Non Region Specific Airport preferences based on convenience

[JoeSchmoe]

The times I flew out of Detroit I found the layout of getting in with luggage, especially ski bags, was complex...Elevators, escalators, etc...with a ski bag!!!

Trust me, DTW is a million times easier than Pearson, even before the current post-covid schmozzle.

 

[noncrazycanuck]

YVR Vancouver might be a bit better than Pearson but we just rebooked a connecting flight from Heathrow to CDG based on the latest info.
Flights to and from any airport these days is like chasing snow. It was better yesterday.
At least our baggage is carry on. Don't really care what they may offer to put it into cargo I prefer to have it when I get there.

 

[dbostedo]

Locally, I really prefer to fly from Reagan National, rather than Dulles, mostly because it's smaller. So easier to park (if I don't take a cab), easier to check-in, short walk to the terminals rather than a train, etc.

In general, smaller airports are easier and more convenient, provided they have what you need (rental cars, restaurants, etc.) So if flying to New Mexico, I like Santa Fe over Albuquerque. If going to Colorado, I like Eagle or Aspen over Denver. Etc. They can be more expensive, or have less flight options, but they're certainly more convenient.

Car rentals in/out of Denver are all off-airport.

Just to be clear, on a lot of sites "off-airport" can mean you have to take public transport or a cab to get there. Airport provided shuttles - like in Denver - are still usually called "at the airport", "in-airport", "airport shuttle", etc. on a lot of sites I've seen.

 

[scott43]

I actually had the opportunity to have a discussion with the former CEO of Pearson and he was almost smug about Pearson's business model and future. Looking at it now..I can see why they really have less incentive than imagined on getting things working better. People blame the airlines but it's really the ground crew, much of which is privatized, that is causing a lot of the issues.

 

[ADKmel]

IMO Steer clear of the capital of the states airport- I think they charge more because politicians flying to them and write off the flights.
I'm stuck with flying out of Albany NY- it's 1.5hr from my house so I have to get up 3am for 5-6am flights
good points: Albany coming and going is easy peasy- it is still small, luggage not far from gates- check in and gates not a mile walk. looks like rental cars are all right there too. the parking garage is right there too. so while i complain, I do like that convenience.

I'm very thankful for SW- my favorite airline- free baggage and all working are there to get us off the ground quickly.
From ALB pretty much all airlines are puddle jumpers to Chicago Ohare-ugh, Detroit or other big airport.
I look for connections in places that won't be closed due to snow in winter- I have flown south to go north.

Airport woes: LONG Walks- Detroit seems I always land at gate A1 and have to hoof it over to Z-3000 for my next flight in less than 20minutes. I did the mile run last year in Detroit to make my flight to ABQ- I survived making my flight in 12minutes counted it as prep for skiing at high altitude.
This winter I'm going to Taos then flying from ABQ to Steamboat (hayden) (on delta) For 150$$$ It would be easily 300$+ out of Albany IF I can even find a flight! it also saves me getting up in the middle of the night for a crack of dawn flight.
I only use credit cards that i can get air miles so I often plan ski trips around my 'free' flights.
Personally I dislike Denver- all the lugging. More updated airports IMO are not user friendly- I'm glad I'm not handicapped. I want all airports to have more moving sidewalks!
The 'new' ABQ airport now has very long walks with boot bag back pack and carrying computer bag. then pick up suitcase and sport tube it's a lot to a haul around up and down escalators.
The older I get the more I think about driving west- stop at Mts along the way to avoid the flying hassles.
Favorites: Montrose flew out from Telluride was great. Very small, Aspen another small one, great as long as you can get in and out with weather but you'll pay $$$

Good luck on your trip East

 

[Tony S]

Just to be clear, on a lot of sites "off-airport" can mean you have to take public transport or a cab to get there. Airport provided shuttles - like in Denver - are still usually called "at the airport", "in-airport", "airport shuttle", etc. on a lot of sites I've seen.

"in terminal" or "at terminal" are phrases to look for. Google maps is often a help sussing it out.

 

[crosscountry]

Convenient airport is an oxymoron these days.

Not just "these days".

Airport is nothing but a necessary evil in order to get to a place you can't drive to.

And for many people, "airport option" is just as much a oxymoron. They don't have a choice! (I don't consider driving over 3 hrs to be an "option"). You can't have any preference if you don't have any choice to start with.

But beyond that, I really don't see much of a "airport preference". I have access to about FIVE different airports, all equally inconvenient, only in different forms. I add up the time it takes door to door. Throw in the "what if" factors (what if the flight was delay, will I miss connection? What if the traffic backed up and I miss the flight? What if...)And choose the flight that has the best potential to get me to my destination at the shortest time. Luggage and what not is something I moan about but doesn't influence my choice of flights.

