My last travel-themed post of the year. Really. Honest.

After a year of nearly-nonstop travel, I’ve flown airlines ranging from American to SATA, to airports as large as Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and as small as Ithaca’s Tompkins Regional Airport.  Which ones can I recommend?  Which ones should be avoided?  My long-awaited picks: Best Airline: It’s Virgin Atlantic, and whichever airline finished second ain’t ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

After a year of nearly-nonstop travel, I've flown airlines ranging from American to SATA, to airports as large as Shanghai's Pudong International Airport and as small as Ithaca's Tompkins Regional Airport.  Which ones can I recommend?  Which ones should be avoided?  My long-awaited picks:

After a year of nearly-nonstop travel, I’ve flown airlines ranging from American to SATA, to airports as large as Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport and as small as Ithaca’s Tompkins Regional Airport.  Which ones can I recommend?  Which ones should be avoided?  My long-awaited picks:

Best Airline: It’s Virgin Atlantic, and whichever airline finished second ain’t close.  Admittedly, I was flying in their "Upper Class" cabin. Still, their airport lounges are far and away the most pleasant places to be in an airport, and their planes are quite comfortable as well.  The food on the plane was tasty, the food in the airline loundes was exceptional, and the service was impeccable.  These were the only flights I can honestly say I enjoyed this year.  Besides, their commercials are just so darn kicky.   

Worst Airline:  I’m tempted to just say "all the rest," but I will put Lufthansa in its own inner concentric circle of hell.  Old planes, grumbly service, and really, really bad food.  The low point was when they showed a Golden Girls episode on hour 5 of The Longest Transatlantic Flight I’ve Ever Taken. 

Worst Airport:  My criteria here is very simple:  How easy is it for me to get from the curb to my airplane seat with a minimum of time and a maximum of choices to feed myself?  Using these criteria, I will be trying to avoid Dubai International Airport fot a spell.  The security checks there are the more onerous I’ve seen in any airport anywhere — and I’m including trying to fly in and out of Ben-Gurion Airport in this assessment.  The Dubai security personnel were all nice, and I understand that they have a job to do, but this was a wretched experience.

Best Airport:  I’m surprised to come to this conclusion, but I have to award this to Reagan National Airport.  I fly in and out of this airport a lot, and I realized that I have never once had a bad TSA experience there.  This is surprising, given the kind of travelers they encounter.  Plus, they have a Five Guys.   

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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