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Leave the Parking to Us
Long-Term Airport Parking
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Which Airlines Serve Meals?
Airline Baggage Fees
Airport Security Q&A
Around-the-World Tickets and Fares
At the Airport
Avoiding the Airplane Cold
Best Airports for Layovers
Bumping and Overbooking
Consolidators
Contacting Your Airline
Domestic Discount Airlines
Fear of Flying
Get the Best Airplane Seat
In Search of the World's Best Economy-Class Seat
Leave the Parking to Us
Long-Term Airport Parking
Open-Jaw and Circle Fares
The Airlines' Rights
Tips for Finding Cheap Airfare
Which Airlines Serve Meals?
Leave the Parking to Us
Often, one of the the toughest things about flying is parking. Whether it means schlepping baggage over vast distances in crammed buses to and from long-term parking lots, or trying to figure out a way to make your car invisible when picking up folks from the airport, parking is often difficult, expensive, and sometimes the most stressful part of the trip.
Long-term parking lots are getting ever more remote -- at one airport I used recently, it was six miles from my parking spot to the terminal -- and for airport drop-off and pickup, security concerns have put an end to the tradition of idling in a sweet spot at the curb in front of the terminal until shooed away; now you will be ticketed.
But two new trends offer some relief for travelers and the saints who pick them up at airports:
# For long-term parking, sleep-and-park airport hotel deals bundle a room in an airport hotel, several days parking, and a shuttle in both directions for a fraction of the cost of all three together.
# For the short-timers picking up folks at the airport, the establishment of "cell phone lots" promises to put an end to endlessly circling terminal loops, idling illegally in front of the terminal or paying high short-term parking prices.
Park, Sleep and Fly
Many airport hotels have figured out that a parking spot and a ride, and not a bed and Danish, may be the best thing they can offer folks headed to the airport.
Since flight delays are typically fewer the earlier in the day you fly, morning flights have become popular among business travelers as well as with leisure travelers. Instead of rising in the middle of the night, driving to the airport in the dark and boarding your plane already near exhaustion, travelers are booking rooms with several days' "free parking" included.
On departure, they stay at the airport hotel the night before travel, sleep much later than they would otherwise and walk out the door of their hotel to board the hotel shuttle right to the terminal. On return, they take the same hotel shuttle back to the hotel parking lot, get in their car and head for home.
Prices tend to be very reasonable; at some hotels I tested, the cost of the whole package was identical to the cost of long-term parking in the airport hotel lots alone. Forget free parking -- that's a free hotel room.
Example: I recently took a morning flight out of JFK at the start of a five-day trip. The airport is 65 grueling miles from my house, so to get on a 7 a.m. flight I would have had to rise at around 3:30 a.m. at the latest.
Instead, I got a park/sleep/fly deal at an airport hotel for $119, which came with five days' parking. With long-term parking usually costing around $10/day, I figure the whole thing cost me about $70 more than it would have otherwise, but I got a night's sleep and didn't stand around in snow drifts at 5:10 a.m. waiting for a crowded airport shuttle.
At other airports, I've seen much better -- at the Miami AmeriSuites, for example, you get up to 14 days of parking with your room at a price of $69; it's like they're paying you to stay there.
Often, one of the the toughest things about flying is parking. Whether it means schlepping baggage over vast distances in crammed buses to and from long-term parking lots, or trying to figure out a way to make your car invisible when picking up folks from the airport, parking is often difficult, expensive, and sometimes the most stressful part of the trip.
Long-term parking lots are getting ever more remote -- at one airport I used recently, it was six miles from my parking spot to the terminal -- and for airport drop-off and pickup, security concerns have put an end to the tradition of idling in a sweet spot at the curb in front of the terminal until shooed away; now you will be ticketed.
But two new trends offer some relief for travelers and the saints who pick them up at airports:
# For long-term parking, sleep-and-park airport hotel deals bundle a room in an airport hotel, several days parking, and a shuttle in both directions for a fraction of the cost of all three together.
# For the short-timers picking up folks at the airport, the establishment of "cell phone lots" promises to put an end to endlessly circling terminal loops, idling illegally in front of the terminal or paying high short-term parking prices.
Park, Sleep and Fly
Many airport hotels have figured out that a parking spot and a ride, and not a bed and Danish, may be the best thing they can offer folks headed to the airport.
Since flight delays are typically fewer the earlier in the day you fly, morning flights have become popular among business travelers as well as with leisure travelers. Instead of rising in the middle of the night, driving to the airport in the dark and boarding your plane already near exhaustion, travelers are booking rooms with several days' "free parking" included.
On departure, they stay at the airport hotel the night before travel, sleep much later than they would otherwise and walk out the door of their hotel to board the hotel shuttle right to the terminal. On return, they take the same hotel shuttle back to the hotel parking lot, get in their car and head for home.
Prices tend to be very reasonable; at some hotels I tested, the cost of the whole package was identical to the cost of long-term parking in the airport hotel lots alone. Forget free parking -- that's a free hotel room.
Example: I recently took a morning flight out of JFK at the start of a five-day trip. The airport is 65 grueling miles from my house, so to get on a 7 a.m. flight I would have had to rise at around 3:30 a.m. at the latest.
Instead, I got a park/sleep/fly deal at an airport hotel for $119, which came with five days' parking. With long-term parking usually costing around $10/day, I figure the whole thing cost me about $70 more than it would have otherwise, but I got a night's sleep and didn't stand around in snow drifts at 5:10 a.m. waiting for a crowded airport shuttle.
At other airports, I've seen much better -- at the Miami AmeriSuites, for example, you get up to 14 days of parking with your room at a price of $69; it's like they're paying you to stay there.
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