LaGuardia has long been one of the most maligned airports in the US, if not the world.
With its cramped hallways, crumbling infrastructure and famously terrible traffic, Joe Biden once
said visitors arriving at LaGuardia might think they're in, quote...
Some third world country.
The port authority took the hint and got to work on what is now a state-of-the-art world
class airport.
On this episode of Airplane Mode, I am thrilled to let the world know, LaGuardia, it's good
now.
I'm here at LaGuardia Airport in July 2020.
The brand new Terminal B just open and it's absolutely gorgeous.
I'm going to give you a complete tour, but because we're in the middle of a pandemic,
I have to do the tour in a mask.
So I apologize in advance for the muffled audio.
I'm actually double masking it today.
I've got an industrial N95 here, and then I'm going to wear a surgical mask on top of
that.
So once I get masked up, let's go in and check it out.
I'm going to take you through LaGuardia from the point of view of a departing passenger,
that means we'll start at departures.
The first thing you'll notice are these nice wide drop-off lanes.
There's plenty of signage and even some curbside checking kiosks.
This is already a huge improvement over the drop off area at the old LaGuardia.
Let's head inside.
My first reaction walking into this brand new space is it's huge.
If you've flown through the old airport, you've noticed cramped spaces, definitely not anywhere
for social distancing.
Here, we've got all of this space and right now the airport's only between 10 and 15%
capacity, but I can picture it even with a full space, there's plenty of space to move
around.
When you think of the old LaGuardia terminal, windows and natural light do not come to mind
and it's the exact opposite here.
There's so much light.
It's such a bright space.
Look, can you imagine LaGuardia having art?
This is one of the world's longest mosaics.
So there's little icons of all throughout New York City.
So we've got the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
We've got everything bagel, my favorite.
Got the Empire State Building right over here and there's even a Metrocard.
The centerpiece of the terminal is this gigantic sculpture, Shorter than the Day by Sarah Sze.
It uses hundreds of images of the sky above New York City documenting the passage of time
and changing celestial conditions.
This thing weighs 10,000 pounds.
A common theme around all of these renovations is flexibility.
From demand-based rotating checking counters to expandable security lines.
There are a ton of key changes that truly make LaGuardia a modern airport.
One of the things I love at Terminal B is these flexible self checking kiosks.
And so you don't need to go to one specific to your airline.
You can actually check in for Air Canada, American Airlines, United or Southwest at
any of the kiosks in the terminal.
Unlike at the old LaGuardia where each airline had its own dedicated checking area, they're
flexible here.
And so these four that you see behind me can be assigned to any airline so that one can
take over more space when it has more flights.
If one area gets back up, with the flick of a switch, the American counter can become
United.
You'll notice different measures throughout Terminal B to help keep people safe like these
plexiglass dividers at the checking counters and constant reminders as part of this TravelSmart
campaign to use face coverings and keep your distance.
The new security area at LaGuardia has a total of 16 lanes and they can be used flexibly.
So if one line gets overwhelmed, they can just open up another one.
We just went through security and it's definitely a better experience.
You don't have to go into that tight little booth.
They have this new millimeter wave technology and you just stand there quickly with your
hands like this and you're through.
Now, we're going to go over to the main gate area.
So right up that escalator, that's where all the fun happens at LaGuardia.
One thing LGA was not known for is concessions.
Previous incarnations of the airport had small kiosks peppered around tiny hallways.
The best you could really hope for was a snack from Hudson News or a prepackaged turkey wrap.
But the new concessions area is stunning.
This kind of feels like walking through duty free at an international airport.
So you get hit with the concessions right away.
You've got plenty of options here.
There's snacks to go, there's bottled drinks, basically anything you couldn't bring through
TSA, you can get right here.
The sharper image is back right.
Right after you pass through security, you come into this main dining and shopping area,
and this is kind of the hub of the new LaGuardia Terminal B.
If you don't have lounge access, this is really where you're going to want to be.
