A pilot who often fields questions about flying and travel has shared which US airports he most enjoys operating in and out of — and which one he’d happily never see again.
Known online as Captain Steeeve, the commercial airline pilot and YouTuber regularly draws on his years in the cockpit to explain what aviation is like from a crew perspective.
In a recent Q&A, he broke down the airports he personally rates highly, noting that what makes a destination memorable for pilots can be very different from what passengers notice.
He said: “I love this question, I loved flying in and out of LaGuardia, I loved flying in and out of Orange County, California, I love flying in and out of San Diego, California.
“All of these airports have challenges. There is a parking garage right on final as you come into Lindberg field in San Diego, it is kind of an eye-opener because you fly right over the top of it, kind of a cool airport.
“Orange County has an extremely short runway so you got to stay real high coming in there for noise abatement.
“So you kind of rocket down to the ground and then you have to get it stopped on that short runway, same thing with the departure there.”
He then singled out LaGuardia as a standout, particularly because of the approach he flew regularly while based in New York.
He continued: “Laguardia was probably my favorite. I flew int here many, many times when I was based in New York and you fly what used to be called the Expressway Visual to runway 31.
“The expressway visual comes up over the top of the old world trade centers and then it goes to a place called dials and dials are just htese big fuel tanks in the middle of NYC.”
When it came to the other side of the question — the airports he least enjoys — he suggested there were several contenders, but ultimately landed on one clear pick.
Chicago, he explained, frustrates him less for the terminals themselves and more for what comes with operating there.
He had a much more concise answer as to why, saying: “It’s more about the layover than it is about the airport, probably Chicago (though).
“It’s so busy there and so uptight and there’s so many runways. I just assume never go to Chicago ever again. And you know what. I don’t have to now, Okay there you go.”
For pilots, his take offers a quick snapshot of which airports he finds rewarding — and which one he’d avoid if given the choice.