Services To Look For To Get To Your Flight On Time

Well, you’ve missed your flight. You took the precautions, packed the night before, located your tickets, checked in, and even set out your laptop and a good book for the flight. But the most crucial – and sometimes overlooked – step in a successful flight includes actually getting to and from the airport, which you’ve overlooked. While you’re at the information window getting your flight changed, take a second to read on and learn the best ways to get to your flight on time for your next vacation.

Call a Ride Share

Everyone knows the commonly repeated advice when it comes to airport arrivals – two hours early for domestic flights, three hours for international. Fortunately, in most heavily populated areas, this mantra becomes much easier to adhere to with the popularity of ride-sharing services. Simply calling an Uber or Lyft to the airport will not only give you a [generally accurate] estimated time of arrival, and take the stress of parking and late arrivals off the table entirely. Depending on your distance from the airport, this may be a more costly option.

Use a Park and Shuttle Service

If you prefer the comfort of your own vehicle, most major airports will offer nearby parking lots to store your car for the duration of the vacation. These services aren’t particularly costly – about $20 to $25 per day in most places – and do offer some amenities that can be nice to have. For the most part, you’ll pay to drop your car off in a lot (typically, these lots are very close to the airport) and hop on an airport shuttle that will lug you and your fellow travelers directly to your terminal. Airport shuttles usually run every 5 to 10 minutes, so the chances of missing your flight or running late won’t be an issue.

When you’ve landed post-vacation, you’ll hop back on the shuttle, return to the lot, and take your car from there – easy and generally stress-free. Some parking services will offer a “white glove” service that will drop off and pick you up from the airport in your own car.

Use Public Transport

Perhaps the last on the list of options, using public transport is a reasonable fallback option should Ubers and park and ride options not suit your needs. Public transport like buses, trains, and subways are going to be the cheapest option to get to the airport when available, and are generally organized and easy to navigate. The issues here, though, will come with arrival times, as public transportation in some cities can be notoriously late.

Getting to the airport on time is the most important part of making your flight. You never know how long it will take to get through the traffic, through TSA, and find your gate (especially if you’re gate was changed or the flight is making good time). That’s why not only is it imperative you arrive at the airport as early as you reasonably can, but you also consider how you’re going to get there. There are a couple of options out there, and you should consider which one will be the easiest and most convenient for you. That way, next time you won’t miss your flight.