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Big news dropped last week that didn’t get nearly the attention it deserved. (Probably because it was announced during Thanksgiving week.)
The head of the government agency that oversees New York’s three major airports is stepping down.
Rick Cotton, the executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, announced his retirement after nearly nine years in the role. And while a successor hasn’t been named yet, one thing is clear: whoever takes over will inherit an enormous responsibility.
New York’s airports have undergone a massive transformation in recent years. Think new terminals, modernized infrastructure, and better passenger experience. And while New Yorkers always have strong opinions (including yours truly), I’ve been impressed by Rick’s focus on improving the airport experience.
I’ve met him plenty of times over the years, and his leadership has been a key driver of Newark’s new Terminal A, LaGuardia’s complete rebirth, and forthcoming major updates at JFK.
His departure marks a turning point, and as the Port Authority enters this transition, here are five improvements I hope land at the top of the next executive director’s agenda.
Streamlined AirTrain experience
Some argue that the AirTrain at JFK should be free, or at least cheaper, like it was temporarily this summer during the height of airport construction.
But in my mind, the bigger issue isn’t just the price. It’s the confusion.
Landing at JFK and trying to navigate the AirTrain and then the subway or Long Island Rail Road, is a multi-step, multi-payment mess. I imagine it’s an overwhelming process for first-time visitors.
You pay for the AirTrain, then transfer at Jamaica or Howard Beach, then buy a second ticket for the subway or LIRR — all while following (confusing) signs and handling your luggage.
I’d love to see the Port Authority, the MTA, and other involved agencies work together to create a unified, first-party ticket and app experience. Something where you can input, “I’m going from JFK to Midtown Manhattan at 4:30 p.m.,” and it outputs a single journey plan and one prepaid ticket.
It’s an easy win that would meaningfully improve public transit adoption to and from JFK.
Fix the rideshare chaos at Newark
The JFK construction might be causing short-term pain for car traffic, but Newark has an avoidable bottleneck right now: Terminal C rideshare pickups.
During peak arrivals, the curb gets jammed while the two upper departures levels sit far quieter.
A simple fix: redirect rideshare pickups to one of the departure curbs during peak times.
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Enforce and publish street pricing
Did you know that restaurants and retailers at Port Authority airports are capped on how much they can charge?
Indeed. The Port Authority mandates that concessionaires can’t charge more than 115% of street prices when setting prices for items in the airport.
Personally, I may not have believed it when I paid $7.19 for a slice of (mediocre) pizza at JFK’s Terminal 5 last month, leaving me to wonder how closely this policy is followed.
Under the new leadership, I’d love to see three significant improvements in this area from the Port Authority:
- Audit concessionaires more aggressively
- Enforce pricing rules consistently
- Publish a simple “reference menu” online for the standard price for a slice of pizza, a beer, water, candy, etc.
If travelers spot clear overcharging, they could then flag it for review. Transparency would keep everyone honest.
Live security and AirTran wait times
To me, the best airports are those that share a lot of data.
In that vein, the Port Authority should mandate that every terminal it oversees publish live security wait times broken down by terminal and type of security experience (standard vs. Precheck vs. Clear).
The agency should also post live departure and arrival times for the AirTrain at Newark and JFK.
Whenever I’m traveling, I always search for this information in advance. Posting it publicly would remove guesswork and reduce stress.
Renumber gates at LaGuardia
LaGuardia’s transformation has been nothing short of remarkable. The airport has gone from worst to first.
But one thing still confuses me: the gate numbering system.
With three terminals and only two-digit gate numbers, it’s impossible to know what terminal you’re flying from just by looking at the gate.
The fix is simple: prefix gate numbers with their terminal letter, so like Gate B15 or C95.
JFK is adopting this system, and it should become the standard across all Port Authority airports.
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Dare we dream for a seamless subway connection to LGA? 🙂
We (always) do, but it’ll never happen. Wanted to focus on the realistic ones first!
I’d love to see EWR’s airtrain over hauled as well. A seamless connection into Newark, and then Manhattan would be so welcomed.
Why not also renumber the Terminals at JFK to eliminate the ones that no longer exist? And how about multi-lingual signage?