Flying in or out of a scenic airport can be one of the most memorable parts of your trip.

A popular question for pilots is about our favorite airports. Ask a variety of pilots for their top picks, and you’re sure to get a variety of answers—but here’s my list, along with the reasons why:

If I had to choose my #1 favorite airport to fly into, it would be Honolulu. I’m very much a beach person, and I know every layover in Honolulu will involve a trip to Waikiki or some other wonderful spot. The runways are long—not a necessity, but always nice. One of them, the “Reef Runway,” was, in fact, built on a reef. We use this runway primarily for takeoff, and it’s a pretty sight taxiing out with the ocean on our right and a lagoon on our left.

Another Hawaiian island—Maui—has a particularly beautiful approach. When flying from the U.S. mainland, prevailing winds usually require us to fly between Maui’s two volcanoes, past the runway and out over the water to set up our final approach. I can see the tiny atoll of Molokini on my left during this maneuver, and cruise ships docked in the harbor are visible as we turn inbound. One thing most travelers have probably noticed when flying into Maui is that it’s often somewhat turbulent. The volcanoes with the runway in the valley between them can create a small rush of wind, resulting in what can be a pretty bouncy approach.

My next favorite airport has to be San Diego. There’s been quite a bit of hype about the steepness of the approach and a parking garage built right on the approach path, but the angle of descent isn’t really that unusual—just slightly steeper than the average. The parking garage isn’t a particular concern, but just something to be aware of.

San Diego also happens to be where I grew up, and even though the approach is busy, I’m always aware of the world-famous San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park on our right and the city and Coronado Bridge on our left as we zip by. Check out the short videos of landing and takeoff at San Diego airport, shot right from the cockpit, on my Web site at www.fromthecockpit.com.

Las Vegas normally uses west operations, meaning airplanes land and take off to the west. On occasion, however, they use north or south operations. When we take off to the north, it looks out my left window as if we’re flying right up the strip, and that’s essentially just what we’re doing. When we land to the south, it looks on our right like we’re going to land on the strip. It’s really spectacular arriving or departing this way at night.

Jackson Hole, Wyo., is simply gorgeous. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen anything lovelier than arriving to the south, preferably at sunrise or sunset, with the Grand Tetons close on our right. This is a relatively short runway, although it was extended slightly a few years ago. In the winter, it’s especially important for very precise operations by the pilots. Even so, it’s a popular layover, and I don’t know any pilots who don’t enjoy their flights to Jackson Hole.

Flying into London often involves some holding, as it’s an exceptionally busy airport and low visibility sometimes slows things down; but on one approach, we fly right by Buckingham Palace at a relatively low altitude. If you’re flying into London and sitting on the right side of the plane, be sure to have a look. More frequently, airplanes land the wrong way for the view of the palace, but a palace sighting does happen often enough to keep an eye out.

Another of my favorites is Reagan National, when landing to the south in visual conditions. Our approach follows the Potomac, and we can see the White House and all the monuments as we fly by. I fly wide-bodies now, and we use Dulles instead—a perfectly fine airport, but not nearly as scenic.

I chose my favorite airports using only two qualifiers: the scenery coming in and the enjoyment of the layover. Every approach we fly has its unique characteristics, but in the end, they all have a common basis, and a runway is a runway.

____________________________________________

captain meryl getline (www.fromthecockpit.com) is a B777 pilot for a major U.S. airline and flies both internationally and domestically. She also writes a weekly travel column for www.usatoday.com (“Ask The Captain”) and is the author of The World at My Feet. Email Captain Meryl at editor@executivetravelmag.com.