The Faster Lane / Tyler Brûlé
Flight path forward
It’s been a week of geographical extremes, poorly planned infrastructure and a gentle touchdown in a perfect sanctuary at the top of the Adriatic. We start by slaloming our way through Lisbon’s Humberto Delgado Airport.
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I like a city that feels connected to the world, a city where you can actually feel the push and pull of commerce, influence and curiosity. Thanks to the position of Lisbon Airport’s runway, aircraft are always approaching or taking off over the city centre. While many anti-noise grumps might not appreciate the gentle hum of an approaching Embraer E-Jet from Madrid or the roar of a 777 taking off for Luanda, I enjoy looking up and watching aircraft passing over the city’s terracotta rooftops. I frequently consult the Flightradar24 app to see where all those A330s are heading, and with the odd exception, they’re bound for the capitals and commercial hubs of Portugal’s former colonies – Maputo, Brasília and Rio. I look at the arrival times and think how lovely it would be to have a full day in Lisbon, board one of those flights and then enjoy a late drink and a bit of bossa at the Fasano in São Paulo. The only hitch to this fantasy is Lisbon’s poorly planned and chaotic airport.
While schemes are supposedly afoot for a whole new airport, the responsible authorities might want to get a move on improving Humberto Delgado’s offer as they plot out the city’s new hub – if it ever even happens. A bit of proper planning and some customer-journey work could do wonders in providing some easy fixes to cut walking times, the use of buses to remote stands and much more. Clever consultants would advise an overhaul of the current airport immediately, then plot out the use case for a future airport and how it could be speedily connected to the city. As a regular user I would advocate for TAP and its partners to stick with Humberto Delgado and move the low-cost carriers to the new airport. It would be unfortunate for Lisbon to lose the minute-by-minute reminder of the world coming, going and connecting.
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I also like a city that gives you a sense of who it is, has a sense of pride and gives you a few positive clues where it might be heading. On Sunday I arrived in a bright Budapest at the moment when the Danube’s waters had peaked and the city’s flooded defences were starting to dry out in the autumn sunshine. Ferenc Liszt International Airport clearly seems to have worked with the same wayfinding and planning team employed by Lisbon; and I was somewhat surprised by the number of tailfins belonging to Chinese airlines on the tarmac.
On the road into town, I peered down elegant boulevards and looked up at the high ceilings of sprawling first-and-second-floor apartments. Budapest is at its best if you fix your gaze four metres above the pavement so as to take in the wonderful typography of former apothecaries and stationery shops, vintage neon signage and ornamental stone and metal work. Look down and once-elegant shopfronts are covered in garish vinyl panels and flashing LED screens offering “Thai” massages, manicures, cut-price sushi, shaves and facials. One might have thought that Budapest’s thermal waters would have been enough to cure most aches and pains but the city’s Chinese community clearly thinks otherwise. Budapest’s city centre has so many shopfronts run by Chongqing business people that its sense of place has evaporated. “We need a strategy that outlines what type of city we want and also how we can feel authentic and create a climate for Hungarian entrepreneurs,” said a hotel owner. “Right now it’s a free-for-all, it’s too easy to get a visa and we’re witnessing the results.” Budapest has all the tradition and talent to create a new story for its urban core but it needs an urgent reset to allow its best features to be restored and more authentic players to flourish.
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Finally, I like a city that still knows how to reinvent itself and never ceases to amaze. This column is being filed from the perfectly appointed Venice Venice Hotel – a new Monocle favourite. If you’ve not been, autumn is the perfect time to check in, enjoy lunch on the deck, scout the smart, sprawling retail set-up conceived by the hotel’s founders and marvel at the many watercraft that allow the city to function. The hotel can also boast the best uniform in modern hospitality. I’d be very happy serving drinks or taking bags in a well-cut work jacket, cropped trousers and Venetian slippers. If you’re looking for a benchmark in keeping things sharp and well managed, you know where to book.
