New Yorkers -- la guardia question

[Spooner]

How early do you need to arrive at the airport for a flight these days?

I have a 7pm flight this sunday night and was planning on getting there at around 5:45ish

 

[minendo]

1.5 to 2 hours.

 

[isasir]

What airline? 5:45 might be cutting it too close, esp. if you're checking in luggage.

 

[Spooner]

2 hours seems insane to me. I fly out of Logan (boston) all the time, and with e-ticketing and picking the ticket up at the little atm thingies... all you have to do is go through security, which at La Guardia I recall not being that long of a process

 

[Spooner]

Originally posted by: RishiS
What airline? 5:45 might be cutting it too close, esp. if you're checking in luggage.

American.

I might be checking one bag, but I haven't packed yet, so I'm not sure. probably no checking

 

[IcePhoenix]

Originally posted by: minendo
1.5 to 2 hours.

Yup, I think JFK and La Guardia recommend about 2 hours to check in.

 

[MrDingleDangle]

u should be fine...

LAX is supposed to be 2 hours...but u have plenty of time with 1 hour

if u are late they just rush u to the front of the lines

 

[isasir]

Originally posted by: Spooner

Originally posted by: RishiS
What airline? 5:45 might be cutting it too close, esp. if you're checking in luggage.

American.

I might be checking one bag, but I haven't packed yet, so I'm not sure. probably no checking

I'm not sure if American at all airports do this, but if you're checking in a bag, they run the check in front of you, and you have to wait for them to clear the bag, before you can go on ahead. If a red light comes on during that process, then they open the bag in front of you. (At least that's what happened in Miami airport.)

If you can guarantee to get there by 5:45, you likely will be ok, but I tended to err on the safe side, and go 1.5 hrs. or earlier.

Just get a 22 oz. draft beer at the airport to kill time like I did.

 

[Spooner]

I guess I'll get there by 5:30.

1.5 is plenty of time imo

 

[nitsuj3580]

I take the Delta Shuttle from Washington National to LaGuardia all the time to visit my g/f (thank goodness she's moving down here at the end of the month)

At LaGuardia though, the shuttle is kind of separated from the rest of the airport though (The Marine Terminal)

I just get there an hour before my flight and have plenty of time.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Spooner
2 hours seems insane to me. I fly out of Logan (boston) all the time, and with e-ticketing and picking the ticket up at the little atm thingies... all you have to do is go through security, which at La Guardia I recall not being that long of a process

Yeah, well, let's not use Logan as a model airport or one that pays much attention to security. An hour will often be plenty of time, but there are a lot of circumstances where it won't be. Since the plane isn't going to wait if you get hung up somewhere in the process, it's best to err on the side of caution and allow 2 hours. Bring a book or mp3 player to kill the time, it's better to wait an extra hour than to miss the flight.

 

[blackdogdeek]

i'd call the airline and ask them. they may actually recommend 2 hours.

also, keep in mind that traffic into the city on a sunday evening can be teh sux0r so listen to the traffic reports that afternoon and possibly pad your travel time to the airport.

 

[Mister T]

i use delta shuttle and you only need 1/2 hour