Originally Posted by
dave456
Delta waited to long to address the Terminal 2 closure requirement and was forced to a build a temporary structure and still does not have enough capacity when anything goes wrong. The new Terminal 1 construction makes apron operations a mess with a lot less space. Even if the gate is open it can take 30+ minutes for traffic to clear. 30+ minute timeframes from landing to a gate is the norm. While the terminal construction is still underway, LGA now has a lot more taxi and ramp space and operationally much better than it was a few years back. And public transportation to LGA isn't all that bad either with the Q70 - if I have the time I will often take it and find it just as reliable as Airtrain.
We'll have to wait and see how JFK plays out once the new terminals are in place. New Terminal One (NTO) should take some pressure off of T4 as some of the existing international carriers move over (e.g., EK, SQ). VS, AM and LA will most likely remain at T4; KL is supposed to move to NTO to be with AF and SK. This should mean some more T4 mainline gates being freed up for DL. DL cannot increase JFK departures significantly anyway (absent getting slots from others) since the peak periods are slot-restricted, so hopefully this means more breathing room for DL ops.
One advantage I do find with JFK vs LGA is that during bad weather/IROPs, LGA usually ends up cancelling quicker and more often than JFK; seldom do you see JFK performing worse than LGA when bad weather hits the NYC area.