen to arrive in your car just as the person you are picking up comes out of the front doors. There are few if any places to eat if you wait. There are very few seats to sit in if someones flight gets delayed. Should you by chance be a visitor from another country I can only say that the counter that exchanges money has rates that might be the worst in the world. On the flip side this airport might have one of the best covered parking lots I have ever seen.