Executive Travel

Name: Jack Kyser

Position: Chief economist

Company: Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp.

The hassles of business travel are many, says Kyser. Hotel layouts and signs confuse him. Good restaurants are hard to find. But the worst part of all is passing through the airport. “Airports are a pain,” says Kyser.

In general, Kyser finds that most airports are not “user friendly.” They require long walks or shuttle rides between parking lots and terminals and between ticket counters and boarding gates.

Washington’s Dulles International Airport combines all the worst airport features, he says. It starts off with a shuttle ride from the airplane to the terminal, where the baggage claim area is too small. Then, there are shuttle buses to Washington hotels. “They drag you around from hotel to hotel” before getting to your stop, Kyser says.

Los Angeles International, in contrast, is not bad compared to other airports its size, but it needs to make cab service more convenient, Kyser notes. Burbank Airport, where distances are shorter and parking more convenient than in larger facilities, is Kyser’s favorite. In addition, boarding and getting off airplanes at Burbank goes quickly because most of the airlines use stairwells at the front and rear of their planes.

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