Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know… but please don’t tell all them.

Here are 5 to start off. This file will be a composite of impressions built up over time. 

Please contribute some of your own. 

1. Airplane Upgrades — Best to buy an upgradable coach ticket and use miles. Cathay from West Coast to Hong Kong was $2,300 plus 25,000 miles from American. Or you could spend $4,000 on a refundable business ticket or $3,300 on a non-refundable consolidator’s business class ticket. 

2. Hotels — get room away from elevator and street. Rooms in non-carpeted areas tend to be echo-chambers. No curtains means morning light. Complaining will get you an upgrade. Single rooms tend to be squeegies. Become travel agent to get discounts and/or upgrades. The fees will pay for themselves if you travel. ie: Global Travel International. Ask Ivan for details. 

3. American vs. Delta on Business Class to East/West Coasts: American feeds better; has snack before arrival. Delta has better seats with more room that recline better than even Singapore. Singapore I had to jump over my seatmate to get out to the aisle; Delta you don’t have to. American and Delta: Both need to reserve vege entrees in advance if you want to be able to eat something not meat or seafood. Delta has personal entertainment system but it is limited; American has nothing and it is boring as heck. 

4. The Whole Story about getting to the 3 airports: Getting to LGA during rush hour in taxi — if the Tri-Borough Bridge is a problem, use top span of 59th Street Bridge to Queens (no $3.50 toll) and go along the commercial street it empties into until you reach the Grand Central Parkway. If you are going to the Marine Air Terminal, you never have to actually get on the Parkway but can keep going on the parallel road till you hit the Terminal. Allow 35 minutes this way. To JFK: Either use Whitehaven Road after exiting a few miles past the Mid-Town Tunnel or if traffic on the highway is at least moving slowly, continue on and join the Van Wyck. After you pass exit 4, the traffic should move. Get off the road if the traffic is stationery. Allow 55 minutes from mid-town to JFK airport. Consider using a car service to get to Kennedy during the afternoons; taxis don’t want to go there and the $30 flat toll is only for taxis going TO the city. It is worth paying $32 for a car service ($40 with bridge and tip) to have them come to your office, call you up on cellular 5 minutes out, and know that you will not go crazy on your way to the airport. Another possibility is to take the subway: Catch the A train to Far Rockaway but not Lefferts Plaza and get off at Howard Beach Station. From the East Side of Manhattan, take the 4 or 5 to Fulton Street to catch the A. Once you catch the A at Fulton Street / Broadway Nassau, it is 38 minutes to Howard Beach if you are at rush hour and catch an Express. Then you wait up to 15-20 minutes for the shuttle bus which is then another 15-25 minutes to the terminal of your choice. You can do this from Grand Central in about 80 minutes during rush hour; during off-peak hours, allow about 2 hours for the transfer to JFK. 

To Newark: You can take the bus from the Port Authority at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue in the city for about $10 and if all goes well it’s a 25 minute ride. You can get off at Terminal A and ride the monorail to Terminal C if you are really in a rush to beat the bus and might save a minute or two that way or at least feel you are moving. Or you can take the PATH or New Jersey Transit train to Penn Station at Newark and then catch either a city bus or the AIRLINK bus for $4 to the airport which will save you about 10 minutes over the city bus. They are supposed to be building a monorail to link the airport to Penn Station and this will be interesting. From Newark, the taxi lines can be horrendous and the tunnels into the city can be crowded. I much prefer flying out of Newark than flying into Newark unless the weather is clear and it is late at night. Also, Newark is an airport that really falls apart when the weather is poor or during rush hour. Its runway capacity has not grown to sufficiently handle all its traffic. 

5. Getting off the plane and out of customs in under 10 minutes: Check your bag. Move to empty seat in front of plane just before landing or just before plane reaches gate, move quickly down the aisle and hide next to a lavatory. Then when plane stops head to the exit. Move quickly to customs and have your landing form completed.

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