ty97

If you read this topic in the DL forum, you'll see many lamenting that DL moving the shuttle from MAT to C will make DL uncompetitive. A lot of people unhappy for varying reasons. Either Amtrak is going to see in uptick in travel, or some people are going to deal with the terminal changes.

My only issue with Philly is the abysmally small gate hold areas (at least on B/C) causing mass congestion, especially for boarding. (LGA clearly has this issue as well)

tennessetom

I do read the delta forum and in fact mostly fly the delta shuttle but use American to go to clt. the delta Boston shuttle already moved to c several years back and was pretty much a non event. so we are talking about Dca and ord moving. And I don't think Amtrak to Chicago is a real alternative Mat is for sure the easiest of the terminals though it does not have much in the way of ameneties and when flights are delayed I would rather be in c.

ty97

Excellent, I'm glad the DL move will work in your favor! But as you have seen from reading this forum and the DL forum, their are varied opinions and you can never please everyone.

ibrandsguest

For those of us who use mass transit upon arrival at LGA, this will make the trip home even longer, since buses stop first at the central terminal and then D and then C. So we can add at least 20 more minutes due to sitting in traffic at LGA, before leaving the airport grounds now.

ne52

Other than half of the food options being an Arby's and being in Akron, CAK is a dream compared to LGA.

C17PSGR

So ... we have this lengthy thread based on an A.net thread. Is this verified? Doesn't this mean that AA needs a lot more gates in the central terminal than they currently have?

tennessetom

Lga based American personnel has been told they are moving on November 11. They will get jet blue gates and Alaska air gates as those two move over to the MAT. I think that is about five gates. They have not been told which concourse the shuttle will fly from but are guessing d because that is where the admirals club is and the shuttle has the highest percentage of CKey members flying out of Lg

JonNYC

No real doubt about it, just a question of the details.

ty97

Putting the shuttle on D seems pretty logical. There's a lot of good amount of Eagle on D today that could shift off to make room.

It looks like Alaska has C6, with AA (Eagle) already on C that's easy enough. And the Jetblue gates all appear to be on A. I see them using A1/3/5 this morning (perhaps they have another, not sure). It's definitely a gate reduction for AA either way. I presume remote bussing for some smaller Eagles flights from a location TBD (which I believe may already be something that occurs at a few gates in Terminal C, but have not experienced it.)

sjpmurph01

I just spoke to an AC agent in Terminal C this morning. She said the move was just delayed - "It was supposed to be November, but now looking like December at the earliest."

I wouldn't put much credence in anecdotal comments from front line employees for the full details yet, but regardless of whether it's Nov 11 or "soon" the move seems to be inevitable. Once they have a firm date, there will probably be signage up around the terminals.

jordyn

Even though some folks (including me) may lament the move of the DL Shuttle from MAT to C, AA is definitely coming out worst here. Between operating across three different concourses with nothing but slow shuttle bus connections, lack of any reasonable airside food and beverage options, the whole car service shuttle bus debacle, and fewer gates, it's hard to see how AA comes out ahead.
I'm going to strongly prefer flying DL over AA from LGA for the next few years, it seems.

ty97

I don't see it as a step up for AA travelers, overall, but I don't see a huge step down either. Right now, AA is in three separate secure areas. According to this rumored change, AA would still be in three separate secure areas. The downsides I see are:
- Terminal C travelers will be in a worse terminal, with limited and worse concession options, and possibly be in a separate secure area from the AC versus today.
- Depending on the final gate breakdown *IF* AA has to increase busing to planes, that would be bad.
- The AC in B will get more crowded

Otherwise, it seems mostly a wash. Removing the confusion of operating from Terminal B Concourse C and Terminal C will be a plus.

Score8

As a BOS-LGA shuttle rider, this sounds more than a just a little worse:
1. TSA in C is fine/good, particularly if you have Clear.
2. Food in C is decent and varied (beer is pretty good too), B much less so.
3. A more crowded AC will simply mean less customer service at the desk.
4. If there are ride-share restrictions in B, that totally sucks. I've never had trouble getting a Lyft at terminal C other than a bit of a wait or a miscommunication that they want to pick me up at departures rather than arrivals.

gernabae

The MAT really is a gem, and I suppose these moves are being made to cement the longer term vision of having AA in the same location when the new terminal is finally built.

One thing I particularly like about ARRIVING into the MAT is the lightning quick taxi times and avoidance of congested taxiways/alleyways. If arriving on Runways 4, 13, or 31, you might have a longer taxi distance-wise than some but once you get to the west side of the airport, the only other arriving traffic you contend with is the General Aviation traffic which is minimal. If you arrive on Runway 22 which is utilized significantly, I've seen taxi-in times of a minute or less after exiting the runway, at one runway exit the distance to the MAT ramp is 270 feet.

Adelphos

With the move of Delta out of MAT (which will mean an inferior experience for Delta flyers traveling to DC and ORD), inconsistent wait line policies in Terminal C for both AA and DL, and the move of AA from Terminal C to Terminal B, the "shuttle" experience for LGA fliers has more or less been eliminated regardless of airline.

75% of my AA flights are out of Terminal C, so I'm dissapointed by the move. The new LGA terminals can't come soon enough.

EDIT - I forgot that JetBlue runs shuttle flights from LGA to BOS. If they move to Marine Air Terminal, I may switch to them for that route, at least on the outbound (I like AA's terminal in BOS more)