Is Brisbane Australia's best airport..?

Not sure how Brisbane got this gong......The International Terminal is ok, but the Domestic Terminal is pretty bland and un-appealing.

Melbourne Airport gets my vote for the convenience of the single location without the need to get on a car, train or bus to transfer Terminals. 

As a Sydney sider I am surprised that Sydney Airport was 3rd place. The Terminals are not bad with T2 pretty stylish....but it is a mess due to the traffic congestion and seperation of Terminals.

Skytrax really should profile the type of passenger who would find the airports they have ranked as best. Otherwise it's meaningless.

For example, the airport experience of a BA First Class passenger at LHR T5, who would be whisked through security and ushered into the cocoon of the Concorde Room by security, would be vastly different from that of a World Traveller, without any Executive Club status, who has had to endure the crowds and the bright lights of the duty free shops.

To score airports on its individual services and facilities makes sense. It is however a bit silly to aggregate the different scores to come up with an overall “best airport” ranking. What does this serve besides some silly marketing exercise by the said winners?

I agree that Singapore is the best... but can't agree about Brisbane. I certainly think that both Sydney and Melbourne rate above Brisbane.

Hong Kong's Regal Airport Hotel is probably one of the best. It is convenient and the rooms are a comfortable size. The Crowne Plaza at Singapore Changi should also be up there though as it is a great hotel.

Although Singapore is very pleasant and in general customs, security and baggage handling is done efficient and swift, I do dislike the carpets. It is also a somehwat dark airport (even at day) compared to HKG which I find airy and bright (perhaps the height of terminal makes the oevrall feel better / nicer).

When it comes to my favourite airport I am a chauvinist and choose Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Easy to navigate, relative efficient customs and baggage handling, a clean and open feel, plenty of entertainment options - shops, dependance of the "Rijks Museum", "Bols Experience", Casino and of course a fantatsic viewing terrace!

I find the security check at the gates a drawback however, but this is personal (Singapore has the same). Premium scanning is enforced well so in general there is not much of a line and for instance EK has their own roped of area close to airbridge which ensures you can board first.

It is a very difficult to understand what the basis for rating Brisbane is with Skytrax. On the other hand, I think the award to the Langham Place Beijing Airport is spot on - it has the best hotel buffet breakfast I have experienced - the serive is outstanding and friendly - and the bed - it is woirth staying there just to sleep in the bed.

Brisbane Airport has a seperate International terminal as opposed to Melbourne and Adelaide with seamless experiences there for transfers. So a bit confused with that alone. The Airtrain is a plus and fairly fast - not very regular however - and of course there is the mandatory $16 one way fare like Sydney just because you are going to the Airport.

Melbourne second??? Great airport for transfers and shopping, not a good airport for transport and taxi ranks. The train or should I say lack of train is an issue with a very immediate need for MEL. The peak hour crush starting kilometers from the terminal on Tulla freeway rates MEL lower for me. The new terminal 4 and better transport will put MEL in top spot easily. It is not uncommon to wait at the Taxi rank in MEL for a longer duration than the actual flight.

Sydney Airport - I am surprised this rated at all!! Seperate terminals, poor congestion issues and poor traffic conditions to get to the terminals. The zig zag of old roads to approach the Domestic terminal - eeeek. I suppose there is still hope of a new airport, but that is becoming a lot like the 45 year plan for a fast train on the East Coast.

I like Brisbane international and find the domestic quite basic as it is really past its useby date.

Given the amount of issues surrounding late flights in and out of Brisbane and BAC's position on the building of a second runway, I'm not sure how it can be rated highly. I'd rather be on time than have the best facilities in the world. Aviation services are a basic capability of an airport, the rest is anxillary really.

they got Perth right...last!! hopefully all the new terminal extensions will bump it up in the nearish future.

What about Adelaide? Best in my opinion.

Brisbane is probably rated the best due to the incremental improvements they made to the airport over time. They upgraded the car parks and did some minor improvements to the domestic terminals as it used to be much worse. But I have to agree that T3 in SYD is far better than the domestic terminal in BNE. The delays caused by the single runway at Brisbane doesn't help much either.

Adelaide is certainly the best airport in the country. It's bright and light, has integrated domestic, international and regional terminals for all airlines, superior food and drink options (including the great local Adelaide chain CIBO and the Coopers Brewery bar and restaurant) and is located 10 minutes without traffic from the city by cab. Also has a public transport bus which costs the regular fare to get in too, compared to the $18 Skybus in Melbourne or the exorbitant train fares in Sydney and Brisbane. One downside of Adelaide is that neither lounge has been updated in a while and like Perth, it lacks a QF J lounge.

