Suburban airports offer winter getaways, ease and convenience

This year, suburban airports might be the cure for winter blues.

The smaller airports operating out of Westchester and Newburgh are pitching flyers on convenience, routes to warmer cities and abroad, and competitive rates to keep them from venturing out to John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport.

Those three airports are usually crowded, can be tough to access and even tougher to navigate. Throw in the significant cost of parking long-term or taking a cab, and travelers might start to look for alternatives.

Cue the airports just north of New York City.

FLIGHTS ABROAD: Norwegian Air to being flying to Ireland, Scotland from Stewart

TO MIAMI: American announces routes to Miami from Westchester

VINTAGE PLANES: World War II planes on display at county airport

PHOTOS: New York Air Show at Stewart

You can get to warmer climes or European vacation spots often without having to endure the traffic and lines. Both Westchester County Airport and Stewart International Airport offer flights to popular vacation spots, both permanently and seasonally.

"What I hear from most people is, it's like your neighborhood airport," said Peter Scherrer, Westchester County Airport's operations manager. "It's convenience and it's less hassle. That's what they're coming here for."

Travelers choosing to fly out of Westchester County Airport, which sits partially in three municipalities and on the Connecticut-New York state line, have several options in the Sunshine State. JetBlue offers flights to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach.

Earlier this month, Elite Airways started flying to Sarasota, and between Dec. 21 and Jan. 4 will offer flights to Vero Beach.

Last year, American Airlines announced they would start flying to Miami from Westchester and travelers can get to hub airports in Chicago on American, as well as Delta and United. Delta also flies to Atlanta, another hub.

"Traveling can be very rough for you at times in the sense that to go someplace, even on vacation, can take a lot of time," said Scherrer, noting Westchester's shorter security lines and the fact it's close enough that friends and family are willing to give travelers a ride. "It's not like it was 20 years ago.

"I think that convenience is a huge factor in why they choose Westchester," he added. "A lot of people tell me they're willing to pay $100 or more a ticket to fly out of here, than fly out of (the New York City airports)."

According to the Buerau of Transportation Statistics, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale are among the airport's most popular destinations, with more than 117,000 making the trip to Orlando and 115,000 making the trip to West Palm Beach between September 2016 and August 2017.

Approximately 1.5 million people fly out of Westchester Airport annually.

Newburgh the other option

Another option for fliers looking to avoid the city lies further north, in Newburgh.

Earlier this year, Stewart International Airport finally started living up to its name this summer, when Norwegian Air began offering flights to Ireland, Scotland and Norway.

Louis Heimbach, who chairs the Stewart Airport Commission, said the number of fliers making their way through the former military base is expected to grow 45 percent this year, thanks to those flights.

In 2015, passenger totals for the airport were just under 300,000.

"The big attraction that Norwegian has is the cost," said Heimbach, who also talked up the convenience of being able to make your way through customs in 30 minutes or less. "These are really bargains."

Of the flights to Ireland, travelers can choose to head to Dublin, a fast-growing airport with connections all over Europe.

Domestically, Allegiant Air added flights to Myrtle Beach last year and Orlando and Punta Gorda this year to join their existing route to St. Petersburg/Clearwater.

JetBlue also flies to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Delta flies to Detroit, which offers several connections.

"We're hoping that the success of Norwegian will spur some of the domestic carriers to add destinations," Heimbach said. “We’re doing some good things at Stewart."

Twitter: @coynereports