Regional Airports Offer More Jets, Less Road Traffic
<B> Regional Airports Offer More Jets, Less Road Traffic</B>
By Robert Selwitz
While metropolitan New York's three largest airports--Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark--are known worldwide, the roles of Stewart International, Westchester County and Long Island MacArthur airports are much less clearly appreciated.
But business travelers headed for appointments north of the city, in Eastern Pennsylvania, Western Connecticut and Eastern Long Island often can save time by flying in and out of Greater New York's regional facilities.
Located four miles from Newburgh, N.Y., Stewart, which earlier this month dedicated a terminal expansion, is "an easy drive from anywhere between Danbury, Conn., and Pike County, Pa., and from south of Albany to Bergen County, N.J.," according to airport spokesman Hank Gross.
Corp. Headquarters Nearby
Companies with locations in New York's northern corridor include Cirrus, IBM, Minolta, M & T Banks Hudson Valley Division, Ottoway Division of Dow Jones Newspapers and Union Carbide. Educational institutions include the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Marist and Vassar Colleges in Poughkeepsie, the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and Bard College in Annondale-on-Hudson.
As for the airport itself, the facility is adding a second-level concourse, its first seven jetways, an electronic message board for flight information, expanded baggage claim areas, and modern arrival and departure monitors, Gross said.
Stewart Airport last year reported a passenger volume of 815,000. The airport serves American Airlines to Chicago, Delta Air Lines to Atlanta and Cincinnati, United Express to Boston and Washington/Dulles, AirTran to Orlando, and US Airways Express to Buffalo, Islip, Long Island, Philadelphia and Syracuse. With the exception of US Airways Express and United Express, the carriers offer jet service.
On the ground, the facility offers "easy interstate access, no departure delays caused by runway backups, $6 a day long-term parking and one of the nation's longest runways," Gross said.
Northeast of the city is Westchester County Airport in White Plains, N.Y. The airport, which is almost on the Connecticut border, is surrounded by several major corporations, including IBM, GE, Loral, Pepsico, Philip Morris, Tenneco and Xerox. "We're the ideal airport for people heading for New York's Westchester and Connecticut's Fairfield counties," said airport manager Joel Russell.
Welcoming more than 1 million passengers in 1997, Westchester is served by American, Business Express, Comair, Continental Express, Northwest, United, United Express, US Airways and US Airways Express.
Passengers can catch direct flights to Boston, Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, Rochester, N.Y., and Washington, D.C. (both National and Dulles).
Because of runway upgrades, Russell noted, the airport will be closed from May 9 to 17, and sporadically through the end of June.
L.I. Airport Serves Major Cities
Long Island's MacArthur Airport in Islip, about 60 miles east of Manhattan, on June 1 will welcome Comair, which will join American, AirTran, Business Express, Delta Express and US Airways Express in providing service here. Destinations served directly include Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Chicago, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Philadelphia, Providence, R.I., and Washington, D.C. The airport reported about 1,060,000 passengers passing through its gates in 1997.
Nearby corporations and institutions include Computer Associates, Northrop Grumman, Brookhaven National Laboratories and Stony Brook University.
"If you're heading to Suffolk County (on Long Island), why drive an hour and a half to reach La Guardia? We've got no roadway or runway congestion or delays. And there's plenty of available parking at $6.50 per day," said airport administrative supervisor Brad Ringhouse.