The new Canberra airport is great too, but on a different scale as it lacks international routes and the only significant regional route is to Newcastle. Also bit further out than Adelaide and lacks public transport.

Out of the others, Sydney is quite pleasant to be in but has the inconvenience of being split across two terminals. Melbourne is the opposite, having quite a dated interior but being convenient to connect through. Brisbane is the worst of both worlds, being rather drab (QF domestic is very dated indeed) but also disconnected. Never been to Perth so cant comment there.

How can BNE be the best airport when nearly EVERY flight in the evening, and evening was usually forced to circle around Gold Coast for up to 30 minutes while a slot was found for landing at the airport, which for over a year was single runway... This changed recently though when CASA adopted their new system, preventing planes from departing until there is a landing slot available, which admitedly has made the situation better.

Also, Brisbane airport has one working runway for jet aircraft.

Don't even get me started about that stupid pick up zone they had for 6 months...

If Melbourne invested in a train line to the city it would be the best.

It seems plain to me too that Adelaide is the best airport in the country. Canberra is a close 2nd place but only because of public transport issues. Brisbane...? It's not terrible but it's certainly not tops!

I find BNE airport win rather strange too - not the first to come to mind certainly. 

Canberra Airport, thanks to being wholly renewed and refreshed, deserves some merit as "best" but is a secondary route airport so not fair to single out. ADL has merits too, for similar reasons - but again is a secondary airport, and has a few kinks at the moment (access to rentals is awkward at moment). 

MEL is a very good airport, sans rail link, and 

I find BNE airport win rather strange too - not the first to come to mind certainly. 

Canberra Airport, thanks to being wholly renewed and refreshed, deserves some merit as "best" but is a secondary route airport so not fair to single out. ADL has merits too, for similar reasons - but again is a secondary airport (yes ADL has international services, but it is not in the same scale as the eastern seaboard primary airports), and has a few kinks at the moment (access to rentals is awkward at moment). 

MEL is a very good airport, sans rail link, and is certainly easier to get around and boasts fine dining in international section, but perhaps loses top spot for ground side Virgin lounge (no sexy Premium Screening like SYD sadly). Still, I'd rate it the best large airport in Australia, with regional to Canberra, as my choices

Another vote for Adelaide here. It is a well desinged airport for what it is. I recognise that what it is very different to Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane. Of the others i think we're unanimous that Perth is a shocker. Pretty much everything about it is awful. BNE domestic feels dated and a bit delapidated. I havent done an international flight out of there for years so can't speak to that side of things.  

I am in engineering and always have a heavy computer case.

At Brisbane thye weigh you hand luggage before you fly , Its done byt the airport.

AS I have to pack for engineering work , casual and business appointments I find checked bagge limits a hassle.

To have the international airport hassle you on your hand luggage, sorry i dont want to fly out of that airport.

I dont know why airlines are not making money as the airfares are not that cheap.

I spend $ 15-40K per year on airfares, and in engineering in Australia and an exporter always travel economy travel on 3-8 week notice and seem to pay and gte included with the holiday people booking 6 months ahead who paid a lot less.

So airlines are not my favourite supplier and if Brisbane wants to weigh hand luggage on OS flight I dont want to travel from there.

Adelaide for me followed by Melbourne. Sydney transfer between airports is horrible

I have no idea how Brisbane airport could even be considered for a gong. Its domestic passenger pick up and drop off zone is an utter disgrace, a planning snafu that forces me to endure chaos everytime I land in Brisbane and wait for someone to pick me up in peak hour. The problem? Unlike most airports, Brisbane domestic airport has passenger drop-off and pick-up in the same place, so when you drive through it's virtualy impossible to find a spot to stop without having to double park or get into a fight with a space hog. What's really infuriating is that the Queenslanders love to turn up early in the drop-off zone and sit there waiting for their dears to arrive from interstate. The drop-off attendants who should be clearing them and making way for other cars to drop or pick up people make only lame, half hearted attempts to clear them. Sorry, but the passenger drop-off and pick-up in Brisbane is a disaster and ruins everything about that airport. But then again, it's Queensland, and nothing surprises me any more about that state.

Adelaide for me, easy airport to navigate, modern and airy good facilities etc. Melbourne, followed by Perth which I find ok and a close follow on to Sydney  Brisbane is a joke! They must be rating it based on not knowing about their poor on time records. I can' t believe an aiport that has a very average domestic ternminal that cannot even land a plane on time, can be rated at all. Its at the point that I now calculate an extra 45 minutes into every evening flight I take to Brisbane.