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Let’s See How Well You Know Your US Airports

87 comments on Let’s See How Well You Know Your US Airports
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We’ve had some heavy stuff on the blog lately, and there’s more coming tomorrow, so let’s take a little break from serious content today.

A friend posted a link to the Washington Post’s subway identification quiz and said someone should do it for airports. So I did.

If you’re reading this via email, then I’m guessing you’re going to need to click through to the post to take the quiz. This one looks at the silhouettes of the terminals at 12 domestic US airports. If you like this, I’ll look to do an international one as well.

Good luck! Leave a note in the comments if you like this kind of thing.

Quiz is closed

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Brett Avatar
Brett

87 responses to “Let’s See How Well You Know Your US Airports”

  1. JMR Avatar
    JMR

    I liked it! Only had 3 right, but for a European I don’t consider that too bad ;). Would love to see an international one, hopefully that’ll be easier!

    Reply
  2. SEAN Avatar
    SEAN

    This was fun. 10 for 12 & yet I’m visually challenged – go figgure.

    Reply
    1. SEAN Avatar
      SEAN

      Missed DFW & MDW. I have a 2001 book that described in detail various large airports witch certainly helped.

      Reply
      1. Andrew Deneris Avatar
        Andrew Deneris

        What’s the title? I’d love to give it a read.

        Reply
        1. SEAN Avatar
          SEAN

          It was called “Stuck at the Airport, a Travelers Survival Guide” by Harriet Baskas.

          Some info is quite dated such as the backround on Detroit.

          Reply
  3. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    I got 11/12, only because the extended area for A4A & A4B was missing in your diagram (see http://www.flychicago.com/midway/en/atairport/map/default.aspx?mapName=FullAirport). Great quiz!

    Reply
  4. Brad Avatar
    Brad

    11/12 I only missed Midway… That was fun. Thanks for putting it together.

    Reply
    1. ZuluLima Avatar
      ZuluLima

      Wow, like many of you guys I was 11/12 missing MDW. I wouldn’t expect everyone to get that one, but it is quite a well known airport to be tripping up so many otherwise perfect quiz-takers. That was a hard quiz even for an av-nerd. Round 2 please!

      Reply
  5. Kjell Avatar
    Kjell

    4/12, but I’m Norwegian (look it up!) and the only place in the US I’ve ever been is New York.

    Reply
  6. Edward Shelswell-White Avatar
    Edward Shelswell-White

    Great fun! Probably would have missed a couple (e.g., Honolulu) if not for the multiple choice. Do this again sometime, please…

    Reply
  7. Hovig Avatar
    Hovig

    I totally sucked at it with only 4/12. But I totally loved it. Thanks for making it.

    Reply
  8. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    12/12. A quiz needs to become at least a monthly thing! Very enjoyable and a nice break.

    Reply
  9. Ted Avatar
    Ted

    8/12. I loved this…keep it up!

    Reply
  10. Chris Martin Avatar
    Chris Martin

    Quite enjoyable…The multiple choice gave me a fighting chance…10/12!

    Reply
  11. James Burke Avatar
    James Burke

    11/12 – feeling silly about MDW, seeing I was there a few times last year.

    Reply
  12. IO Avatar
    IO

    3/12 :-(

    Reply
  13. Jim M Avatar
    Jim M

    6/12. . . but fun.

    Reply
  14. Kilroy Avatar
    Kilroy

    What, no ATL? I’m very surprised at that omission, given how big it is, though maybe it would have been too easy. Also, in the second version of the quiz (there will be one, right?), I suggest you include CLT, IAH, DTW, MSP, and any other major hubs you missed this time around.

    Really, this quiz helped me realize how little I fly (~8-12 segments last year) and how little I pay attention to airport diagrams (I got 3/12, which makes sense, as it was mostly random guessing).

    Reply
  15. ANCJason Avatar
    ANCJason

    BWI was tricky even though I’ve been through there….I guessed MIA (I’ve never been there) because the AA terminal at the north. TPA vs. MCO will always mess me up because of their satellite configuration and I’ve never been to either.

    Reply
  16. Scott Avatar
    Scott

    12/12 Keep it up! Awesome fun!

