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Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 14th, 2004, 09:20 AM
Hallvard Tangeraas
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Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

I'm shortly going from Vancouver in Canada to Washington DC in the
States, then Washington DC to New York, then finally to Switzerland
from New York.

Both aboventioned US cities have two airports each, and I'm not sure
which ones are best for arriving/departing from....

Washington DC: Washington Dulles
Washington Reagan

New York : John F. Kennedy
La Guardia

I plan to stay in a reasonably priced backpacker hostel both places,
in central locations, so I'd prefer the airports closest to that, and
with public transport access throughtout the day.
Suggestions?


Hallvard
  #2  
Old June 14th, 2004, 09:47 AM
Pan
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Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

Actually they each have three "local" airports. Washington has Dulles,
National, and then there is BWI, which is the furthest, but which has some
of the best fares and is a Southwest Airline hub. NYC has Kennedy,
LaGuardia, and then there is also Newark, which actually has the most
traffic for NYC.

For DC, each airport has its pluses and minuses. Dulles is out in Suburban
Virginia, but it serves the long haul international flights and some
discount airlines such as Jet Blue, Ted now Independence Air. National
(Reagan) is the closest to the city and is on the Metro line into town, but
is limited by a short runway and cannot serve large aircrat such as the 767.
And the proximity to DC also means fares to National are usually higher,
though now some discount airlines fly into it such as Spirit and Air Tran.
BWI is near Baltimore but it's just an hour or so from downtown DC.
Southwest is the largest airline in the airport and you can get some good
fares to there. Going to NYC from DC is probably the best from National
though I personally would recommend the train (Amtrak). It takes you
downtown to downtown in about 3 hours, which is about the same if you fly
taking into considertion the travel required to the airport and the wait.

For NYC, the only choices you have leaving it for Switzerland are JFK and
Newark. LaGuardia does not serve overseas flights. Both JFK and Newark are
a bit away from Manhattan and require either taxi of some form of public
transportation into the city. Newark is better for the public transport as
you can access the Amtrak or NJT trains into Manhattan. JFK is not very
convenient for public transportation as the subway ride to Manhattan is very
long. I think the only consideration here is which airline you're flying
and which has the best fare for you to Switzerland.

Pan


"Hallvard Tangeraas" wrote in message
om...
I'm shortly going from Vancouver in Canada to Washington DC in the
States, then Washington DC to New York, then finally to Switzerland
from New York.

Both aboventioned US cities have two airports each, and I'm not sure
which ones are best for arriving/departing from....

Washington DC: Washington Dulles
Washington Reagan

New York : John F. Kennedy
La Guardia

I plan to stay in a reasonably priced backpacker hostel both places,
in central locations, so I'd prefer the airports closest to that, and
with public transport access throughtout the day.
Suggestions?


Hallvard



  #3  
Old June 14th, 2004, 01:16 PM
Juliana L Holm
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Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

Pan wrote:
For DC, each airport has its pluses and minuses. Dulles is out in Suburban
Virginia, but it serves the long haul international flights and some
discount airlines such as Jet Blue, Ted now Independence Air. National
(Reagan) is the closest to the city and is on the Metro line into town, but
is limited by a short runway and cannot serve large aircrat such as the 767.
And the proximity to DC also means fares to National are usually higher,
though now some discount airlines fly into it such as Spirit and Air Tran.
BWI is near Baltimore but it's just an hour or so from downtown DC.
Southwest is the largest airline in the airport and you can get some good
fares to there. Going to NYC from DC is probably the best from National
though I personally would recommend the train (Amtrak). It takes you
downtown to downtown in about 3 hours, which is about the same if you fly
taking into considertion the travel required to the airport and the wait.


What Pan said.

National Airport is the most convenient from hostelling in DC, it is on the
metro line, etc. It's also going to be more expensive, probably.

Dulles and BWI are less convenient, but there is public transport to both (ask
here when you know where you are leaving from; I've done all three of the
airports via public transport since I Live walking distance from a metro
station).

But if the point is to go from DC to New York, there is no question that the
TRAIN is the best bet. You get there faster (if you factor in transport time,
and needing to check in early (very earliy if you are flying southwest out of
BWI).

Julie


--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm
  #4  
Old June 14th, 2004, 03:58 PM
Miguel Cruz
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Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

Hallvard Tangeraas wrote:
I'm shortly going from Vancouver in Canada to Washington DC in the
States, then Washington DC to New York, then finally to Switzerland
from New York.

Both aboventioned US cities have two airports each, and I'm not sure
which ones are best for arriving/departing from....

Washington DC: Washington Dulles
Washington Reagan


Washington National (DCA; which you've called "Reagan", thus giving yourself
away as a non-DC local) is by far the most convenient airport to the city.
Much much more convenient than Dulles (IAD).

