Avoiding Heathrow and JFK — it’s a lifestyle
Many of the articles written these days about the soaring costs of oil are about how these increases will prompt Americans to change their behavior and drive less, buy smaller cars and think about mass transportation. In the travel world other factors can change behavior as well.
My case in point is the avoidance of certain airports — JFK and Heathrow to be exact. Even with high fuel surcharges and taxes, American seem to keep flying more and more. However, on a personal level I have found behaviors are changing rapidly in terms of poor service.
I will avoid flying in and out of London Heathrow. I have gone to great lengths and spent a lot of time over the past three or four years avoiding Heathrow. The taxes to use the airport are high and the service is as poor as any I have ever seen in my years of flying. My assessment just got a major boost when IATA stated that the airport was a “national embarrassment.”
“This year’s Worst Regulator Award goes to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Look at Heathrow. Service levels are a national embarrassment,” IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani said in a speech at its annual meeting in Istanbul.
My relationship with JFK, on the other hand, has wavered between love and hate for years.
Running a business in Europe meant flying in and out of JFK was a requirement for years. About a decade ago. the traffic at the airport made it impossible to change terminals or even plan an on-time arrival by bus or subway. Finally, the JFK Airtrain managed to change the traffic jams for moving passengers between terminals. I fell back in love with the place.
Just as those transportation improvements on the land side of JFK were in place and airlines built new more efficient terminals the air side of the airport went to the dogs. Air traffic control seemed to fall apart and ground control on the runways became as bad as the road network between the terminals was a decade ago.
I avoid JFK as well. And I am not alone.
While helping a friend make reservations from Washington to Europe, we found the best airfare was with Delta connecting through JFK. Now, you have to realize that this friend can squeeze a penny better than anyone I have ever met. She responded, “I’ll spend more money to avoid JFK. Every time I go through that airport it is a disaster. The last time I was in tears. I will not fly through JFK.”
Coming from someone who clips coupons regularly, drives the most fuel efficient car she can find, keeps her air conditioner in the mid-70s during the summer and who will wear a sweater in the house rather than ratchet the thermostat up a few degrees, choosing to spend hundreds of dollars more just to avoid JFK is powerful evidence that her behavior has been significantly modified.
We ended up buying airline tickets that connected in Madrid with a non-stop out of the U.S. She was sorry to spend the extra money, but considered it a bargain to avoid JFK.
I know she’s not alone.
Airline delays are worse than ever and getting worse. The scariest part of this story comes now: JFK isn’t the worst offender in terms of on-time arrivals and departures. Last month Chicago’s O’Hare reported more than 50 percent of its departures were delayed.
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“Americans”
on a travel blog, you should make sure you specify whether you’re talking about people, or an airline.