The Skybus area was the busiest part of our terminal.
Plenty of wheel chairs if mom and I take some trips.
Free wifi at the gate, so I check my email and send a message to Larry and
Brenda, who are watching Echo for us. Thanks again, Larry and Brenda.
At Stewart Airport in Newburg, New York, there were enclosed walkways between
the plane and the terminal. But in Columbus, we walked outside and climbed the
steps (or ramp) the old fashioned way. Mom's wheelchair would go up the ramp.
The plane arrives.
One of the many cost-saving devices used by Skybus is advertising on the planes --
sometimes their own ads, and sometimes ads for other companies.
There are no assigned seats, which does seem to speed up the boarding process.
People board as group 1 (those who choose to pay $10 extra to board first -- there
were not many of those), group 2 (which we were in -- maybe because I printed our
boarding passes as soon as I could at home?), and group 3. The plane was 2/3
full, so there was plenty of room. We boarded quickly and left the gate immediately.
In my opinion, the quick boarding and take-off was one of the best things about Skybus.
The Skybus planes are all new. Here's an empty row of new, leather seats.
There is a large menu that you can purchase from, but no thanks. I'm looking
forward to eating in New York City. They even announced, "Tips are always appreciated,
never expected."
They also sell items on the plane. The woman next to us bought a $100 bracelet.
And Gail bought a perfume sampler for her mother (who has a birthday the day after
we return to Dayton).
As we approach Newburg, I see a frozen lake in the hills. Gail has the great idea
of coming back sometime and just staying here, exploring the country above
New York City. I'd enjoy that because I used to live here.
Here's the bridge that we will take from the Newburg airport to the Beacon train
station on the other side of the Hudson
River. We used to hike on Mt. Beacon and
surrounding mountains. I'd like to do that again for old times sake.
Skybus generally flies into small airports to save time and money. It is very easy
to get into these airports -- parking is right across the street from the terminal,
there are no long lines, food prices aren't to high, etc.
The bus from the airport to the train station is $1 per person.
Crossing the Hudson River, we made friends with the guy in the red and white
jacket. When we found out that the bus didn't run on Sundays (when we came home),
we shared a taxi with him from the train station to the airport ($8 each).
Skybus -- $20 to New York
Gail and I dropped mom at Peggy's last night, had a nice Italian dinner, and stayed at a motel about 20 minutes from the airport.
We arrived at the airport about an hour and a half before our 8:11 a.m. flight, and there was Skybus, right next to American, Delta, United.
We printed our boarding passes at home, and we had no lugguge to check -- one carry-on each. So we went straight to the gate.