There's numerous shopping and eating options.
We've got Junior's Cheesecake, Dos Toros and this really cool dancing fountain here in
the center.
One of the highlights though is this departure board.
So you get a lot more information, see how long it is to walk to the gate, and it'll
tell you if you should go to the gate now, or you have time to relax.
Now, this is a really good way to visualize all the progress at LaGuardia.
So we're standing right around here.
We're going to walk over now and kind of take a step back in time and see the old D gate,
which is over here.
Eventually, it'll all be replaced though and we'll be left with this amazing new LaGuardia
Airport.
You'll notice that they're literally building the new Terminal B on top of the old terminal.
And so this is the old terminal area right here.
You'll notice it's being demolished, but the old D gates are still in use.
And as those are in place, those will be removed as well.
I'm in kind of disbelief.
I had no idea what to expect going into this, but it's so cool to see the old and the new.
The folks at the port authority seem to have a pretty good sense of humor about their reputation.
There were signs everywhere acknowledging their checkered past.
We're descending into the depths of the old Terminal B and already brings back memories.
You can already notice the changes.
It's quite a bit darker here.
And this was the old LaGuardia at its full brightness.
It's really crazy to start comparison between A and B.
Welcome to the old LaGuardia Terminal B. So these gates are still in use for certain flights.
And if you're flying out of the new airport, you'll spend most of your time going through
the new terminal area and then you'll come over here to actually board your flight.
One of the coolest renovations is this gigantic new sky bridge.
This is a key part of the flexibility that defines these LGA renovations.
I'm standing on this giant pedestrian walkway that airplanes can actually taxi underneath.
And so when you land at LaGuardia right now, you could end up stuck on the aircraft for
a little while waiting for the taxi ways to clear out.
This bridge helps enable an extra two miles of taxiway space, which should alleviate a
lot of that congestion.
This is an amazing space for aviation geeks to hang out and geek out.
We've got some incredible views of the airport right here, and you've got some seats.
You can sit here and wait for your flight.
One of the big amenities of the new Terminal B is new lounges.
And so there's an AMEX and train lounge coming as soon, but there's also a United club and
an Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge, and both have been open before.
They're closed right now because of COVID-19, but they're both really nice, open, airy and
overlook the gate areas.
This gate area has actually been opened since the end of 2018, but it is really, really
nice.
And it gives us a preview of what the rest of the LaGuardia Terminal B is going to look
like.
The new Terminal B is also really, really spacious.
So obviously the concession and shopping area is really open and airy, but also over here
by the gates.
So we've got a lot more light, there's power outlets and USB ports with all the seats and
it's just kind of a much more comfortable place to wait for your flight.
Let's shift gears into the arrivals experience.
They've rethought everything around arrivals at the new LGA.
From baggage claim to ground transportation.
There are a total of nine belts of baggage claim, but my favorite thing is this cool
little taxi wait time indicator.
So approximately a five minute wait, if you want to get a cab.
LaGuardia is the only major airport in the East Coast that doesn't have a director rail
link.
Roughly 90% of LGA's passengers arrived at the airport in private vehicles.
There are plans for LGA to eventually have a rail connection, but it could be years before
it's finally built.
During construction, there were some pretty serious disruptions to the ride-share experience.
On that front, there have been huge improvements.
The ride-share experience used to be a complete nightmare at LaGuardia.
For a period, you actually had to wait in line to take a shuttle to the garage and then
wait in line again to get a car.
Now you just walk directly to a garage and they have designated pickup areas depending
on whether you get an Uber X, an Uber Black, a Lyft, or a limo.
All in all, I am extremely impressed with the renovations that LGA.
The port authority has gotten the message and turned one of the country's most hated
transit hubs into a world class airport.
There's still plenty of work to be done and more big changes will continue to roll out.
When air travel picks back up again and you fly through New York, I'd definitely consider
LaGuardia Airport.
It's good now.