Getting to Stewart Airport (SWF) from New York City
When I first searched for flights from New York City to Edinburgh, Norwegian’s offer for flights as low as $65 (pre-tax) one-way was too good to ignore. But where in the world is Stewart Airport (SWF), and how are people supposed to get there? It’s a risk, but what adventure isn’t? I bought a flight for June 29, landing in Scotland just in time for my friend’s wedding the next day. I’m in the airport right now writing up the experience.
Newburgh is about a two-hour drive away from Manhattan. There are trains and private cars available to take you there but a cheap and convenient option takes you from outside Port Authority and drops you off right outside the airport. At the moment, there are no banners indicating where the Stewart bus is, only the Newark, JFK and LaGuardia shuttles. But if you follow the directions to the Newark bus, you’ll find the bus without problem on 41 St. between 8th and 9th ave. Tickets can be bought at www.stewartairportexpress.com or at the second floor of Port Authority.
After July 1, 2017, the bus should run regularly every half-hour or forty-five minutes between 3:00 and 4:45 pm. Tickets are $20 per adult, and $10 for children 5–11. I guess children under 5 ride for free.
But be wary: The bus I was on left ten minutes earlier than scheduled. I showed them my emailed receipt which had a 8-digit code on it. The driver wrote it down in a ledger, and he let me in. I asked if I could carry my bags inside the bus, and the driver said only if there’s space. I climbed in and realized he was joking. I was one of three people in there. The bus started up soon after I climbed on, and the doors shut, almost leaving two travelers stranded (or to wait for the next bus). If it weren’t for the massive traffic on 41st St, they wouldn’t have been able to negotiate themselves inside. They knocked on the door and asked if there were room. They had been falsely told the bus was full. It was a strange experience.
Bring layers. AC on the bus ran full blast and I was freezing. The Wifi was strong. I didn’t use the bathroom, but I saw someone else did and hadn’t complained. The majority of the traffic was, of course, within Manhattan. Once we got through the tunnel to New Jersey, it was smooth sailing. We passed some nice neighborhoods along the way with their own Shake Shacks and a Tesla dealership.
We got to Stewart Airport within two hours. There were two main entrances, one of which was selling tickets back to Manhattan on the same bus line. There were rows of rental cars next to the gates. Checking in took a total of two minutes, even though my carry-on was overloaded by 3 kg. They agreed to check my bag for free if I could get it under 10 kg. I was planning on splitting my pack in two anyway, so it worked out fine. If you’re into small-talk, I recommend dad-jokes. Definitely a dad joke kind of town. Security was a little slow, but not because there was a line. In fact, I was the only one when I was ready to go in. But they were very thorough. There’s a standard Boingo hotspot with complimentary 30 minute access which I’m using up right now.
People working in the airport were super friendly. I can honestly say I appreciate people’s hairstyles here. There’s still a lot of feathering going on. The decor is military related with a hometown kitsch here and there. But, as I said, everyone is pretty friendly. I had dinner at a Quizno’s which served triple duty as a coffee shop and a convenience store, right next to the check-in. There is another similar setup inside, and the manager was running back and forth between the two. I’m sitting next to two ladies, one of whom cannot stop saying how this is the best airport in the world because the bar serves alcohol and you can take it anywhere with you.
Stewart Airport had Norwegian’s banners flying everywhere. It’s a strange concept to me, advertising flights on a banner in an airport that’s already in the middle of nowhere. But this is a gamble for Norwegian as well. Are people so willing to go out of the way and take international flights from an area of New York two hours away from Manhattan? I feel there are many Europeans here who flew in not realizing how far away Manhattan is. But there are few, if any, complaints. And as someone who has had to wait hours for a train to JFK due to an outdated and overrun subway system (which is currently under a state of emergency) I think that Stewart’s actually quite a convenient choice. It’s far, sure, but it doesn’t have the long waits of Newark, the general disarray of LaGuardia or the inconvenience of JFK’s massive terminals. Here’s hoping more flights to other parts of the world will fly from Stewart. Cheaply.
