Find out if you are able to fly between JFK & LaGuardia Airport to catch a connection. There’s no passenger service you can book but you have options
If you ask a Long Island or New York City resident, they will let you know that the traffic in this region is no joke. A simple car trip between NYC and JFK or LGA can take hours depending on the time of day.
Long Islanders often seek alternative means to get off Long Island, like the Cross Sound or Port Jefferson ferries to avoid dealing with the nightmare traffic.
But have you wondered if you can fly on a passenger flight from JFK Airport to LaGuardia? This would be greatly helpful if you found yourself in a precarious situation like booking a domestic flight into LaGuardia but needed to help south to catch an international flight from JFK.
In this article, we’ll explore whether this is really possible, discuss the feasibility of such a flight, and recommend some alternatives if you find yourself in this situation.
Sadly, there are no scheduled revenue flights between these two airports. No flights for good reason though. Both JFK and LGA are so close that even if demand was there, the cost to operate the flight would yield negative margins for the airline no matter how you look at it.
Add in the fact that both airports are slot restricted, which limits the amount of takeoffs, landings and ultimately the destinations airlines can fly from these airports a day. That means no airline in their right mind would give up a valuable slot for this type of flight in favor of a higher density, higher revenue potential flight.
While there is no scheduled service between JFK and LaGuardia, airlines do schedule repositioning flights between both these airports on occasion. Repositioning flights are non-revenue flights that move aircraft from one airport to another for maintenance or wherever else the plane is needed.
A common occurrence between these two area airports is related to LaGuardia’s curfew. No flights are allowed to land at LGA past midnight without special permission. When already airborne flights experience a delay and miss arriving before LaGuardia’s curfew, they have to divert which means that JFK Airport is usually their best available option.
If that plane is needed for service at LGA the next day, the airline conducts a short flight to reposition it to be available for that service.
Since no passenger airlines offer flights you can book between LaGuardia and JFK, you might think you’re totally out of luck. But you actually do have another aerial option.
If you are seeking to fly between these airports quickly and have the money to spend, check out BLADE. While they don’t promote a direct JFK to LGA service, you can likely work with them to arrange this kind of flight.
BLADE is like the “Uber” of the skies in New York City. They offer flights from NYC to the Hamptons, and around area airports.
Using their scheduled service between Manhattan and JFK as stand-in, expect to pay $195 or more per person for a flight between JFK and LGA. It might be worth the extra cost especially if you have a very tight connection or hate being in traffic that much.
Your next best option is via rail, but this method only works if you’re heading to LaGuardia from JFK. Take the AirTrain to Jamaica-LIRR station, then catch a train towards Penn Station but get off at the stop for Woodside station. Finally, Uber or take the bus to LaGuardia.
This way should be fairly smooth. But sometimes, you’ll be at the mercy of LIRR and its unreliability and NYC traffic when taking the Uber or Bus.
The train method only makes sense if you’re heading in that direction. If you are looking to go the opposite direction to JFK, since you’ll need to take some form of motor transportation to reach Woodside to begin with, you might as well take an Uber all the way to JFK.
Your best bet would be to avoid travel between these two airports if possible. JFK is large enough to support a plethora of airlines that have direct flights to just about every corner of the United States. What LGA offers, JFK typically has too (minus international flights). Realistically, you should never need to make a dash across town to catch a connection.
If you do find yourself in this situation, give yourself as much time as you can. Flying into NYC very early or a very late flight will give you the best chance for success. Traffic is lowest during these times on the major roads leading to these airports.
Never give yourself less than 3 hours to travel between LaGuardia and JFK. Anything less and you’ll be rolling the dice on whether you will make your connecting flight on time.
You won’t ever find a revenue generating flight that you can book between JFK Airport and LaGuardia Airport. You may be able to get in touch with BLADE and charter something if you have the finances to do so. But if you are needing to get from one airport to another for a connection, your best chance is pretty simple. Give yourself as much time as possible and plan for the worst traffic conditions.