    Reply
  17. gobluetwo Avatar
    gobluetwo

    Haven’t been to a few of those (or some in several years), so only 7/12 correct. The one I waffled a bit on was MCO. I guessed TPA, which has a similar layout with the main building in the center and 4 remote terminals accessible via people mover.

    Reply
  18. Brittain Avatar
    Brittain

    This was great fun. Thanks

    Reply
  19. Austin Avatar
    Austin

    11/12. BWI was the only one I missed–going through things quickly it looks a lot like MIA (especially without any other reference to scale)!

    Reply
  20. DesertGhost Avatar
    DesertGhost

    I’m a bit shocked that I got them all, but I look through the inflight magazines enough that I recognized the overall shapes of the terminals.

    Speaking of disjointed Phoenix Sky Harbor, when I moved here in 1976, there were no Terminals 3 or 4. I flew into Terminal 2 (on American, United didn’t serve Phoenix in those days) and only a couple of gates had jetways. It was a much easier airport to navigate at that time. I’m hoping a way can be found to preserve the large mural inside terminal 2 when it’s torn down.

    Reply
  21. Bob Avatar
    Bob

    Fantastic! 10/12….answered Tampa for Orlando and Miami for Baltimore…oops. Please keep doing stuff like this, Brent….really fun way to start the day!

    Reply
  22. ChuckMO Avatar
    ChuckMO

    12/12 in 1:56! Great idea Brett, how about some more every so often?

    Reply
  23. MeanMeosh Avatar
    MeanMeosh

    Love it! Please do something like this again.

    Reply
    1. MeanMeosh Avatar
      MeanMeosh

      Sorry, meant to add a minor note. DFW recently added 10 “stinger” gates to the north end of Terminal B, so it, too has a small addition jutting out like the satellite E gates (though who knows how long until satellite E is mothballed again).

      Reply
  24. Matt B. Avatar
    Matt B.

    11/12 and I should’ve known PHX. I haven’t been to many of them but I adore Google Earth so that helped me a lot.

    Reply
  25. Kevin Avatar
    Kevin

    12/12 the only one I had trouble with was BWI since I have never flown to or from there.
    Love this

    Reply
  26. Carl Avatar
    Carl

    11 of 12 in 4:37

    Reply
  27. Carl Anderson Avatar
    Carl Anderson

    8, not too bad.

    Reply
  28. bandito Avatar
    bandito

    I got 11/12 only missed BWIi because I’ve never been there, it was always more convenient for me to go into IAD or DCA. But this quiz was great and some of these were pretty challenging.

    Reply
    1. SEAN Avatar
      SEAN

      Yeah they were except for ORD – witch is almost a dead giveaway.

      Reply
  29. Diego Avatar
    Diego

    12/12!!! Maybe next time try airports such as CLL, SNA, , LGA, OAK, HOU, and DAL.

    Reply
  30. Eric in ICT Avatar
    Eric in ICT

    9/12 and ironically the only ones I missed were airports I have been to. This was a lot of fun. Thanks! Bring on the international version!

    And I second your comment about looking forward to the end of Terminal 2 in PHX. What an, um, unpleasant place.

    Reply
  31. Frederick R Avatar
    Frederick R

    12/12 (although I guessed on Honolulu)
    Great fun. Thanks for post!

    Reply
  32. chris Avatar
    chris

    Great views. I don’t think I understood how disconnected PHX and JFK are.

    Reply
  33. mowogo Avatar
    mowogo

    11/12, only missed BWI (Mainly because I’ve only been through the D concourse).

    Reply
  34. Eric Avatar
    Eric

    Woohoo! !! 100%! I’m a true air dork (and crew member. ..that helps allot).

    Reply
  35. Ben Granucci Avatar
    Ben Granucci

    11/12!

    This was great fun!

    Reply
  36. Nick Barnard Avatar
    Nick Barnard

    9 for 12 in 6:23.

    Missed:
    Baltimore
    Honolulu
    Chicago Midway:

    Reply
    1. Nick Barnard Avatar
      Nick Barnard

      Oops.. Didn’t intend to submit that.

      Honolulu: I thought I knew, but the rotation threw me for a loop, so I chose one of the other options instead.