The second most convenient after National is Baltimore (BWI). Dulles is a
distant third, and is also the world's worst airport.

Unfortunately flights to National can be more expensive, and not all
airlines serve it. But use it if you can.

New York : John F. Kennedy
La Guardia


LaGuardia (LGA) is probably the fastest to town if you're flying into New
York from elsewhere in the USA. Not by much though. And as others have said,
no international service except Canada.

For flying out to Switzerland it's a toss-up between Newark (EWR) and JFK.
Personally I prefer EWR as it's a bit faster to get to and in better shape
than most of the JFK terminals.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu
  #5  
Old June 14th, 2004, 05:06 PM
Bill Meng
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Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

If you're traveling non-stop from Vancouver, you will be forced to go
thru Dulles. It used to be and as far as I know still is that any flight
over 1200 miles is forced to Dulles, and any under 1200 miles is forced
to National. Congress forced this on the public in order to keep
National open because Congress the Supreme Court and Cabinet officials
get free parking at National, but not at Dulles.

Dulles is a much nicer airport.

Hallvard Tangeraas wrote:
I'm shortly going from Vancouver in Canada to Washington DC in the
States, then Washington DC to New York, then finally to Switzerland
from New York.

Both aboventioned US cities have two airports each, and I'm not sure
which ones are best for arriving/departing from....

Washington DC: Washington Dulles
Washington Reagan

New York : John F. Kennedy
La Guardia

I plan to stay in a reasonably priced backpacker hostel both places,
in central locations, so I'd prefer the airports closest to that, and
with public transport access throughtout the day.
Suggestions?


Hallvard


  #6  
Old June 14th, 2004, 06:21 PM
MTV
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Posts: n/a
Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

Bill Meng wrote:

If you're traveling non-stop from Vancouver, you will be forced to go
thru Dulles. It used to be and as far as I know still is that any flight
over 1200 miles is forced to Dulles, and any under 1200 miles is forced
to National. Congress forced this on the public in order to keep
National open because Congress the Supreme Court and Cabinet officials
get free parking at National, but not at Dulles.


The parking was a side issue; limits were set on Nat'l to move traffic to
Dulles when it was built out in the boonies. Nat'l air traffic is limited
by its runways and was not built to handle any planes larger than the old
Constellations, DC-9's & 727's. The Wright Amendment basically banned all
flights West of the Mississipi, except DFW. Congressmen Wright was also
instrumental in limiting flights at Dallas' Love Field to promote the new
DFW. Flights at Love can only be to Texas or contiguous states, which
became the impetus for Southwest's success.

MTV

Dulles is a much nicer airport.



  #7  
Old June 14th, 2004, 08:26 PM
Hallvard Tangeraas
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Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

Miguel Cruz wrote in message ...
Hallvard Tangeraas wrote:


I'm shortly going from Vancouver in Canada to Washington DC in the
States, then Washington DC to New York, then finally to Switzerland
from New York.


Thanks for the replies to everybody.
The full story is that I already have plane tickets -a Star Alliance
round-the-world ticket, so I don't have to worry about which airport
gives the best fares, but rather what's most convenient.

I've called up the airlines and made a preliminary change, but can
change it again if I like.
The information here has been helpful.

What I've done now is the following:

- Vancouver - Washington DC Reagan (DCA)
- Washington DC Dulles - New York La Guardia
- New York JFK - Zurich (via Frankfurt)


Washington National (DCA; which you've called "Reagan", thus giving yourself
away as a non-DC local) is by far the most convenient airport to the city.
Much much more convenient than Dulles (IAD).


Yup. That's what I found out after searching for a Washington DC map
online, so most convenient when arriving in the evening.


The second most convenient after National is Baltimore (BWI). Dulles is a
distant third, and is also the world's worst airport.


I thought I'd try out another airport when leaving, but if it's really
a crappy and inconvenient one which is difficult and time-consuming to
get to I can change this to IAD as well.
How much time do you reckon I'd use to take a bus/train to Dulles?



Unfortunately flights to National can be more expensive, and not all
airlines serve it. But use it if you can.


National airport isn't an option for me since Star alliance doesn't
list it when searching for destinations, so I guess none of their
airlines use that one.


New York : John F. Kennedy
La Guardia


LaGuardia (LGA) is probably the fastest to town if you're flying into New
York from elsewhere in the USA. Not by much though. And as others have said,
no international service except Canada.


I've made a good choice then, since LaGuardia is what I've set up
already, when arriving from Vancouver.


For flying out to Switzerland it's a toss-up between Newark (EWR) and JFK.
Personally I prefer EWR as it's a bit faster to get to and in better shape
than most of the JFK terminals.


