I'm moving to Hartford and will be taking a job that will require about 50% travel out of BDL. Other than SWA, is it likely that I will be using any one airline more than others. Does anyone have suggestions as to the best program for someone based in Hartford? I will be traveling to multiple destinations across the country. If I go with the Delta/Continental/Northwest team, does it make a big difference which I choose? As you can tell, I'm new to heavy travel and the mileage chase. Thanks.

While this doesn't answer your question, I was at BDL just yesterday, and they have free (and FAST) wi-fi there! ^

Several times a year I fly in and out of Bradley as I come and go from school. Unfortuantely, given the way BDL is setup, I can only talk about American Airlines. I long ago sold my soul to American Airlines, and while they have a very friendly staff at BDL, they do not have a large presence at all. American Airlines (and Independence, I believe) is all by itself at the VERY old Terminal B, and seating is a real problem. Most of the American flights seem to leave around the same time, and as it gets closer to departure time for certain flights, there won't be an available seat in the area. There also isn't much in the way of concessions in Terminal B... just one breakfast/lunch shop.

Now, given my commitment to American, I have never flown out of any of the other airlines at Bradley, which are all located in the newer Terminal A. From what I understand, its not nearly as bad as Terminal B.

If you're into the "club" thing, you should know that the only one at Bradley is a US Airways Club, in which case the United/US Airways arrangement is nice.

Also, if the woman at the Taxi stand at Bradley is correct, there are some changes coming to the airport soon. The terminal that American is currently in will be closed in the near future, with American moving over to join the other airlines in the other terminal.

I have family in western MA and fly in/out of BDL probably 3-4 times/year. The new terminal is quite nice for a small-mid sized airport.

Re: which airline is best to fly, a lot of it will depend on where you will typically travel to.

As far as flights and gates at BDL go, AA is definitely the biggest, they are the only ones in the old terminal (at least at this point) and my guess is they have 8-10 gates. Skyteam may also be a viable option as you noted where you can fly on DL/NW/CO metal and consolidate miles. DL has 4 gates and NW and CO each have 2.

I'm not aware of any club/lounge in the new terminal, but personally that's not a big deal at BDL since it is generally not crowded (excl. major travel times) and not particularly loud (they're pretty light on the intercom).

Here's a link to the airport website if you want specifics on gates, etc.
http://www.bradleyairport.com/flights/airlines.php

Welcome to Hartford/Windsor Locks/Bradely Airport.

I'm a weekly traveler going all over the place out of BDL (and the occassional HVN)... Here are the gate breakdowns:

Air Canada 1 gate in terminal B
America West 2 gates in terminal A
AA 7 B
Continental 2 A
Delta 4 A
NWA 2 A
SWA 3 A
United 2 A
USA 4 A


I mostly catch Delta flights, but my companies travel agent is more concerned about finding the cheapest fare than keeping me in skymiles. There aren't a whole ton of destinations from BDL, but there are enough that it makes it a pretty decent airport for the size.

I'm not so sure about the free wireless, I usually don't boot up there, but to the best of my knoweldge there isn't free wifi in term A... maybe over in term B.... but I do think continental is putting free wifi at all their gates pretty soon.

Here is the destinations list from BDL:


Atlanta, GA ATL
Baltimore, MD BWI
Buffalo, NY BUF
Charlotte, NC CLT
Chicago, IL � Midway MDW
Chicago, IL � O�Hare ORD
Cleveland, OH CLE
Columbus, OH CMH
Cincinnati, OH CVG
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX DFW
Detroit, MI DTW
Fort Lauderdale, FL FLL
Fort Myers, FL RSW
Houston, TX IAH
Indianapolis, IN IND
Las Vegas, NV LAS
Los Angeles, CA LAX
Miami, FL MIA
Milwaukee, WI MKE
Minneapolis, MN MSP
Montreal, QC (Canada) YUL
Nashville, TN BNA
Newark, NJ EWR
Orlando, FL MCO
Philadelphia, PA PHL
Phoenix, AZ PHX
Pittsburgh, PA PIT
Raleigh-Durham, NC RDU
Rochester, NY ROC
San Juan, Puerto Rico SJU
St. Louis, MO STL
Syracuse, NY SYR
Tampa, FL TPA
Toronto, ON (Canada) YYZ
Washington, DC � Dulles IAD
Washington, DC � Reagan National DCA
West Palm Beach, FL PBI

Free Wi Fi at BDL, signal can be a little weak at the UA gates

rbessler I know what you mean

"the VERY old Terminal B"

I've only flown into BDL once on the soon to be defunct Independence. I'm glad to hear that Terminal A is bit newer than B. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saws signs directing me to the Pan Am baggage claim.

Thanks everyone. It looks like DL will be the way for me to go.

Just to add to the Hartford destination list, Delta now offers daily Salt Lake City service.

I use BDL maybe 3 times a year, almost always on NW but once in a while on CO. I rarely use DL because they don't upgrade NW/CO elites. NW has some pretty decent fares from BDL because of WN and that is good. I find it a very easy airport to get in and out of and the new termonal is very good.

For me, the decision is a no brainer because my major flights to Asia almost always involve NW so I choose NW as my main FFP. If you do choose CO, look into the prestige pack. Also NW tends to use bigger but older planes from BDL thus no RJ's for me. iirc, CO uses RJs to EWR but their tru first product is better than NW's. International, I go to Boston when going east and where ever is cheaper (BOS BDL PVD) going west.

There a number of dedicated FTers who fly out of Hartford, myself included. I flew 74 segments last year, over60 of them on AA.

Each terminal has it's pros and cons. The parking garage is pricey by local standards, a bargain by regional standards.

I usually know 10 weeks in advance whereI'm going, so I can routinely get RT to west coast for around $200 to $225. A typical trip involves changing ORD or DFW.

Please feel free to PM me for questions.

let me suggest a visit to the new england air museum....it's on the airport and is worth a couple of hr's.....i found it quite good, but thats my thing....need to go back because i only had 1.5 hrs and didn't get to read much....

enjoy the hartford area....

Wewlcome to CT, ElvisC. Mrs Dxt and I try to use BDL whenever possible on AA to avoid the trip to LGA. Its easy to access and the cost is much more reasonable than New York. We don't mind the MD-80s, and as long as you don't connect through STL you can avoid the RJ's. Hope we see you there. Just look for thr bright yellow FT tags on our bags.