Air travel is one of the great conveniences of life in the 21st century. Airports are one of the great inconveniences.
Sure, they make London accessible for a weekend and Los Angeles feasible for lunch. They also leave you jet lagged, stranded on disorienting layovers and searching in vain for the nearest taxi and hotel when you actually do arrive. While many airlines, including American Airlines (nyse: AMR - news - people ), British Airways (nyse: BAB - news - people ) and Air France (nyse: AKH - news - people ), have introduced lounges with business centers and gourmet meal services to distract business- and first-class passengers before takeoff, airports themselves remain tedious places: intimidating at worst, boring at best.
Take heart. To combat the inevitable airport dread that can threaten even the most experienced travelers, Forbes.com has compiled our first-ever annual Airport Index. This week, we list 50 of the highest-trafficked U.S. airports and give you a comprehensive guide to their business and leisure facilities, lounges and lodging options. We've also provided complete contact information and airport maps, as well as handy statistics, such as the average time for a flight connection and the percentage of on-time arrivals at each airport.
To gather data for the Index, we worked with Pyramid Media Group, the New York-based company that publishes Airguide Magazine and Airguide Online.com. They provided us with lists of U.S. and international airports, information about the available facilities and resources, and passenger numbers for the year 2004, which we relied upon when sorting by traffic (see below). The U.S. Department of Transportation was our source for on-time arrival statistics, which are current as of June 2005.
Armed with knowledge about driving directions, parking, public transportation and nearby hotels, we think you'll find navigating any airport much easier--and more enjoyable. And don't forget to check back when we continue the Airport Index with our guide to international travel.
