Making the Best of a Bad Situation, New York Flying

New York is one of my least favorite destinations as far as airports at least.  There are plenty of choices, but never one that looks appealing.  Pricing, distance to destination, connections, and other issues combine to make for a miserable experience. 

LaGuardia Airport

LGA is usually your best option because it is a quick trip to Queens and Manhattan with lots of flights 1,000 miles and shorter.   The terminal facilities can be better, it’s almost impossible to find a seat with a view and there is nothing worth eating post security.  You also have to take the M60 bus to catch a train into the city.  The FAA imposes antiquated restrictions on flight distances, so rule out direct from the west coast.  Further, there is a curfew and you’ll be landing at JFK if you miss it.  There are two runways and lots of traffic, so be prepared for a long taxi during rush hour or if there is weather.

Walk long enough and you can get a window seat at LGA

Newark Airport

Newark isn’t that far from Manhattan, but going to New Jersey never sounds appealing.  It’s a $14 train ride from the airport to Penn Station and from there the subway system awaits.  Not all that inconvenient really.  The terminals are spacious with good views, ample seating, and a wide array of food options.  Delays aren’t that bad either.  It does take about 2 hours to get from Queens to your gate.  Best option for connecting.

Heavy jets at EWR

JFK Airport

It’s like Heathrow, every flag carrier flies there and there is no simple connection.  Delta and JetBlue own JFK on the domestic flights.  No one carrier owns international, but Delta is strongest.  Getting into Manhattan or joining the subway network can be done by rail.  However connecting to LGA is a pain as there is no direct way to do it.  The airport itself is pleasant and has great plane spotting.

Long Island MacArthur Airport

US Airways props to PHL and Southwest are your two options.  It is out in Islip and a good option if you are going to Long Island.  There’s a train to get you into NYC, but it’s a long trip.  Southwest has been scaling back their operations as they grow in LGA and EWR.  I don’t think they will abandon this airport, but it is part of the retired Southwest model of driving to a secondary airport for lower fares and doesn’t fit with their new priorities.

First Time On Frontier

I’m a Star Alliance flyer for about 99% of my trips.  It can get you almost anywhere in the world quickly and easily, but not DEN to LAX on a Wednesday after 9pm.  The only option was Frontier, so I joined a new frequent flyer program, booked my ticket, and broke my flying routine. 

I’ve been interested in Frontier since they (Republic Airways really) took over Midwest Express a few years ago.  Republic is a successful operator of regional jets for mainline carriers.  It’s a nice business model as the large airline pays for fuel and has to sell tickets.  Express carriers just need to show up with a plane and crew to collect a flat fee per flight.  A few years ago, Republic’s management decided to run branded service and purchased Frontier out of bankruptcy.  Soon after, they bought Midwest Airlines in bankruptcy too.  This isn’t proving to be the best business decision as Frontier loses as much money as their core business line makes.  Frontier has a large operation in Denver and is serious competition to United and Southwest at DEN; helping keep fares down.  They also have different animal pictures on their aircraft, so it makes for fun plane watching too.  I had never traveled with them before and didn’t know anything about flying with them.

My travel experience with Frontier was pleasant all around.  There were no lines at check in and no window seats on my flight.  Frontier sells their equivalent of Economy Plus called stretch seating; it provides a few more inches of leg room and seat up front, but I declined the upsell.  If you don’t buy a stretch seat, select row 20 or higher, those are the first rows called in general boarding.  The boarding process could have been done better because there was no general explanation of the process before it started, so everyone gathered around thinking they could be next.  The gate agent made one announcement per group and had to turn many people away because they didn’t hear the single announcement.  Frequent use of the PA would be a simple solution to a frustrating situation.

Decent legroom on Frontier's A320

The aircraft was a new A320 and spotless inside.  It had LED lighting and the new slim style seats.  I sat in seat 20B, a middle seat, but with enough space for the two hour flight.  There are seat back TVs available for a fee, unlike JetBlue’s free DirecTV offering.  The flight attendants came through with a drink offering and baked onboard chocolate chip cookies, the lasting legacy of Midwest Express.  The flight arrived on time and I enjoyed my first Frontier flight.  I don’t think I will become a regular, the EarlyReturns program is very weak, but will defiantly consider them for future travel.  

American Operates as Normal, Badly

American Airlines’ holding company filed for bankruptcy protection today.  This event is about 10 years overdue, but will not change American’s day to day operations.  American was poorly run yesterday and is poorly run today.  I experienced that first hand today when my flight had a mechanical delay that forced a missed connection.  Everyone else in D gates had the same experience thanks to the weather today. 

