Airport Series - Getting to the Airport

1. Packing
2. Getting to the Airport
3. Checking In Luggage
4. TSA Security Screening
5. Boarding Gate
6. Immigration

Yesterday, I taught you lap children how to pack as the intro post of my Airport Series. In this second installment, we'll talk about how to take your parents to the airport.



2. GETTING TO THE AIRPORT

We live in The City, so we have access to 3 major commercial airports (LaGuardia, JFK and Newark). As you can see from the map above, from our apartment, it's about 10 miles to LGA, 15 miles to EWR and 18 miles to JFK. Depending on traffic, it takes anywhere from 20-60+ minutes if you drive.

Taxi vs. Car Service

Since my parents don't keep a car in the city, we usually hop in a regular taxi but lately we've been using a car service (Dial 7, 212-777-7777, www.dial7.com) more and more because the price differential isn't that much, especially when you factor in the fact that the car service will be ready and waiting for you at your desired time, which can be a huge blessing if you're trying to make a 5:30PM flight and desperately need a cab at 4PM when their shift changes.

For the non-New Yorkers out there, many/most taxi drivers are independent workers that rent the car from a larger taxi company that owns the "medallion" (the regulatory license to operate as a NYC taxi). The driver's shift runs either from 4AM-4PM and from 4PM-4AM. At the end of their shift, the taxi drivers must return the car to the garage on time or else face stiff penalties from the company they work for. That's why you'll see so many "off duty" taxi drivers around 3:30PM because they're very reluctant to take on a fare that will make them late for their car drop off.

Furthermore, if you take a NYC taxi to Newark Airport in New Jersey, the taxi driver has crossed state lines and cannot legally pick up a NJ passenger to bring them back into New York. Because of this NJ-NY rule, a New York taxi will charge you for their return trip back into Manhattan (basically double your cost). So being a frequent flyer on United Airlines that has their major hub at Newark, we're 100% more inclined to go with a car service over a taxi.

Some tips for taxis and car services:

• Just assume that you won't find an open taxi anytime between 3PM-7PM because of the shift change and general after-work rush hour. So if you have a flight departing between 4PM-9PM, a car service is your best bet.
• Dial 7 and other car services have tons of coupons for $3-5 off your fare to/from the airport. It won't save you that much, but it really does add up, especially when you travel as much as we do.
• NYC taxis take credit cards. Some other cities are following suit, but many still use cash (especially the airport you're probably landing at) so make sure you're prepared.
• Paying with a credit card might give you bonuses on travel spending that includes taxis and car services. I can't speak for all of them, but I know the Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 2x on taxis and car services.
• The larger NYC car services will claim they have "infant car seats available upon request" but 99% of the time, they won't, because it's usually a dispatcher giving out a job to one of 1,000 different drivers. Some car services may actually match your family up with a specific car fitted with a car seat, but if it's important to you, play it safe and bring your own.

Car Costs

A NYC taxi has a flat $52 base fare to/from JFK Airport (not including tolls/tip). LaGuardia doesn't have a fixed fare so it really depends on which way the driver takes and how much traffic there is, but in our experience, it usually comes out around $25-30.

For car services, here's a link for the Dial 7 rates to the airport, but basically for about $5-10 more (and sometimes actually less), you can get a reserved car (with your selected car size/type) instead of a random taxi that may have a broken credit card machine. I only mention Dial 7, but there's a bunch of comparable car services out there at the same competitive price points.

In addition to the base fare, whether you take a taxi or car service, you still need to pay for the any bridge & tunnel tolls ($6-8) and a tip for the driver. I really don't know what other people do, but my parents usually tip about 10-15% depending on the level of service the driver provides (showing up on time, helping us with our luggage, not taking phone calls, driving safely, etc).

All in (tips, tolls, etc), it usually costs us around $60-70 on a fare to/from JFK Airport or Newark Airport and around $35 for LaGuardia.

Car Seats

As I mentioned yesterday, in New York City, taxis and limos are exempt from the seatbelt and child car seat laws you'd normally find in other states. But even my father (who as a small child, used to lay down in the small rear windshield space behind the passenger headrests) is overly protective of me riding on the highways without being secured in a car seat.

So when we get into the car, he takes off my coat and straps me into my car seat. All our jackets go into our car seat travel bag which goes in the trunk with the rest of our luggage. Then a few clicks of the seat belt, and we're off!

Buses, Trains and Subway

If you have more time on your hands, then some other cheaper options we use include taking the Airport Express Bus to Newark Airport or the Subway (E Train) to JFK Airport.

The Newark Airport Express Bus is run by Coach Bus and costs $16/person each way or $28/person round trip. Buses depart every 15 minutes from 3 different Manhattan locations (Grand Central Station, Bryant Park and Port Authority). Kids under 12 ride free if they're with a paying adult. Otherwise, $10/child, but if you're sending a lap child by herself on the bus, you've got bigger issues to worry about than $10.

It takes about 45-60 minutes to Newark Airport. My father often uses this when he's traveling by himself because they charge per person. You'll see that this option isn't that much longer than driving, because the Lincoln Tunnel has a special lane for buses during rush hours.

Another option to Newark Airport is the NJ Transit train from NY Penn Station and transferring at Newark to the Airport Train (only $5.50/person each way), but if you've ever been to Penn Station, it can be a madhouse at times - which is quite horrible for a traveling family carrying lots of luggage because there are no luggage carts and very few elevators in Penn Station.

The Subway is another cost-effective way to get to JFK Airport. It can take up to 1-1.5 hours depending on where you're getting on, but it's very affordable. My father uses the Subway whenever he needs to pick up someone from JFK (like my mother's relatives flying in from Israel).


If you catch the E train anywhere in Midtown ($2.50/person each way) to Sutphin Boulevard station, you can take the elevator up a floor and connect to the AirTran JFK at Jamaica Station ($5/person each way). Remember, you don't have to go outside at all, you can walk through the terminal and connect staying inside the entire time.

For LaGuardia Airport, the M60 bus takes you from upper Manhattan (West 106th Street) to the Airport and back, but you really need to have a lot of extra time. While it only costs $2.50 / person each way, you're looking at at least 1.5-2 hours of bus travel time not including how long it takes you to get to West 106th.

But given we live in lower Midtown, we generally just use a taxi/car service whenever we go to LGA (about 20 minutes without traffic).