When it came to air travel, I used to be the kind of person who would do anything to save a buck. I’d spend months searching for the cheapest flight, booking with dodgy discount airlines, and adding multiple stops that tacked on hours of travel time.
This worked for me — until it didn’t.
Once I started traveling with kids, every extra minute in transit felt unbearable. And I began to realize I wasn’t actually saving money. Tight connections led to missed flights. Delays meant losing precious vacation days. We spent hundreds on mediocre airport meals and last-minute snacks. We paid for hotel rooms we never even got to use.
Air travel has gotten more difficult across the board. Flights are more crowded, delays are more frequent, and overall trips feel unpredictable.
This past week, especially major city airports in New York, have been under strain. TSA staffing shortages have contributed to significant delays and missed flights at Newark and JFK, and a ground incident at LaGuardia earlier last week only added to the backlog, turning an already stressful experience into chaos.
I still love a good deal — but I’m far less willing to sacrifice comfort and ease to get one
When I had to fly to California for work during these delays, it was tempting to convince myself I’d somehow be the exception — that I could book the cheapest flight out of the city and everything would go smoothly.
Instead, I relied on the one travel hack that consistently saves me hours of time and headache: I skipped the major city airports and booked a flight out of White Plains.
Westchester County Airport is one of the New York area’s best-kept secrets
Westchester County Airport is located about five miles east of White Plains and about 30 miles north of New York City. The airport handles over 2.3 million passengers annually, which might sound like a lot, but it’s a fraction of the traffic moving through the region’s major airports, which handle tens of millions each year.
At HPN, there is just one small, three-level terminal with six gates, though only four can be used at a time due to ramp space limitations. There’s a gift shop, a departure lounge, and a single food outlet.
Sure, smaller airports don’t offer sprawling food courts, endless dining options, or rows of duty-free shops — but you don’t really need endless amenities when you’re not stuck waiting around.
Smaller airports are almost always easier to navigate. With fewer gates and passengers, lines move faster — from check-in to security to boarding. There’s less congestion on the roads getting in, and once you arrive, everything is within a short walk. Delays are still possible, but the overall experience is more predictable and far less chaotic than at major hubs.
My flight was smooth from start to finish
I woke up at 3:30 a.m. to make my 6:30 a.m. flight. It was a 24-minute drive from my home in Nyack, NY — and, as predicted, there was no traffic. I arrived to find check-in was more crowded than usual. Still, the line looked manageable — no more than an hour — and no one seemed panicked about missing their flight. Thankfully, I’d packed light with a carry-on, and so I checked in online and skipped straight to security.
The morning I flew, both Newark and JFK had temporarily suspended wait-time reporting on their website and warned customers that wait times might be “significantly longer than normal.” At HPN, there were maybe a dozen people in front of me. I breezed through security in less than 10 minutes.
After making it through security, I got in line at the airport’s one shop, “Pre-Flight Pantry and Provisions,” which offers a surprisingly solid selection of hot and cold sandwiches, salads, snacks, drinks, candy, and even essentials like medication and magazines.
The line for coffee was longer than the security line
I grabbed a coffee, easily found a comfortable seat near an outlet, and started work on my laptop.
As the morning went on and boarding started, it definitely got busier. But when I looked up 40 minutes later to see full seats and folks standing in line to board my flight, the mood remained calm and cheerful.
I could only imagine what it looked like at the larger airports across the city.
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