Again, Newark isn't used by Star Alliance apparently, so JFK seems to
be the only choice, but too bad it's hard to get to with public
transport.
Someone mentioned it being a long subway ride, but I'm OK with that (I
took a long train ride getting to Tokyo Narita airport from the city
as well). What I don't like however is if I have to change
trains/buses a million times when I haven't been there before and I'll
be afraid to miss something or not find the buses/trains.

So, how do I get from one of the central locations in NY to JFK?
I think I might be staying at one of the Chelsea hostels in Manhattan
if they have rooms available.
Would that be a good choice for staying 5 days in New York, trying to
see as much as possible without spending half of each day just
travelling?


Hallvard
  #8  
Old June 14th, 2004, 10:27 PM
Pan
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Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

The limit is old news. It's been a few years since it was in force. Now
America West flies non-stop to Phoenix (thanks to Senator McCain) and I
believe Alaska has a non-stop to Seattle.

Pan



"MTV" wrote in message
...
Bill Meng wrote:

If you're traveling non-stop from Vancouver, you will be forced to go
thru Dulles. It used to be and as far as I know still is that any flight
over 1200 miles is forced to Dulles, and any under 1200 miles is forced
to National. Congress forced this on the public in order to keep
National open because Congress the Supreme Court and Cabinet officials
get free parking at National, but not at Dulles.


The parking was a side issue; limits were set on Nat'l to move traffic to
Dulles when it was built out in the boonies. Nat'l air traffic is limited
by its runways and was not built to handle any planes larger than the old
Constellations, DC-9's & 727's. The Wright Amendment basically banned all
flights West of the Mississipi, except DFW. Congressmen Wright was also
instrumental in limiting flights at Dallas' Love Field to promote the new
DFW. Flights at Love can only be to Texas or contiguous states, which
became the impetus for Southwest's success.

MTV

Dulles is a much nicer airport.





  #9  
Old June 14th, 2004, 10:32 PM
Pan
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Posts: n/a
Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)


"Hallvard Tangeraas" wrote in message
om...
I thought I'd try out another airport when leaving, but if it's really
a crappy and inconvenient one which is difficult and time-consuming to
get to I can change this to IAD as well.
How much time do you reckon I'd use to take a bus/train to Dulles?


Give yourself at least an hour from downtown DC to Dulles, if you go via
Metro to West Falls Church and then switch to the Airport Shuttle maybe 90
minutes. Once at Dulles you'll need probably 2 hours before flight. The
lines through security can be very long. Since 9/11 the crowd has actually
gotten much worse. On the other hand, DCA is very quiet and convenient.
I've never had to wait on line to go through security there flying out in
the early afternoon.

Someone mentioned it being a long subway ride, but I'm OK with that (I
took a long train ride getting to Tokyo Narita airport from the city
as well). What I don't like however is if I have to change
trains/buses a million times when I haven't been there before and I'll
be afraid to miss something or not find the buses/trains.


You'll have to make at least one change, at the airport train to the
subway station. Then depending where you go in Manhattan you might need to
make changes again. You'll be on the A train from JFK to the city and that
takes you to the West side, up 8th Ave. Anywhere else you'll need to change
trains. Don't try to take a lot of luggage on the subway as it's mostly
stairs and the regular NYer passenger won't appreciate you lugging a lot of
stuff on and off the train.


So, how do I get from one of the central locations in NY to JFK?
I think I might be staying at one of the Chelsea hostels in Manhattan
if they have rooms available.
Would that be a good choice for staying 5 days in New York, trying to
see as much as possible without spending half of each day just
travelling?


Subway or cab.


Pan



  #10  
Old June 15th, 2004, 03:22 AM
Bill Meng
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Posts: n/a
Default Washington DC and New York airports choice (USA)

Parking is a side issue to you and me, but it's a big deal to the
politicos. If Congress really gave a damn about the flying public they
would have closed National when Dulles was opened. I remember flying
into NAtional and having the pilot execute a missed approach - that
really woke everyone up.

MTV wrote:
Bill Meng wrote:

If you're traveling non-stop from Vancouver, you will be forced to go
thru Dulles. It used to be and as far as I know still is that any
flight over 1200 miles is forced to Dulles, and any under 1200 miles
is forced to National. Congress forced this on the public in order to
keep National open because Congress the Supreme Court and Cabinet
officials get free parking at National, but not at Dulles.


The parking was a side issue; limits were set on Nat'l to move traffic
to Dulles when it was built out in the boonies. Nat'l air traffic is
limited by its runways and was not built to handle any planes larger
than the old Constellations, DC-9's & 727's. The Wright Amendment
basically banned all flights West of the Mississipi, except DFW.
Congressmen Wright was also instrumental in limiting flights at Dallas'
Love Field to promote the new DFW. Flights at Love can only be to Texas
or contiguous states, which became the impetus for Southwest's success.

MTV

Dulles is a much nicer airport.




 




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