Nightmare trip to the airport

[YozhikRoth]

After going through some planning with the kiddies for the trip two week's hence, I was reminded of the nightmare of getting to WDW for the kids' first trip in 2008.

• We had a 6 am flight out of JFK, I live on the South Shore of Long Island and the drive is no more than 20 minutes at that hour. We called a car service, not wanting to risk the long term lot at JFK (a mistake IMO). The car service arrived in a car too small for the number of people and bags we ordered. The car service told us it would be a minimum 90 minute wait given that it was 4 in the morning, we decided to squeeze in.
• Adults, kids and luggage was all crammed together. Now anyone familiar with Long Island knows that the Southern State becomes the Belt Parkway while JFK is accessed via. Also, I would think a Taxi and Limo driver at the very least would know where NYC's largest airport was. Not my driver, not a clue how to get to JFK. I told him just to get on the Southern and I'd tell him where to exit. The Southern is a fairly curvy parkway, and on 3(!) occasions, my driver started out in one lane and finished the curve in another. Thankfully my family was comatose or else there would have been a problem.
• The driver nearly missed the exit for JFK, which is a feat given the massive signs directing drivers to the Airport exit. Now anyone who has ever driven to JFK, Newark or Laguardia knows that access to the airport is the equivalent of a rat in a maze, with roads suddenly splitting, and exits for each airline not clearly marked. However, right away I told my driver what exit to take for Jet Blue. He missed it not once, but twice, the second time screaming at me for being agitated.
• Now, under normal conditions I tip generously, however when it came time to pay the driver I withheld a tip (note, always make sure your bags and passengers are at the curb before paying). The driver went ballistic, to the point he was screaming at the skycap not to let them take my luggage. The TLC rep came to intervene, and we finally got to check in, while waiting for the flight, I had a spirited call to the car service, while simultaneously filing a complaint with the NYC TLC.

Moral of the story-fly out of Islip.....

 

[BoarderPhreak]

YES, YES and YES.

I traveled with LIALS and some of those other shuttles occasionally in the past - NEVER AGAIN. On most occasions I didn't tip either. Now I either take my own Town Car driver who've I've used extensively, or drive myself. This upcoming trip in fact, I'm flying out of ISP/Macarthur for that very reason. It's close and the long term parking relatively cheap. Besides, with Southwest going straight to MCO/Orlando, there's no reason to go to JFK/LGA.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Yikes! That sounds like the beginning to a great Chevy Chase movie (although a very stressful way to begin a real-life vacation!). I was almost waiting for the OP to finish by saying, "and then, midway to Florida, we remembered that we'd left our young son, Kevin, behind..."

I've sometimes felt annoyed that we live in a rural area of Upstate NY, an hour's drive from each of the two closest airports, and lamented that the airports themselves are so small and "dinky." However, given that their small size makes them easy to find, simple to navigate and quite efficient, I'm just going to be grateful for what I've got!

 

[YozhikRoth]

As a Long Islander, my rank of NYC area airports (Never been to Westchester)

• Islip/McArthur-I can be there in 30 minutes, 10 minutes from the lot to the gate. Inexpensive long-term lot. However SW fares tend to be more that LGA and EWR.
• JFK-I can be there in 30 minutes in normal Southern/Belt traffic. Very easy access from long-term lot via Air Train. Jet Blue terminal is very nice. However, normal traffic conditions seldom exist, especially heading home.
• Newark-Very easy access from the long-term lot to the terminals. Usually most cost-efficient option for west-bound flights. Miserable drive from LI (Southern, Belt, Verrazano, SI Expressway, Goethals). Two tolls to get there.
• Laguardia-Can get there from 45 mins-2 hours depending on traffic. Miserable layout, long-term lot is expensive and not many spaces. Short term lots are poorly laid out. No facilities to speak of. Delays begin piling up right away