I can’t wait for American to start turning itself around and to start flying on their new planes, not waiting for a MD80 to get fixed.  Bankruptcy will also make American more competitive and should improve the flying experience.  

LiveATC.net - When You Need a Channel 9 Fix

One of my favorite memories of flying as a kid was United Airlines’ channel 9 feature that lets you listen to cockpit air traffic control communications.  I’d even pester my parents to buy the $2 headphone tube (remember the rubber tube type?) before takeoff so I could listen from taxi to landing.  Channel 9 and a window seat kept me occupied for hours and it still does. 

You can recreate the experience with LiveATC.net; it lets you listen into different ATC channels around the world.  I like ORD Tower, ORD Approach, and SFOTower, but there are lots to pick from.  The site uses ground based scanners, so their coverage is not complete.  I like streaming it when working on occasion; its good background noise that helps me focus.  I’ve used it at BOS too while watching the runways from my favorite spot in all Massachusetts, the walkway between B and C gates.  There is a great view of the field, rocking chairs, and power outlets.  Best place to kill time at BOS since there is nothing really to do post security.

Why You Should (Almost) Never Use Points.com

Points.com is one of the worst values for frequent flyer redemptions.  The premise is that you can trade points from one program into another.  Great, except the redemption ratio isn’t 1:1 but more like 13:2.  Check out the chart below showing what I can get for my 1300 Frontier EarlyReturns miles, terrible.  There is also a trading feature so members can trade with other members.  The ratios are around 1:1, but there are fees with the transaction that make it cheaper to just buy miles from the airline. 

Points.com Exchange Example

There are three possible uses for Points.com.

• Resetting expiration dates.  You can transfer as little as 1 mile into a program.  This 1 mile will reset your 18 month expiration clock so you don’t have to worry about any large expense to generate activity if you are at risk of expiration.  It just costs 3 or 4 miles from another program and posts within a day or two.  Some programs require a minimum balance of 1,000 before you can do a transfer out.
• It lets you keep track of a lot of balances in one place.  It’s nice to see a single view of what you have, especially if you are just starting to plan an award trip.  Not all programs participate, but it will give you enough data to get started.
• Cheap hit for the US Airways Dividend Miles Grand Slam promotion.  Transferring in a mile costs 3 or 4 miles and gets you an almost free hit in the annual Grand Slam Promotion. 

Unless you are working in very small numbers, Points.com should be avoided.

Online Rebate Sites

Why not get something back for shopping online?  Online rebate sites do exactly that.  They give you cash back for clicking through them before you make a purchase.  No additional cost, just free cash for buying something you would have purchased anyway.  My three favorites are listed here, sign up and start saving!

Ebates 

MrRebates 

BigCrums 

Parenting Tips

I flew from DEN-LAX the other night and had a unpleasant and slightly uncomfortable experience thanks to the family sitting in front of me.  There was Mom, Dad, and 3ish year old daughter.  Their performance led me to create this list of tips for family flying:

• Sit in the back of the plane.  Noise travels for about 5 rows, if there aren't any rows behind you, that is 30 fewer people who hear a screaming kid.  Also, you are closer to the bathrooms and you can get up and walk around the back of the rear galley area while boarding and deplaining to keep them occupied.  
• Use your 6 inch voice.  This goes for kids, parents, and everyone else.  Talking louder to a loud kid will make them want to be even louder.  The cycle will repeat until you are both screaming.
• Parents should explain that kids need to be quiet and respectful to others.  Over the course of the flight, Mom and Dad never told the kid to be quiet, stop it, or settle down.
• Don't try ignoring your kid until they are quiet.  Three consecutive cries for DADDY should mean its time to try parenting.
• Don't get mad at the kid.  This was uncomfortable for me and the person sitting next to me.  Dad reprimanded the kid for spilling her water and he sounded very angry.
• Don't try tell the kid to scream for mommy instead of daddy.  You aren't solving the problem.
• Don't make the flight attendant be a parent.  You should have them buckled up when the seat belt sign is on.  If the cabin crew comes by to say settle down, that's a bad mark on the parents more than the kid.  
• Frontier will give them a cookie no matter how well they behave.  Make a deal with the kid that they only get the cookie is they behave.  Bribes work well at all ages.
• Don't make sex jokes to your wife.  That's just creepy for everyone.
• If they start screaming during decent and landing, give them gum or a drink to help pop their ears.  Telling them to stop making a fit is not the best way to solve that problem.

I've flown on many flights with little kids and there are many very good kid travelers out there.  This bad example was the worst I've seen in a while.