Seattle Airport

My wife and I connected through SeaTac on our way to/from Alaska during July 2012. We found it to be one of the filthiest airports that we had ever been in. I travel extensively throughout the USA for business and SeaTac ranks right up there with Miami LaGuardia and Newark as one of the nastiest airports that I've flown through (the concourses were dirty restrooms were filthy and the drinking fountains were also dirty.

I've been several times before but this was the first time flying with small children and the first time spending more than a few hours waiting due to a cancelled flight. We were very impressed. There were a few open areas to could sit down with all of our stuff and let the kids play. Everyone was helpful and polite. We purchased lunch from Quiznos food was delicious and staff talked with my children about what there is to do and see at the airport. We ended up waiting 6 hours for our flight but overall it wasn't a negative experience and I credit the airport personnel for that. They kept us up to date gave suggestions as to where to eat.

This is a very inefficient airport. The check-in desks are spread out and it takes 5 minutes to walk from one end to the other from there the security screening areas are on the opposite side again. Lucky there is a train that shuttles you to the satellite terminals I was expecting to walk. The terminals themselves should be updated in the age of technology SeaTac should update their outlets. Given that only 30% work and the ones that do are located in the most awkward positions. In addition the light rail train is located on the opposite side of the parking garage and does not accept credit cards making you walk all the way back into the middle of the terminal to find an ATM. Overall I am very disappointed with the experiences that I have had with this airport over the years that I have been using it.

Very diverse airport with lots of interesting offerings. Not all of the airport is up-to-date. Outstanding use of natural light (such as there is in Seattle) in the central terminal concession area. Great use of local restaurants and stores. Easy to get around and well-signed.

Flew into SEA and used it as a base to fly back and forth to other US destinations during a tour. This meant I used the airport about 6 times in a week using different terminals so feel well placed to rate it. Immigration lines on arrival were pretty long and immigration officials were characteristically prickly. Airport transfer to downtown via shuttle buses was cheap ($12.50 one way) and efficient. Wi-fi in the airport is completely free and a good connection. Tram connects all the terminals and airport is well sign posted. Trams connecting terminals leave every two minutes and often have announcements in mutiple languages. Restaurants and gift shops either side of security with excellent choice and high quality offered. The only let down is the S terminal. Here the choice of restaurants was very limited and the food there was not good. In addition this was the one terminal where I had difficulty with the wi-fi connection. However this is one of the best airports I have ever used.

Immigration queues about 15 mins long over an hour to recover our bags from the carousel (747 flight) and I personally found navigating the airport difficult with a lack of decent signage. We headed for the airport shuttle and although we arrived at this airport twice within a couple of weeks still found it difficult to find. Plenty of food/drink outlets. The 2nd time we arrived aboard a 737 our bags arrived on the carousel within about 25 mins. Airport was clean and tidy. Queues at the desk were short and only 10 mins or so to get through security. Why can't immigration officers smile every once in a while?

A good clean modern airport. Use it once or twice a year however as per usual again the departure was a shambles. I waited at least 40mins in the security queue people are not advised what they can or can't take through security until they reach the x-ray machines. Greeted by a large security man yelling at us like a circus lion I didn't understand a word he was saying and asked if he could stop shouting and talk slowly and clearly. Could I suggest Seattle that you do as other airports do and have a security station as we do in London before folk get in the queue. Allow at least 1 hr to get through security. Wake up to these security issues do you homework before you fly.

Surprised how smoothly our check-in and security was. Everyone was so helpful and polite. We did make the mistake of eating at the Quiznos inside the airport (we had not seen the other reviews warning against that). Food was awful and the employees were the first rude people we had encountered in Seattle. We ended up spending more on money on food than planned because we couldn't eat what we had ordered at Quiznos. However the food and the employees were wonderful at the Japanese place where we ended up.

A delightful airport to transit through. Easy layout to negotiate. A large and naturally lit central dining area that is very relaxed. Sea-Tac is definitely one of the more attractive and inviting airports I have seen in the US.

Easy layout with great transportation to get there. The main concourse has many places to eat and shop. It is always very clean and I've never had a problem making a flight because of security lines. My only is advice is to avoid the Quiznos in terminal B. The food is sub par but they are the only place in that terminal so I think they know they don't have to try very hard. My advice - get something from one of the great places in the main terminal or C or D.