New York City - LGA: Meeting my family at night

Hi everyone,
I am going to be going to New York and arriving in LGA at 11:30PM. I am going to be meeting my family there but they are arriving in a different terminal at 10PM. I will be arriving in terminal in terminal D and they will be arriving in terminal B. The website says that the shuttles run in between terminals till 11:30PM. I was wondering if I were to walk and meet them at their terminal, are there walkways connected inside the airport, or is my only option to walk outside? Also I was wondering if there are separate baggage claims at each terminal, or if there is one baggage claim where we would meet? Is this a 24 hour airport, meaning at 12PM it won't be really empty? I'm a little scared since I'm travelling alone and it will be late at night. I was travelling in Miami at night and there was absolutely no workers at 11:30PM, I didn't have anyone that I could ask for information, just hoping that doesn't happen again. I'm thinking that they could meet me at my terminal but they also want to know about the questions I'm asking.

Thank you in advance!

RK:confused:

Lga has different baggage claims for different terminals and Airlines (in most cases) as it is not connected= separate buildings.

Easy to walk between terminals at lga as a pedestrian path is available.
If you can review the airport map it should help or google map. Lga will be available /open at midnight but don't know if any services are open.

The only terminal not easily accessible from remainder of airport is marine air terminal. One would need to take cab.

Lga has different baggage claims for different terminals and Airlines (in most cases) as it is not connected= separate buildings.

Easy to walk between terminals at lga as a pedestrian path is available.
If you can review the airport map it should help or google map. Lga will be available /open at midnight but don't know if any services are open.

The only terminal not easily accessible from remainder of airport is marine air terminal. One would need to take cab.

Even when the shuttle buses stop running, the Q48 makes its last run from Flushing at 1:20 am, arriving at Marine AT at 1:44 am M-F and Sat 1:47 am, arriving at 2:07 am; Sunday is much more limited: 11:50 pm from Flushing and MT at 12:13 am--in case there or NO cabs or one wants to opt to pay no more than $2.25:).

Does the OP really mean concourse B and D. D is all AA. If so, its all part of the central terminal and the OP simply needs to walk down the entrance to Concourse B.

Relax, LGA's Terminal B and D are both part of the Central Terminal, think of it as part of the one hand with 4 fingers/short extensions - starting with A on the right, B, C and D on the left - they are best walked instead of going outside to wait and hop on the shuttle for a 15 to 30 seconds ride on late evening - maybe at best a 4 to 6 minutes walk with luggage in tow, seriously.

Compared to YVR, our LGA is relatively small and walkways are short and directions/signage are fairly good - here's a link to the terminal map - gates assigned to the airlines might not be 100% updated & D has always been AA and C for United & others.

http://airportterminalmaps.com/images/LGA-concourse-map-1.gif

Typically, used for domestic arrivals & departures only, most flights would've departed by 9 PM for their last run to places like IAD, ORD, DEN, DFW or BOS, etc. and usually by 10 PM, it's incoming or arrivals from other regional airports or hubs. Arrivals & Departures are on 2nd level, including food services & club/lounges (closed by then) and ticketing, and there will be plenty of chairs & places for the rest of family to sit, relax & wait for your arrival & checking the flights on TV monitors. Luggages come out relatively quickly downstairs on level 1, and, yes for different terminals/wings on its own, you can walk it upstairs or take the elevators.

Lastly, if you stay upstairs on arrival - it's fully enclosed, air-conditoned corridors and walkways from terminal A all the way to D as you can see from the map, there's absolutely no need to walk outside into the warm/hot & humid weather like yesterday - today, much cooler but still a bit on the sticky side.

Ground maintenance & other activities will continue and it's not as if the entire airport is deserted or empty of ordinary folks, and it's patrolled by LEO's (PAPD) and TSA people still guard the entrances & exits - we've come home late at 1 AM and stumbled into the terminal, and there will still be a taxi or 2 outside (or car services since there's several of you) - and then, by 4 AM, folks start arriving for the morning departure - even before the airline counters are open for "assisted" check-in (been there at 4:20 for catching our ORD-YVR connections) You will be fine ... :D ;)

Does the OP really mean concourse B and D. D is all AA. If so, its all part of the central terminal and the OP simply needs to walk down the entrance to Concourse B.

To be clear, LGA has four terminals, one of which has four concourses. Both terminals and concourses are lettered A-D, which is confusing:

Terminal A (aka Marine Air Terminal) = Delta Shuttle
Terminal B (aka Central Terminal) has all airlines except DL and US (edited to add: and Westjet), and is divided into four separate concourses:

Concourse A = Air Canada, JetBlue, United Express
Concourse B = AirTran, Southwest, Frontier, Spirit, JetBlue
Concourse C = American Eagle, United, United Express
Concourse D = American

Terminal C = US Airways terminal, which also has some DL flights (edited to add: and Westjet)
Terminal D = Delta


If you're all arriving at Terminal B, just at different concourses, it's all one building and the baggage claims are in the same area. If you are in fact arriving at Terminal D, it's a different building, but still walkable from Terminal B. Services will probably be minimal at that hour.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.1030 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Lga has different baggage claims for different terminals and Airlines (in most cases) as it is not connected= separate buildings.

