Meeting someone at LaGaurdia
 

My daughter and I are arriving on separate flights at LaGaurdia on a Friday afternoon.

Her airline is Delta and mine is American. I looked at the airport website and we definitely both won't be coming into the same terminal. It looks like three terminal possibilities for Delta. Meeting at baggage claim won't work because each terminal has it's own baggage claim.

I arrive 30 minutes ahead of her.

Recently we met up at Phoenix Sky Harbor and had a hard time time meeting up. We're not real good at things like this.

We need to meet at the airport to save on cab fare.

>>I arrive 30 minutes ahead of her.<<

Possibly - or not. If one or the other flight is delayed.

If it was me and different terminals, different airlines, different arrival time . . . I'd bite the bullet and pay the extra cab fare and meet up at our Manhattan hotel.

My sister and I arrived on separate airlines/terminals at LaGuardia in April. I arrived first. After getting my bag, I verified the terminal for hers with one of the transportation concierges and took the airport bus there. I waited for her by her designated baggage claim. Easy peasy!

I would NOT take 2 separate cabs on a Friday afternoon!!

LGA isn't really all that big. There should be a restaurant that you could meet at...which terminals are you seeing as being yours?

Do you have cell phones? It would seem to be easy to me. When you land, check which terminal she's arriving at. Go there. She calls you when she lands. If you're flight is late, she'll know it because she'll call you when she lands and you won't answer.

There's an airport bus that you can take to the different terminals. But you should check the taxi lines before going up the other terminal. Different terminals have different lines.

Delta does have three terminals, two are connected. The Third is the shuttle. American only comes in at Terminal B. Each has its own taxi line. If you took a taxi to the next terminal the driver may become homicidal as they wait a long time for a trip back into Manhattan.

According to the following there is a bridge that connects B and C/D. I would call your carrier and confirm that.

http://www.ifly.com/la-guardia-airpo...&from=-1&to=-1

Looks like whoever gets there first will retrieve her bag and then go to the others baggage claim.

It sounds like it should work, but with the two of us, there is sure to be confusion.

I'm going to try to find out which terminal her Delta flight will arrive at.

Thank you all.

Since it's easier to find each other in the American terminal, I'd actually suggest you meet there, which would mean you'd probably wait for her to arrive. All AA flights arrive at the same two concourses at Terminal B, and all the buses move from the direction of Delta toward American, all stopping at the lower level where baggage claim is. There's a ground-transportation information center at the far end of Terminal B; sometimes it's staffed. That would be a good place to meet. It's near the taxi stand at the far end of the terminal, which is where you'll want to catch your taxi. There are places to sit near baggage claim if someone arrives first.

Using cell phones is the easiest way to find each other, but since I've had issues with cell phone signals in more than one airport, I always text or email as well (depending on each other's phone).

I like to have a fail safe plan,"baggage carousel 2 in terminal A, and if the second flight is more that x hours late, meet at the hotel", in case all communication fails.

I think I'll use Doug's plan and use our cell phones.

Thanks again.

I would pull up the online map of the airport and decide on your meeting place using that. And yes of course use your cell phones.

I wanted to report back and say thanks to everyone.

We followed Doug Stalling’s advice and it worked great. We had no problems finding each other.

We ended up taking the Express Bus. They had a stand in luggage claim selling tickets. They buses run about every 15-20 minutes to Grand Central Station. Tickets are only $14/each. This is much cheaper than a taxi and probably not much longer of a ride. There are no stops between LGA and Grand Central.

Our hotel was the Hilton East which is about 3 blocks from Grand Central Station.

Another note, was on this trip, hotels seemed really cheap. We stayed at the Hilton East for only $125/night.

Thanks for the update--glad it worked out and I hope you had a good time.

New York hotel rates are highly dependent on the time of year and what else is going on in the city while you are there. Everyone thinks it is dreadfully expensive all the time, and that is simply not always the case, although sometimes it is--kind of confusing, but true!