Tweed-New Haven Airport or NYC Area Airports?

I read with amusement the recent spate of anti-Tweed rhetoric. One recent opinion piece by Sara Nadel to The Hartford Courant serves as a blaring example of such. The author of this Op-Ed attempts to make a convincing case for NYC area airports (and Bradley) as the airport of choice for Greater New Haven Area residents. She further opines that businesses in our area should use these airports over Tweed.

Author Nadel forgets to share reality and instead uses idealism (hers no less) to make her case.

But first, some background.

I respect and admire every person that makes NYC (and BDL) airports what they are today. As a Captain for one of the Major Airline Networks out of NYC for some two decades, I have benefited from the professionalism of countless professionals at all of these airports, both technically and personally. Those professionals who make these airports run have my respect and admiration.

If you would consider Sara Nadel's opinion as to the convenience of NYC airports for Greater New Haven Area residents, I hope you would consider my opinion as to the "inconvenience" as well. My vantage point comes from the inner workings of a major airline flying from all of these airports...and from the Flight Deck of a Regional Jet Airliner.

I am a supporter of all airports (and other forms of transportation). My interest is to see all facets of aviation infrastructure succeed. This includes a wide array of airports and airlines. I believe each of them has an important role to play. I champion those roles, to include the one that I feel very strongly that Tweed-New Haven Airport has come to and will continue to play.

She says it's "fun".

In her Op-Ed, Sara espouses the joys of using large Airports. Really Sara? I am sure those who have limited (or good for that matter) mobility enjoy walking miles to their aircraft when using NYC Airports. Give me a Gate that is as far away from my car as possible!

Tweed-New Haven Airport by comparison offers a 5-minute walk from its farthest parking lot. It offers a ride too if a 5-minute walk is outside your paygrade (or it’s raining).

"Keep Tweed Small", I say!

Some of us enjoy getting on our flight as opposed to the journey of getting to it.

Tweed does not have moving walkways, hundreds of fuel burning shuttle busses, trams and trains (that use electricity from on-site airport power and co-generation plants) to get you to your airplane. You can walk at Tweed! How Green is that?

"Keep Tweed Small," I say!

Walk or ride one bus at Tweed...lessen your carbon footprint. And it will always have less carbon footprint than any one of the major New York Airports...or BDL. PERIOD.

I wonder, how often has Sara stood outside the passenger Pick Up and Drop Off areas at the NYC Airports? Does she enjoy the emissions from all those cars? Sure, let's add more cars from Connecticut while we're at it! I've stood curbside at countless Interantional Airports and "enjoyed" the fumes trapped by overhangs and other structures for far too many years. I'm sure the smell of fumes is ok for someone's Asthma.

A journey of a thousand miles.

Sara Nadel has also advocated (whether she knows it or not) for the rest of us to devote up to six hours to getting to the airport too! Let's break it down...

1. Your flight leaves Newark at 4pm for example.
2. TSA and Airline Guidance promote arriving at the airport 2 hours before scheduled departure time. So, you need to be there by 2 pm.
3. Don't forget your "2-hour miracle" to navigate Interstate 95 just to get to LGA, JFK or EWR from Greater New Haven. So, now you need to leave by 12pm.
4. And remember, you're not going to park 5 minutes from the Terminal either. You're going to park in lot a mile or two from the Terminal...spend about 15 minutes looking for a space (in your fossil fuel burning car of course), wait 15 minutes for the bus...and you've now invested 40-45 minutes just from parking your car to getting to the terminal.

So, now leave your home by 1115am for a 4 pm flight. Excellent! And a good use of time.

You now are approaching 5 hours' time just to catch your flight when you have a choice 5 minutes from your home? Sounds like a fun adventure to me. Thanks for the suggestion, Sara, but no thanks.

And really, again, let's not forget that 2-hour miracle of driving from New Haven to New York.

Do you want to leave yourself a little wiggle room for things to go less than a well-oiled machine would go? I would. I don’t know, call me pessimistic? How about realistic?

Driving to any of the NY Area Airports from Greater New Haven almost never takes just two hours!

It's all about time! On-time...or is it?

In her Op-Ed, Sara Nadel forgot to tell you about a key fact about the NYC area Airports. This important and overlooked tid-bit has to do with the record of timeliness or rather, lack thereof. Clearly, Sara hasn't spent enough time traveling here on the East Coast to learn our reputation in the scheme of air transport. Every single statistic kept by government and frankly known to Human-Kind points to the 3 NYC Area Airports as the top delayed airports in the Nation. Now that's convenient! That's just what Greater New Haven travelers need and want. I guess Sara enjoys being number 22 for takeoff and being delayed. And airplanes on the ground idling for an hour and a half are great for the environment too!

Sara, have you actually ever flown out of NYC area airports or other airline hubs like? You clearly don't see missed connections, canceled trips and other headaches because of the hub and spoke model...you only see what works for you. The NYC area airports are plagued with delays for a multitude of reasons...some of which are air traffic saturation, airspace limitations and not enough runways. Did Sara know this fact, or did she forget? Is her experience as a traveler so sage that she could offer us travel advice? So, just who gets a platform these days to espouse their wisdom?

Author Nadel also omits telling you about flying out of Hub & Spoke, monolithic super hubs run by the residing Oligarchy. She seems to have forgotten also to mention what missing your connection (due to delays) does to one's enjoyment factor. While we're at it, Does Sara Nadel enjoy her 30-minute connection in a super hub running a mile to catch her next flight or her 5-hour connection time spent in a rocking chair? Or both? Fly into these Hubs and this is what you will get a lot of. Not at Tweed.

"Keep Tweed small", I say!

Sara forgets to share a tremendous amount of information that travelers should know.

Tweed is a different kind of Bird!

Tweed-New Haven Airport does not offer Hub and Spoke set up, it offers Origination and Destination. In all her experience, Sara might remember to mention this the next time she tells a region how it can travel by air. While there are issues with each kind of set up, Hub and Spoke is probably the least fun. But what would I know? I do know alternatives are great.

Tweed-New Haven Airport is not intended to serve as a Hub Airport. There are no plans for such. This is Tweed's strong suit. The longer we avoid (which we will) an airline Hub from Southern Connecticut, the better we will be in my opinion. Look up O & D Airport some time.

The nature and benefit to what Tweed offers Air Travelers is all about being small. In this, I say...

KEEP TWEED SMALL.

KEEPING TWEED SMALL IS EXACTLY WHAT WE WANT!

Masking your opposition to a regional project with bias and poorly vetted issues is pretty self-evident in Sara Nadel's article (and others like it). To emblazon oneself with experience that isn't so vast and to circumvent numerous matters (those I described above) with one's idealism is a poor way to make one's case. Sara chose to share a very one-sided, idealistic and ill-considered viewpoint in my opinion. Such was either poorly thought out on her part or willfully intended. Neither deserves high regard. My main effort in writing you was to cover some issues she (and others like her) seemingly forgot to mention.

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