      Baltimore I’ve not been in since it was a US Air hub waaaay back in the day.

      Chicago Midway I should’ve gotten.. Oh well.

      Reply
  37. Dave102 Avatar
    Dave102

    12/12!! I guessed at one, and a lot had to be process of elimination, but 12/12!

    Reply
  38. Shane Avatar
    Shane

    11/12 (missed Honolulu), helps that I am east coast and Florida flyer. Maybe next time pull from old diagrams of airports that are no longer hubs to make it more challenging. Also, follow up with posting results. A perfect hub would be one where travelers don’t need to memorize the layout, signage and design would make transiting intuitive. Great quiz.

    Reply
  39. JB Avatar
    JB

    10/12 – TPA/MCO fooled me too.

    You should do one with the runway layouts instead of the terminals!

    Reply
  40. A Avatar
    A

    Missed BWI (never flown there) and MDW (been years since I was there). 10/12 isn’t bad. Some were too easy like LAX and JFK. If you want to make it really interesting do the runway layouts. Side note, I did the Wash Post subway one and got 8/10. Missed Moscow and Beijing. I’m a maps nerd I guess.

    Reply
  41. Bibliobear Avatar
    Bibliobear

    Also 100% here. What’s my prize? How about first-class service the next time I do a paid FC trip on United Express? HAHAHAHAHA Fat chance!

    Reply
  42. Vickie Avatar
    Vickie

    9/12! Been to over half of them but I’m a good guesser on the ones I haven’t! Got Tampa and Orlando backwards though because they both have that center section with trains!

    Reply
  43. David K. Avatar
    David K.

    Loved it! 9/12. It’s like the fun game USA Today does by posting a picture of a tiny portion of an airport to guess the airport!

    Reply
  44. LT_DT Avatar
    LT_DT

    10/12, although I correctly guessed Phoenix for one of them because I made the assumption that given your background, it would be included. :)

    Bring on the international version!

    Reply
  45. philip Avatar
    philip

    Loved it: 100% scored.

    Reply
  46. United L1011 Avatar
    United L1011

    9/12 in 3:55. Good stuff Brett. I’d suggest once a quarter or at major holidays to do a quiz.

    Reply
  47. Mic Avatar
    Mic

    That was fun! Finally all those years being an airline dork paid off. 11/12 I always confuse Tampa and Orlando… Dang!

    Reply
  48. Rzn Avatar
    Rzn

    12/12 I know most airports, but the El Paso/Midway/Long Beach One was hard. I have been to Long Beach so it wasn’t that… But anyway. Thanks for posting the quiz!

    Reply
  49. Tim Avatar
    Tim

    11/12…liked it! Lets do more….

    Reply
  50. Jacob Avatar
    Jacob

    11/12. Finally, hours of looking at airports in Google Maps paid off :)

    Just mistook Baltimore for Miami. I never noticed how similar their layouts are until this quiz.

    Reply
  51. GregJ Avatar
    GregJ

    12 for 12. Finally, all these years studying hub maps in inflight magazines have paid off. Also, this reminds me of the “art” at RDU. Inside the Starbucks by ticketing they have US/world terminal silhouettes just like these.

    Great fun.

    Reply
  52. Brawny Avatar
    Brawny

    This was great Brett. While I only got 7/12 it was fun. More please.

    Reply
  53. MT Avatar
    MT

    11/12…also missed BWI. One note on the DFW comment. US Airways and Spirit have moved back into the main E concourse after the remodeling of the high E gates. DFW is now remodeling the mid E gates, and I’ve seen DL and Alaska planes out at the satellite gates.

    Reply
  54. chris Avatar
    chris

    This was a lot of fun…thanks Cranky! I guess I can thank my 12/12 on all the time I’ve spent looking at airports in Google Maps…

    Reply
  55. FAC Avatar
    FAC

    10 out of 12. I must be an AvGeek as I have not been to many of these airports in decades. Yes, please let us try more of these challenges.

    Reply
  56. Josh Avatar
    Josh

    12/12, but I paused and had to think a few times. MDW almost got me. Keep these coming, Brett, there are at least 4 more U.S. and 6 intl rounds that would be fun.

