I mainly end up looking for price: an airfare search tip is that if you type
in NYC it'll search for *all* area airports. (similarly for the other Allied
capitals back when the proto systems were set up: LON, PAR, and WAS are the
only other "meta" codes. Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas all could also use
this kind of metro-coding, but I don't why that'll never happen.
That said, I think of them as equally hasselous, unless you're really, really
tight on time (in which case, LGA to the old Pan Am heliport, of course :-)
JFK: a flat $30 taxi fare to Manhattan by law. At least you've bounded the
damage, but you can't be sure whether it'll be 30 minutes or 90 minutes. It's
a fun drive through Queens in the day, though :-)
JFK's a sentimental favorite of mine, a real journey-maker. In particular,
it's United's transcontinental hub, so there's lots and lots of LAX-JFK
service on UA (and AA). Note: UA transcons are out of the old *TWA* terminal
rather than the rest of United's international and commuter service (out of
the United/BA (formerly BOAC) terminal).
La Guardia: cramped, but nearer. The M80 bus line is your friend: straight
across the northern edge of Manhattan to Columbia University in Morningside
Hieghts, where you can grab the N or R trains. Taxi fare is about the same as
JFK in traffic, ironically. But the time range is 30-45 minutes (less
variance).
Note that there's no nonstop california-lga service I know of. You'll
invariably be stuck connecting somewhere you don't want to be. And a final
obligatory warning: if you're on the Delta shuttle (and *only* the Delta
Shuttle to BOS or DCA), you're not going to LaGuardia, you want to go to the
Marine Air Terminal.
Newark: perfect for the quick jaunt to IKEA, across the Turnpike at exit
13A... I've found it to be just as (in)convenient as the other two (but that
may have something to do with the stretech limo I had the last time I was
there :-) Note well that the only transcontinental service out of SNA is
Contintental to Newark twice a day, a wonderful flight in a 737-700 (!)
[ObTrivia Bits: it appears that Fiorello LaGuardia's first choice for an
airport location would have been a doozy: Governor's Island, just off the tip
of Battery Park City in Manhattan. Long a military base, the Army is said to
have cited a major barracks right in the middle of a planned runway to prevent
the City from lusting after Federal territory. It would still be a great place
for an airport, but now the whole island's military installations (now Coast
Guard) will be protected by preservation laws when the base returns to City
control in 2001.]
If you're lucky, you'll get a cab or, better yet, reserve a car service with
EZ-Pass and skip the toll booths. SuperShuttle has just set up shop in NYC
too: 1-212-BLUE-VAN.
If you're *really* looking for a bargain, you can fly into Philadelhia cheaper
sometimes, and take a $22 SEPTA train that connects in Trenton to the PATH
line to the World Trade Center. And very, very rarely, you'll see an Internet
special to HPN, White Plains, which could make sense if you have some rental
car coupons lying around and were going to explore the region. (Beware: the
last time I parked in Manhattan, the Waldorf-Astoria Towers valet ran $52 a
night...)
Bottom line: if you're going to Midtown or points south, LGA and EWR end up
being similar in transit times. LGA is the best-connected by public
transportation. But the only non-stop service from LA is mainly to JFK and
partially to Newark.
Rohit
--Rohit Khare -- UC Irvine -- 4K Associates -- +1-(626) 806-7574 http://www.ics.uci.edu/~rohit -- http://xent.ics.uci.edu/~FoRK