Easy to walk between terminals at lga as a pedestrian path is available.
If you can review the airport map it should help or google map. Lga will be available /open at midnight but don't know if any services are open.

The only terminal not easily accessible from remainder of airport is marine air terminal. One would need to take cab.

Even when the shuttle buses stop running, the Q48 makes its last run from Flushing at 1:20 am, arriving at Marine AT at 1:44 am M-F and Sat 1:47 am, arriving at 2:07 am; Sunday is much more limited: 11:50 pm from Flushing and MT at 12:13 am--in case there or NO cabs or one wants to opt to pay no more than $2.25:).

In addition to the Q48, the M60 also provides service from Terminal D to all the other terminals at LGA.

To be clear, LGA has four terminals, one of which has four concourses. Both terminals and concourses are lettered A-D, which is confusing ... If you're all arriving at Terminal B, just at different concourses, it's all one building and the baggage claims are in the same area. If you are in fact arriving at Terminal D, it's a different building, but still walkable from Terminal B. Services will probably be minimal at that hour.

If OP can post their incoming airlines info, it would be easier to sort things out - anyway, posting link to the "bigger" LGA picture of the terminals, concourses & gates info for her/his easy reference.

For family members arriving around 10 PM, the free shuttle buses will definitely be running to take them over to the other terminal to meet up together. The concourses within the Central Terminal/Terminal B are definitely walkable but for late night, it's a long 15 minutes walk with luggage to the Delta Terminal or Terminal D from Central or B.

The Q48 (yes, the M60) plus the Q33 buses to to Jackson Heights - all of them make stops at all the terminals with less frequent late night services if they plan to use it to get to their hotel - and, they can just as easily call for a car service pickup at any of the terminal as there will be fewer yellow taxi waiting/hanging out around midnight. Concession services for food or snacks will definitely be limited, if open at all, after 10 PM in any of the terminals or concourses - odds are better for someone to stay open in CT/Terminal B.

Deleted.

If OP can post their incoming airlines info, it would be easier to sort things out - anyway, posting link to the "bigger" LGA picture of the terminals, concourses & gates info for her/his easy reference.

For family members arriving around 10 PM, the free shuttle buses will definitely be running to take them over to the other terminal to meet up together. The concourses within the Central Terminal/Terminal B are definitely walkable but for late night, it's a long 15 minutes walk with luggage to the Delta Terminal or Terminal D from Central or B.

The Q48 (yes, the M60) plus the Q33 buses to to Jackson Heights - all of them make stops at all the terminals with less frequent late night services if they plan to use it to get to their hotel - and, they can just as easily call for a car service pickup at any of the terminal as there will be fewer yellow taxi waiting/hanging out around midnight. Concession services for food or snacks will definitely be limited, if open at all, after 10 PM in any of the terminals or concourses - odds are better for someone to stay open in CT/Terminal B.

Thank you all for your information! I will be on an American flight arriving in Terminal B and my family will be coming in on Delta in terminal D. I think it will be best if they take the shuttle when they arrive and meet me in terminal B on the second floor departures and arrivals. I'm feeling a lot better about the whole issue! :) Thanks!

Does anyone know a good meeting spot in Terminal B, a restaurant or something of that sort? or is it pretty small terminal?

Does anyone know a good meeting spot in Terminal B, a restaurant or something of that sort? or is it pretty small terminal?

Its not particularly big, just have them meet you near the AA check in counters. Take the short flight of stairs back up to the second floor from baggage claim and you will be right there.

Its not particularly big, just have them meet you near the AA check in counters.That makes no sense. The AA counters are in the part of Terminal B that is the farthest away from Terminal D, into which the OP is flying. Also, there is a retail and food court right in the middle of Terminal D that is much more comfortable for the OP's family to wait in than at the ticket counters.

That makes no sense. The AA counters are in the part of Terminal B that is the farthest away from Terminal D, into which the OP is flying. Also, there is a retail and food court right in the middle of Terminal D that is much more comfortable for the OP's family to wait in than at the ticket counters.
Depending on how they're leaving the airport, it might be better to end up down by the taxi rank next to the AA baggage claim which is generally less crowded than the others. Though then again, at that time of night there probably wouldn't be a taxi line (unless of course there are no taxis for the passengers that do get off that late arrival).

But certainly for killing time, I presume they can sit in the food court, even if nothing is open at that hour.