Delta out of LGA?

[LittleStinkerbelle]

I can't remember the last time we flew a carrier other than JetBlue or SWA to Orlando but in looking at fares for January, Delta's fares are looking really good out of LGA. I also see that they have several flights a day, which I like just in case there's a weather issue.

For any of you who fly Delta out of LGA, do you find that there are alot of schedule changes for this route? I've done a couple of board searches on Delta and see alot about schedule changes, but was curious how they are specifically for LGA.

 

[SSRFred]

We use Delta to fly to MCO almost exclusively out of LGA. We have not had many schedule changes leaving LGA, and if we do, only about 1/2 an hour earlier or later. Change of schedule with Delta is always more common if you purchase tickets far in advance.

For our October trip we purchased tickets 10 months earlier. There is a schedule change out of LGA. Flight departure time is the same, arrival at MCO 10 minutes earlier.
Our trip home out of MCO, the flight was changed to 1 1/2 hours later.

On the whole, we have not had many issues with Delta flying out of LGA, just the occasional delay in taking off where we sit on the plane a little while.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Thanks so much for the info -- that helps alot!!!

 

[N365PA]

The only issues with LGA, as well as all the other NY airports save maybe HPN and SWF is "flow" issues (in other words, ATC delays). I used to connect on DL through LGA and JFK and never really had any major issues. Schedules usually dont change drastically, and if they do, the airlines are 99% of the time pretty good about re-accomadating. My advice, stay away from NY airports, if you cant do that, bring a snickers

Clint
(former Delta Employee, now ATC/Pilot)

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

The only issues with LGA, as well as all the other NY airports save maybe HPN and SWF is "flow" issues (in other words, ATC delays). I used to connect on DL through LGA and JFK and never really had any major issues. Schedules usually dont change drastically, and if they do, the airlines are 99% of the time pretty good about re-accomadating. My advice, stay away from NY airports, if you cant do that, bring a snickers

Clint
(former Delta Employee, now ATC/Pilot)

Thanks for the insights. We try to use HPN and BDL when possible, although lately it seems that the lower airfares are harder to come by at those smaller airports. Good point about the delays -- something to think about the whole time vs. money issue.

 

[Elmo007]

In the past year I have had the opportunity to fly out of JFK, ISP and LGA.

ISP is by far the best. No security delays, easy parking no taxi-ing issues.
JFK is second as the secuirty (depending which airline building) is longer and there can be long hold delays and taxi-ing
LGA is usually just unpleasant. Limited parking, poor security, gate delays etc

In addition I flew EWR but that was only 1 time and it was international. It was fine but not enough of a sample to be relevant.

 

[SSRFred]

We actually try to avoid JFK if possible. In our experience, security lines are much longer and slower at JFK. Security lines in the Delta terminal are usually very manageable and quick. Baggage claim is also a much longer process at JFK.

The only time we reconsider LGA to/from MCO is during the winter months because of delays/cancellations due to weather issues (snow) since the runways are much shorter at LGA.

 

[BigTigger]

I flew LGA to RDU on Delta last month and security was a breeze at 5:30 pm on a Thursday. It is not a large terminal compared to some others at LGA and a lot of the flights are regional jets. It has a food court and stores area to help kill the time.

You will 99% for certain have your flights change by a few minutes for the daylight savings reset in the fall. This is a fact of life with Delta (I'm a 2MM miler on them, so before a poster with the initials LC says they are smarter and that is not true - there's my proof in seat miles and experience with the airline).

Delta service has really improved over the last 3-4 months. The silly fes and all that are gone for award travel and close to travel date rebookings. You can also get one bag free per traveler on the reservation by applying for the AMEX Skymiles Option card (no annual fee). My wife uses it a lot when her itinerary isn't with mine to reduce the fees.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Thanks all! We went ahead and booked the Delta flights out of LGA. Just couldn't justify an extra $100/ticket to take JB out of HPN (plus the cost of car service due to the parking situation). Booked the earliest flight out of the day and will hope for the best (fingers crossed!).

I was tempted to wait for SWA to open up next month but since we're going over MLK weekend I was afraid the fares would only keep going up.

Thank you all for your advice and input.