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There is an airport located in my city. There is also an airport located in a city about an hour and a half away. My parents live in another state so at one point, I wanted to visit them and there were very cheap airplane tickets available for a moment so I snatched them up. Of course, it was flying in and out of the city that was an hour and a half away. Well, I didn’t realize that upon returning, my flight wasn’t going to fly out until almost midnight. My husband goes to work at 4am. After dropping me off, it would be almost 1am before getting home at the earliest. There’s no way I could ask him to drive more than three hours round trip to drop me off, get home in the middle of the night and then go to work all day the next day. So, what other options did I have? Has this ever happened to you? What does one do when one’s reliable mode of transportation is not available? Here are a few ideas of things to do when your expected transportation services are, well, not at your service.
- Get Dropped Off Earlier
This may seem obvious. If you were in this situation you might have your spouse drop you off a couple hours earlier than necessary and peruse the airport until it was time to check in. However, if you happened to have a toddler with you, you’ll know that perusing the airport does not sound like an ideal situation. It sounds much more like a meltdown waiting to happen. However, it is an option. If you get dropped off around 8pm, the person dropping you off will be home before 10pm which is still a lot to ask but a little more reasonable when getting up at 3:30am. Then you will have about two or three hours to kill before you need to check in. It’s doable. Everyone will live and be okay after but it’s not the most ideal idea until you have no children travelling with you. If you don’t, it’s a great idea. You could get something to eat, watch a couple of movies, wander the shops, buy some duty free items; there’s plenty of ways to entertain yourself. - Employ a Friend
If you have a single friend or a friend that doesn’t work until later in the day, you could bribe them with gas money and dinner or even give them a little extra as appreciation. A couple of friends would even be better so that they have someone to drive with on the way back that can help them stay awake. Especially if you have any single guy friends, they’d gladly be your shuttle service for a few extra bucks and a meal, no doubt. - Park at the Airport
You always have the option to take your own car to the airport and take advantage of the airport parking. It can add up after awhile but there is a flat daily fee that you can budget for if that’s necessary. Granted of course that you and your transportation service do not share a vehicle as many spouses tend to do. - Take a Shuttle to the Airport.
Taking a shuttle to the airport is usually inexpensive and convenient. Prices can vary depending on which shuttle you take and from where. In order to take a shuttle to the airport you’ll still need to be dropped off at the shuttle pick up location but you could always get the bus or a taxi there if necessary. It’s a lot easier to ask someone to take you to the shuttle services area so you can take the shuttle to the airport rather than trying to convince them to make a road trip.
So, there are several different ways that you could get to the airport if and when the need arises. While it’s a little more difficult to arrange, something will be available and saving money will still be able to happen. While you don’t want to spend the money on a taxi or that kind of public transport, you could even take several public buses, although getting your luggage off and on might be a hassle. Learn more. See this link for more references.