Airports Aim to Make Travel More EnjoyableFrom yoga classes in Dallas to rocking chairs in Charlotte, N.C., airports gussy up the pre-flight experience.

It was a brilliant idea. Some enlightened employee put a ping-pong table, two paddles and a ball in the main terminal of Milwaukee's Mitchell Airport, just outside security. Immediately my fears of a delayed flight became fantasies. Let a storm roll in off the lake! I'd hold court for hours, whacking slams from check-in all the way to baggage claim.

Once upon a time, an airport was a glorified waiting room, a quick pit stop en route to boarding the plane, where a trip officially started -- with a drink before takeoff, a flip through the in-flight magazine, a long stretch of the legs in anticipation of being well-treated.