Letters: The Two Types of Airport People

There Are Two Types of Airport People

Last week, Amanda Mull wrote about why some travelers get to the airport compulsively early—and why others relish the thrill of a late arrival. After talking with friends and colleagues, Mull concluded that “baseline differences in outlook can make the virtues of both earliness and lateness impossible to explain to people in the opposite camp.”

First, nobody who arrives two hours in advance is “overprepared.” They’re just organized. I arrive three hours early, especially for long-distance flights like the ones I just had from Scotland to New Zealand and back.

Second, flying is fun. Airports are fun, or at least should be for journalists because there’s so much to see and learn. Why hang around that extra hour in the hotel or at home when you can sit in an airport, nursing a beer and watching the planes go