I think it was definitely both. But looks like he’s found one weird trick to get through security super fast. Being a 6’6" white guy probably doesn’t hurt.
Terminal B at LaGuardia is actually nice now. Thanks, Biden!
The new terminals are wonderful. The new terminals are REALLY wonderful if you love extraordinarily long walks to your gate. I do miss how close the gates were to curbside in the old LGA.
just booked a trip to tokyo in october. local sushi chef recommended spending time between tokyo, kyoto, and stopping in hot springs between. other than that accepting recommendations.
How long will you be there total?
While the terminals are nice, the food and beverage situation is an abomination.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/22/california-bill-to-ban-clear-00153447
SACRAMENTO, California — In this deep blue state where Republicans rarely back Democratic colleagues in the Capitol, one issue is overcoming the partisan divide: line skipping at airports.
A pair of Orange County state senators from opposing parties — who frequently fly between their districts and Sacramento — are both boosting a first-in-the-nation proposal critics say would ban the expedited security screening company CLEAR from state airports.
“The least you can expect when you have to go through the security line at the airport is that you don’t suffer the indignity of somebody pushing you out of the way to let the rich person pass you,” Josh Newman, the Democratic lawmaker who authored the bill, told POLITICO.
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Onsen around Lake Kawaguchi is amazing. Go for one of the traditional ones that serve traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast.
You can spend pretty much unlimited time in both Kyoto and Tokyo–there are countless day trips available from each. You really don’t need much more itinerary than what the sushi chef recommended imo, it’s just a matter of picking your day trip. Even the Onsen can just be an overnight jaunt from Tokyo–the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto is so fast there’s no need to avoid backtracking like you would in most countries.
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Clear is 100% a scam and should absolutely be banned.
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But they’re not asking to do it for business/first-class lines?
11 or 12 days. it will be first time in japan for both me and my partner.
yes the whole biometrics angle is total baloney and just the dressing they put on it to make it less obviously a paid line-jump. But as people have noticed, they haven’t been able to scale it effectively so it’s less and less of a line jump
even when it’s at its max effectiveness, though, I woudln’t pay for it because all you’re doing is trading time standing in line before security staring at your phone for time after security staring at your phone. It’s not helpful enough to be able to reliably change your airport arrival time, which is the only way it would actually be “worth it”
Delta’s digital ID is hands down better than clear and is, imo, the future of airport security screening.
It was worth it when nobody had it. Now you literally wait longer. It’s worse than useless.
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Most efficient method would be to just auction off places in line imo.
aka the reverse tragedy of the commons.
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Frankly I think if you have top tier status you should just be able to bring guns on board.
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Gee, I can’t imagine how a half dozen Clear employees standing around processing maybe 20 passengers an hour doesn’t scale.
At least in my anecdotal experience it’s almost never any faster than TTA if you’re flying domestic.
And I’d feel like a choad as the passenger when a Clear employee walks up and deposits me at the front of the line.
That’s a reasonable length of time, but there is always the danger of trying to spread oneself to thin trying to see and do too much in too little time.
If you do go to Kyoto, which is amazing and I do love, keep in mind that the place is absolutely overflowing with tourists these days.
Other historical places you might consider instead of or in addition to Kyoto are Kamakura, about an hour and change south of Tokyo, and Nikko, a couple hours north. Both day trips well worth it.
Nikko in particular is also a famous hot springs area, so you could kill two birds with one stone there.
Hakone is another beautiful & historic area not far from Tokyo famous for its onsen. A one-night stay should be ideal.
And finally, let me suggest a day or evening in Yokohama, particularly the Minato Mirai area, my former haunt and favorite city in Japan. About a 30-40 min. train ride from Tokyo. Especially beautiful at night and plenty to see and do there.
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