Syracuse Hancock International Airport
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Syracuse Hancock International Airport is a public airport located 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Syracuse, New York.
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[edit] Traveling to and from SYR
[edit] Class of Buses
Certainly, the class council buses offer the most affordable and convenient option. For most breaks, the "Class of..." councils manage to book several dates and times with Swarthout Coaches, Inc. A one-way ticket to SYR usually does not exceed $20 (plus a small processing fee). Be sure to check Cornell Tickets for bus times early and frequently, as each coach sells out quickly. Because the class councils rely heavily on student input when picking dates and times, students are strongly encouraged to reply to the e-mail surveys with preferred departure times in a timely fashion.
[edit] Greyhound or ShortLine
The Greyhound Bus Station at the West end of the Commons offers significantly cheaper rides to SYR, but often at inconveniently early times. Rates usually remain under $40 to SYR, and are certainly under $20 from Syracuse back to Ithaca. There are a couple other downsides accompanying this low fare. If you are landing in SYR, you must take a taxi to the Syracuse Greyhound Station, about 4 miles away, as the bus returning to Ithaca does not pick up at SYR, but only at the bus station. Also, in order to purchase tickets, you must physically go to the Ithaca Greyhound Station at 710 W State St. However, there are a few TCAT Buses that stop near the Greyhound station.
[edit] Taxi services
There are numerous taxi services available that are easily affordable if you split the fare with several people. If you are traveling with a group of friends, your quickest and cheapest option is to take a taxi to and from the airport.
However, even if you are traveling alone, it is to your advantage to:
- find other students by word-of-mouth or through Facebook's ride-share programs (See Finding_a_ride#Other_Options)
- wait for students coming off arriving flights (SYR to Ithaca). There are often other students who have yet to secure a ride back to Ithaca. If you are open to the idea of sharing a taxi with three or four strangers, this is your best option.
Note: It is extremely difficult to recruit enough riders if you shuffle quietly around your luggage, staring longingly at the arrivals screen. In contrast to passive wandering, some rely on the tactic of waiting right next to the IAL bus to attract unsuspecting students who have not yet paid the indifferent driver. Remember, the more people you can find to join your carpool group, the easier it will be to attract the last one or two students to fill the taxi.
The Airport itself offers Century Transportation which has both a regular four-person taxi and a van large enough for four people with ample luggage or five to six people with only a backpack or carry-on sized piece of luggage.
A+ Taxi service offers decent prices for groups of four students (last quoted at $120 + tip). (APlus taxi is no longer in business)
If you're going to need a taxi for just yourself, consider making a prior reservation with IthaCar Service. They use a Toyota Prius, so 2 people with luggage is about all that will fit. http://ithacar.com
[edit] Ithaca Airline Limousine
- Main Article: Ithaca Airline Limousine
Often students settle for the incredibly high prices charged by the Ithaca Airline Limousine service. One should immediately recognize the irony that the company charges a fee ($70 one-way; $105 round trip) comparable to that of a decently sized stretch limousine with a six-person capacity ($70-80 per hour). The buses are often too noisy to sleep in, either poorly insulated or overheated, and most always behind schedule. Certain buses have broken down or had to pull over, in serious danger of breaking down. After waiting twenty minutes to half an hour for a replacement bus to arrive, passengers lug the suitcases from one bus to the other, while the drivers try to figure out what went wrong. IAL's drivers tend to take an impersonal approach to their job, taking your money first and then smiling in afterthought as you board their bus.
[edit] Car rentals
Syracuse offers several car rental companies, including Enterprise and Hertz.
[edit] Dining and entertainment
[edit] Dining
Syracuse Airport offers a few restaurants, including Sbarro's and Au Bon Pain. Adjacent to the Sbarro's is a sports bar that is usually completely deserted. The magazine shop on the first floor offers overpriced snacks, drinks, and, of course, periodicals. There are also vending machines located in certain terminals.
[edit] Entertainment
The music played in the airport seems to be highly randomized. (One theory is that each worker submits a mix-CD of his or her choice, which, once deemed appropriate, gets cycled and shuffled simultaneously with the other workers' CDs. This might explain the juxtaposition of Muse with Barbra Streisand.) In the middle of the airport is a play-area where children (and adults) can learn about the inner workings of aircraft. Upstairs in one of the terminals is a children's play-area, toy house included. There is also an arcade offering pinball and hunting which tend to be out of order from overuse. There are several widescreen TVs inside and near the shop advertising what you could do in Syracuse, outside of the airport. There's also a barbershop and a shoe-shine stand.
In the case that your flight gets delayed or canceled, there are banks of couches comfortable enough for a nap, but not for actual sleeping. Located throughout the airport, there are barely enough outlets for ten people, and at any given time they are in use. If this is the case, and you cannot fall asleep, chat with bored-looking workers at the airline counters (after you've sorted out your flight issues) or the taxi booth workers, who are usually very friendly.
[edit] Amenities
Syracuse Airport features free WiFi (SSID: hancock_intl_airport) connectivity powered by Time Warner Cable. This service is provided by the Department of Aviation and is accessible from anywhere in the terminal and baggage claim.
Located across from the car-rental company desks are a barbershop and a shoeshine stand. (Feel free to comment on quality, as the author has utilized neither facility but has witnessed customers at both establishments every visit to SYR.)
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