One time, I was sitting in a plane which sat on the tarmac of an airport only 20 minutes from my house (the plane ran short on fuel while holding for a thunderstorm to clear, so needed to land and take on more fuel). But, the little regional airstrip didn't have a custom/immigration office. And we were a flight from Europe. So we sat there and sat there until we were cleared to our destination which is JFK. Then of course, getting from there back to home took longer...

 

[Tony S]

This is an interesting topic on a few different levels.

What makes airport travel convenient or inconvenient?

Example:
I used to live 40 minutes from Traverse City Michigan. I could get a flight a bit cheaper out of Detroit, but it was a 4 hr drive and likely a hotel stay, not to mention that Traverse City Airport was soooooo easy to navigate.

The inconvenience of flying out of Traverse City was that you always had some kind of connecting flight....that's where the complexity *may* come in.
Most of the time I had no issues out of TC.

The times I flew out of Detroit I found the layout of getting in with luggage, especially ski bags, was complex...Elevators, escalators, etc...with a ski bag!!!


I never minded flying through Detroit, but flying "out of" DTW was never a first choice.

Grand Rapids Michigan made some really nice additions to the flights that go in and out which made that attractive, but that only happened after I moved to Reno. I have flown in and out of there a few times since I moved west.

Now...RNO...That is as easy and delightful as Traverse City but is slightly bigger with more flight options. However, when we have friends fly here, they often comment that the options of flights aren't convenient for time/money.

Most of the time we drive, but occasionally we need to book a flight (recently for Snowbound in Boston)

That begs the question:
What do you consider air travel convenience:
Cost
Nonstop flights
Location from home/destination
Airport layout for baggage (do you have to take large bags on escalators or elevators)
Options for departure/arrivial times
Airline rewards options?
Airline luggage fees
East of getting a rental car with ski travel luggage (edited addition)
Customer service

*I'll likely add a poll once I see some feedback.

I relate to what @crosscountry said above. For people living far from a major metropolis, the whole idea of "choice" is questionable. In my case, for example, "nonstop flights" is not something I can choose to prioritize because nonstop flights to Mountain or Pacific time zones do not exist coming out of my regional airport. There is limited availability of nonstops - basically limited to DEN and SLC - if I want to fly out of Boston, but that comes with a whole bunch of its own significant hurdles.

I drafted a whole thing about my decision tree, but decided it was just boring. Ski travelers who live in Maine already know it, and people who don't don't care.

Bottom line is that I'm guessing your responses will fall into groups based on four broad quadrants (below) that influence air travel to major ski destinations in North America.

I'm in the lower right quadrant and basically I'm always just scrambling for a flight that doesn't involve a three hour drive at each end, two plane changes, and 16 hours of elapsed time before I arrive at my destination. Everything else is secondary. This is a particular issue when traveling from west to east. Not only do I lose two hours, but flights tend to arrive late, which means that if I'm counting on any kind of public transport - typically a bus from Boston to Portland (Maine) - I probably missed the last one.

 

[PlainsSkier]

I can get easy direct flights into Denver from my regional airport, which is nice but having to fly in a CRJ-200 isn't so amazing but at least my skis fly free with my credit card. MSP has more options and better planes but the drive and dealing with parking is a hassel I don't care for, can be a long wait there to pick up skis as well.

 

[skidrew]

I love flying to small airports - small number of gates, easy luggage, usually easy rental cars (though JAC can suck an egg with their limits on on-airport vendors), and enough flights to make it work.

But I love living in a city where there are 2-3 airports with lots of non-stops or single connection flights with multiple options, because not all my travel is to small towns. (And I'm sympathetic to those who have to hit that 6am flight any time they want to fly beyond the hubs their airport connects to).

 

[Andy Mink]

I relate to what @crosscountry said above. For people living far from a major metropolis, the whole idea of "choice" is questionable. In my case, for example, "nonstop flights" is not something I can choose to prioritize because nonstop flights to Mountain or Pacific time zones do not exist coming out of my regional airport. There is limited availability of nonstops - basically limited to DEN and SLC - if I want to fly out of Boston, but that comes with a whole bunch of its own significant hurdles.

I drafted a whole thing about my decision tree, but decided it was just boring. Ski travelers who live in Maine already know it, and people who don't don't care.

Bottom line is that I'm guessing your responses will fall groups based on four broad quadrants (below) that influence air travel to major ski destinations in North America.

I'm in the lower right quadrant and basically I'm always just scrambling for a flight that doesn't involve a three hour drive at each end, two plane changes, and 16 hours of elapsed time before I arrive at my destination. Everything else is secondary. This is a particular issue when traveling from west to east. Not only do I lose two hours, but flights tend to arrive late, which means that if I'm counting on any kind of public transport - typically a bus from Boston to Portland (Maine) - I probably missed the last one.

