Driving between LaGuardia and Logan
The other day I did something that I have never had to do in my years of taking the Delta Shuttle between Boston and LaGuardia. Quick story.
Last Wednesday I left a location in Westchester, NY, about 30 miles north of NYC around 3:30. It was dark and stormy out, with severe weather and thunder, lightening, all that stuff. During the hot and humid summer months, when weather roles in, the Delta Shuttle, and I guess all flights in the NY airports, get out of whack. So when I left the building for a split second I thought about just heading across Connecticut to Boston in the rental car. It was a gamble. If I left in the car, I had 3 to 4 hours of driving. If I went to the airport, I could fly but I didn't know what was going to happen with the weather. I gambled, and lost.
I got to the airport around 4:30 and could only get on an 8:30 flight, which was delayed to at least 9. The 4:30 and 5:30 flights, usually full, were cancelled. I am platinum and was put on the standby for the 6:30, but I was number 38 with more paying passengers from the earlier flights to be added and basically no open seats. Net net - no way on getting on an earlier flight.
So I stood there contemplating what to do. I could go to Hertz and get in a car and drive to Boston. Or I could wait it out. What to do. For anyone who has been in the Marine Air terminal at LaGuardia, where the Shuttle departs from, they know how bad it is to wait out delays. The terminal is old but more importantly it is not designed for long waits. It is designed for people who will wait for no more than one hour to catch the next hourly shuttle. But this particular time it was packed with passengers going to DC, Boston and Chicago, all destinations whose flights were being cancelled or delayed. It was a bad situation made worse because the terminal is not designed for long waits. If you know the new Delta Terminal A in Logan, you can understand what I am talking about. Huge contrast between the two. LaGuardia Marine Terminal does not have restaurants, bars, coffee shops, stores, huge sitting areas with TVs, etc. It has one tiny snack counter and very few seats. It doesn't even have a Crown Room. I usually don't care because I usually am not waiting, but once I came to the realization that I would have to wait for hours in what is basically a bus depot, I made the decision to drive.
So I got on the road at 6 in Queens, and walked in my door in Boston 15 minutes before 10. It was a nice drive with little traffic but torrential rain for most of it. I passed the time by talking to my parents and listening to the radio. The following morning I learned that the flight I was on left after 11PM and got in around midnight. So good move I guess.
Thought I'd share.