Posts Tagged ‘Laguardia airport’
After a 15 ½ hour flight to Hong Kong from Newark my eyes are tired and a bit bloodshot. The efficiency of the transit system in Hong Kong (and Asia in general) is offset by the bright lights of outdoor advertising that is seemingly omnipresent.
My luggage was waiting for me on the carousel when I made it through customs (which took less than 10 minutes). Walking into the carousel there were advertisements left and right as I quickly walked to the train that was waiting to whisk me in to Central Station in HK. No Virginia, this was not LaGuardia.
Ads run on the TV’s on the train and once I arrived and took a taxi (again very easy to find and the taxi line was short) the rampant outdoor ads in Hong Kong put Times Square to shame. I don’t really know the reasons why OOH advertising is so popular in the places I’ve been in Asia – Japan, China, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Just the other day Jing Daily http://bit.ly/e00QUb out of China reported “Over the past weekend, Beijing’s much-hyped ban on outdoor advertisements that promote “hedonism, lavishness and the worship of foreign things” took effect. As Jing Daily wrote last month, the ban is ostensibly aimed at “[easing] public concerns about the country’s widening wealth gap” by ridding the city of advertisements that use words such as “luxury,” “high-class,” “supreme” and “royal” at risk of a 30,000 yuan (US$4,595) fine per infraction.”
So perhaps the OOH climate might be changing on the mainland where I am headed tomorrow but here in Hong Kong the lights are brighter than ever. I happen to like it as it brings home the hustle and bustle of 21st century Asian city life. But then I am partial to Times Square as well.
If you notice them do outdoor ads bother you?
Last night we picked up our teenage daughter from LaGuardia airport. She came in from Central America through Miami to LaGuardia (LGA). Originating as an international flight but they went through customs in Miami so the leg to LGA was domestic.
It was a bad weather night in the New York metropolitan area with thundershowers all day and heavy downpours. We knew the flight would be delayed and American Airlines updated the flight status dutifully all afternoon on their site as well as through opted-in reminders we subscribed to. It was frustrating for all of us that the flight was delayed more than two hours but pretty good use of communication overall by American Airlines.
The same cannot be said of the baggage handling at LGA. The baggage claim at LGA is not run by American Airlines or any other airline as it is unionized and the handlers are employed independently. Moreover we got into baggage claim and there were hundreds of people milling about with no signage indicating where the baggage was to be claimed. However there were a number of ancient but blank video screens.
We stood at one baggage carousel talking for ten minutes with another family whose son was on the same flight. Finally my wife (she’s the proactive one here) suspected something was not right and found out that in fact baggage from our flight was at a carousel at the other end of baggage claim. Still without any indication but she found someone who seemed to have an idea.
Then we learned that the baggage was being off-loaded to two carousels. So we had to split and have one of us at one, one of us at the other and the third standing on long line for reporting lost baggage as after 45 minutes we had begun to lose hope.
Finally my wife spotted our daughter’s bag and we were able to leave just as I was about to enter the office to report the bag lost.
Aside from this situation proving that carry-on is the only way to go (not an option when you are backpacking for three weeks), I was shocked, disgusted and disturbed that in one of the world’s busiest airports, the baggage handling was among the worst I’ve ever seen. Believe me when I tell you that Hanoi, Vietnam was cleaner and with better signage than La Guardia.
People that travel into NYC hate LaGuardia. Is it any wonder why? How does this show off my hometown to visitors from other countries? Or those that live in the United States?
We have a client in Lexington, Kentucky that I visit frequently. Flying direct into Lexington from the New York area while possible, is limiting in the amount of direct flights offered and expensive. Since the flight itself is only about an hour and a half – connecting makes no sense to me at all.
In the recent past I have flown into Cincinnati (whose airport is actually in Covington, KY) and driven the 80 miles or so down to Lexington. On my trip last week I decided to try flying into Louisville which is actually 70 miles from Lexington (I had only done this once in the past 12 years). It was a direct flight both ways, (yes the plane was tiny like they all seem to be these days) and the flight left out of LaGuardia (as does the flight to Cincinnati).
On the return to LaGuardia I arrived at the airport early and looked for traveler’s club as I have card that allows me into a few. No clubs of that sort. But I noticed a staircase for a ‘club’ called ‘Altitude’ – A Traveler’s club. I went upstairs and was pleased to see a traveler’s lounge with internet access, free soft drinks – a cash bar, rechargeable stations for my laptop and phone, free local and long-distance phone calls (I suppressed the desire to call my friend in Asia), televisions and comfortable seating. What pleased me more was the cost – $ 5.00 for the day.
When my flight was delayed by an hour and a half I was not all that aggravated since I was able to work in a quiet, comfortable and pleasant atmosphere. HMS Host is operating this club and I suspect it is a test – both in pricing and usage. The club only had a few people in it that came and went as their flights did.
There are ‘flexible’ membership options (daily, monthly, and annual). So for those that travel out of Louisville a great deal a monthly option might be just the ticket. Considering that if you want internet access at LaGuardia and don’t subscribe to a plan you have to pay Boingo.net at least $ 4.00 to get wireless access – but you are in the noisy and often uncomfortable terminal.
If you have not figured it out already – the Altitude club is a GREAT concept. And I hope some other airports consider bringing in this concept. It was a very good experience.
Don’t’ tell anyone but by the way – I would have paid $ 10. Got any good stories like that? Or bad ones?