View attachment 174433

I only need one box.

Lives west of the Mississippi and can drive to CA, UT, ID, WY, CO, AZ, OR, WA, NV in 1 1/2 days or less and needn't worry about which pair of skis to bring.

 

[Tony S]

I can get easy direct flights into Denver from my regional airport

Yeah, so you are in the left half and can therefore bite me. (He said in the nicest possible way. )

Edit: Can you also fly nonstop to other western cities like SLC or RNO?

which is nice but having to fly in a CRJ-200 isn't so amazing

[now goes looking for tiny violin emoji]

 

[David Chaus]

Guess I'm spoiled. A small regional airport within a half hour, large international airport in about an hour, can drive to ID, MT, WY, UT with in a day, 2 days to CO. So I'm in Andy's box, as well as Tony's upper left. Bonus: it's just as easy, if not easier for me to drive to BC as it is to major destinations in the US.

I'm grateful for where I live, and I have a lot of respect for those who have a more challenging time traveling for a ski trip, such as a Gathering.

FWIW I love the regional jets, particularly the Embraer . Less time to board and deplane, travel time almost as fast as larger jets and just as comfortable IMO.

 

[PlainsSkier]

Yeah, so you are in the left half and can therefore bite me. (He said in the nicest possible way. )

Edit: Can you also fly nonstop to other western cities like SLC or RNO?


[now goes looking for tiny violin emoji]

Denver is about as good as it gets, four direct flights every day so I guess I shouldn't complain. Only other western option is PHX which can be ok if I can get the right connection.

The main issue with the CRJ200 that I have is nothing fits into their bins, probably not even a tiny violin. Forcing me to check basically everything and hoping it gets to wherever I'm going.

 

[Tony S]

FWIW I love the regional jets, particularly the Embraer . Less time to board and deplane, almost as fast as larger jets and just as comfortable IMO.

Agree. Only downside is less overhead bin space, which can be an issue. Me: "I have one small carry on containing very little but my ski boots. It fits easily in even the smallest overhead bins. Unlike most of the other people on this flight I dont' have a carry-on that's 50% bigger than is technically allowed, nor do I have a 'personal item' that's bulkier than your average piece of living room furniture. I also don't have a screaming baby, or giant headphones that everyone on the plane, including the old lady who's understandably taking refuge in the head, can hear. If you're not going to let me put these boots in the overhead bin then my suggestion is that you simply WEAR them up and down the aisle for the rest of the flight and then give them back when you have enjoyed your quality time together."

 

[Tony S]

Denver is about as good as it gets, four direct flights every day so I guess I shouldn't complain. Only other western option is PHX which can be ok if I can get the right connection.

The main issue with the CRJ200 that I have is nothing fits into their bins, probably not even a tiny violin. Forcing me to check basically everything and hoping it gets to wherever I'm going.

LOL crossed posts. Good point.

 

[Seldomski]

The likelihood of closures/delays at the destination due to weather and any layovers is a consideration for us. So flights to Denver, SLC, MTJ, RNO are preferred vs Eagle/Vail, Aspen. Don't normally go through Chicago or NYC unless going to Europe or other international destination, but these are ruled out for any winter time flights. In summer they are tolerated if the price and flight times are superb, but still not a good idea.

 

[Lauren]

I'm about an hour +/- from two regional airports and one major (Boston), I almost always check flights at all three and will choose a small airport if flight cost and total travel duration is similar. But, cost is generally higher and the total duration is normally longer....so I find myself going to BOS more than I want.

Not only do I lose two hours, but flights tend to arrive late, which means that if I'm counting on any kind of public transport - typically a bus from Boston to Portland (Maine) - I probably missed the last one.

I've started using PreFlight parking in Boston...easier and cheaper than parking in the Economy lot, plus they have a points program for free parking days. Or...I use the C&J from Portsmouth...free parking and the buses run really late compared to buses to Portland...might be worth driving down to Portsmouth for those late night flights.

 

[Tony S]

I'm about an hour +/- from two regional airports and one major (Boston), I almost always check flights at all three and will choose a small airport if flight cost and total travel duration is similar. But, cost is generally higher and the total duration is normally longer....so I find myself going to BOS more than I want.


I've started using PreFlight parking in Boston...easier and cheaper than parking in the Economy lot, plus they have a points program for free parking days. Or...I use the C&J from Portsmouth...free parking and the buses run really late compared to buses to Portland...might be worth driving down to Portsmouth for those late night flights.

Yup. I've used PreFlight before, more than once. But all of these things add another "step" in the process, which I find draining as well as time-consuming.

 

[Lauren]

Yup. I've used PreFlight before, more than once. But all of these things add another "step" in the process, which I find draining as well as time-consuming.

Quite true. I love flying out of PWM for the simplicity of it.