    Reply
  57. Luiz Avatar
    Luiz

    4/12. Not bad for a brazilian.

    Reply
  58. yo Avatar
    yo

    7 of 12, but I knew better on a few…

    Some are impossible to miss, JFK, LAX, etc.

    Reply
  59. Dale Avatar
    Dale

    LOVED this! Would have had 11/12 but my hand didn’t do what my brain said. More, please! If you do continue at some point it might be cool to have some historic diagrams from airports which changed, too,

    Reply
  60. SEAN Avatar
    SEAN

    In the future try this with different formats such as terminal photos, gate arrays & the like.

    Reply
  61. Bradwho Avatar
    Bradwho

    11 of 12 Even surprised myself.

    Reply
  62. CF Avatar
    CF

    Thanks for all the feedback here everyone. Seems like a rousing success, so I will most definitely plan more quizzes in the future. Next up, international airports. Though I’m not sure when that’ll get put together.

    Reply
  63. Ron Avatar
    Ron

    11/12 (missed SEA). I should’ve taken notes, though — some I recognized instantly (like LAX and DFW), some I knew for certain after reading the choices (like PHX and HNL), and others I figured out only by process of elimination (like MDW).

    Reply
  64. itsgoa Avatar
    itsgoa

    11/12…great fun!

    Reply
  65. Andrew Avatar
    Andrew

    Great post!!! I got 11/12 BWI messed me up. Somebody has spent too much time looking at the terminal maps in the back of the inflight magazine. Obviously that includes me.

    Reply
  66. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Got ’em all right. Gotta admit that I had to guess Honolulu. I wasn’t sure about it and guessed between Honolulu and Anchorage.

    Reply
  67. Alex Hill Avatar
    Alex Hill

    11/12. Fun; thanks for putting it together!

    (And, for the record, 9/10 on the public transit one.)

    Reply
  68. Jhan Jensen Avatar
    Jhan Jensen

    Got 11/12, I had forgotten PHX got rid of Terminal 1 so it threw me off and thought it was DEN. I did not use anything but my memory too :P Great fun, do more of these!

    Reply
  69. SDFDuck Avatar
    SDFDuck

    7/12. I don’t know how I missed LAX.

    Reply
  70. Jason Avatar
    Jason

    12/12 :-)

    Reply
  71. icfitz Avatar
    icfitz

    12/12. Great quiz. Looking forward to next one!

    Reply
  72. Hua Avatar
    Hua

    10 of 12. Fun times.

    Reply
  73. Berny Avatar
    Berny

    Got 10 correct (got Seattle and Baltimore incorrect) And honolulu was a stab in the dark. Can’t wait for the international version.

    Reply
  74. Brian Avatar
    Brian

    10 out of 12. Fun quiz!

    Reply
  75. freqflyercoll Avatar
    freqflyercoll

    9 of 12! and that was fun!

    Reply
  76. Million Miler Avatar
    Million Miler

    Fun! One minor correction, your DFW map is out of date. Terminal B now has a long “finger” at about the 10 o’clock position. Have not been over in B lately, so not sure if it is fully operational yet.

    Here is a diagram https://www.dfwairport.com/terminals/b.php

    Reply
  77. Hajime Sano Avatar
    Hajime Sano

    9/12 I was surprised I’d been to almost all of those airports and did some from memory. I hadn’t been to some in a long time.

    Great quiz! You’ve opened the genie’s bottle, as we’ll be clamoring for more!

    Reply
  78. altalir Avatar
    altalir

    10/12 and I’ve never been to HNL. The other one I managed to miss was ORD–was tripped up by T1 being on the left and T5 on the right. Was psyched to see my home airport on here but then looked closer and realized it was the copycat MCO instead :(

    Reply
  79. John Avatar
    John

    My wife said I need to get a life 12 of 12.

    Reply
  80. Rob Lipman Avatar
    Rob Lipman

    Thank you for not calling Washington DCA the “R” word. It’s always National to ms.

    Can’t believe I got two wrong, but I haven’t been to Midway in 30 years – no wonder I got it wrong. I can’t believe it extends over Cicero Ave!

    Reply

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