Getting from Grand Prix to Airport on Sunday.... (Austin, Miles: buses, to move)

[neddy]

Copter charter from ABIA there and back is $550. If they have room and you have the money problem solved!
Only takes about 5 mins,no traffic they say..

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by RooCeleste

In seeing this thread, I just realized that the F1 race is the same weekend I'm supposed to be flying out of Austin to go to Santa Fe - we leave at 0600 on Friday and return at 10:35pm on Sunday. Wonder if my flights will be affected? Am hoping not, since we're going in opposite directions from the crowds on both days. As long as we can get a gate to get out, I'll be okay with anything!

I think the biggest factor will be general congestion. You'll be going the opposite direction, but the airport will likely be very busy both times... both inside and outside the terminal. There will be an enormous number of private jets coming and going. Scheduled flights are not supposed to be delayed, but anything is possible.

My advice is to be early for your departure, and be prepared for delays. Plan for the worst, expect the best.

[FrozenCucumber]

Thank you for all of the responses (even the folks who have nothing better to do than write one-liners about how smart they are to pat themselves on the back -- its very courageous to be an anonymous Internet tough guy! Your kids must look up to you!)

Best response was from COTA themselves which is that Airport is 5 minutes away from track so 45 minutes should be more than enough time...

Thank you for the notes on the 5K race.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by FrozenCucumber

Thank you for all of the responses (even the folks who have nothing better to do than write one-liners about how smart they are to pat themselves on the back -- its very courageous to be an anonymous Internet tough guy! Your kids must look up to you!)

Best response was from COTA themselves which is that Airport is 5 minutes away from track so 45 minutes should be more than enough time...

Thank you for the notes on the 5K race.

"Airport is 5 minutes away from track"! You didn't already know that?

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by FrozenCucumber

Best response was from COTA themselves which is that Airport is 5 minutes away from track so 45 minutes should be more than enough time...

Assuming you take the helicopter shuttle, that would probably be correct, notwithstanding whatever wait time you have on queue to get onto the chopper.

Google Maps, on the other hand, shows that by car, under normal traffic conditions, it's just a bit under 10 miles, 18 minutes estimated drive time, not including time to get out of the parking lot, nor to return a rental car and then take the shuttle to get over to the terminal. Add race-day congestion, and that seems completely unrealistic to me.

Obviously this is all a matter of personal opinions, right now, because it's never been done before. If every single one of the many "failure points" in your plan were to go your way, you might pull it off. But if even one of them fails, you could be left rolling in the deep.

At the very least, if it were me, I'd have a bullet-proof backup plan worked out.

In any case, whatever you decide, I wish you good luck. Please do check back in afterwards to let us know how it went.

[EzPeterson]

Originally Posted by FrozenCucumber

Thank you for all of the responses (even the folks who have nothing better to do than write one-liners about how smart they are to pat themselves on the back -- its very courageous to be an anonymous Internet tough guy! Your kids must look up to you!)

Best response was from COTA themselves which is that Airport is 5 minutes away from track so 45 minutes should be more than enough time...

Thank you for the notes on the 5K race.

5 minutes how?

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by EzPeterson

5 minutes how?

That's IF the chopper is already in the air and has a clear flight path.

[RooCeleste]

Originally Posted by OpenD

I think the biggest factor will be general congestion. You'll be going the opposite direction, but the airport will likely be very busy both times... both inside and outside the terminal. There will be an enormous number of private jets coming and going. Scheduled flights are not supposed to be delayed, but anything is possible.

My advice is to be early for your departure, and be prepared for delays. Plan for the worst, expect the best.

True true - I've already told my mother, who is traveling with me, that we'll be at the airport around 4am and we're doing carry-on only! LOL My husband is a pilot, based and flying out of the TxDOT hangar on Golf Course Road, and he's dreading the hoops they will have to jump through if they're going to fly that weekend. He's really trying to plan for no flights at all that weekend!! Craziness!!

[sinking]

Originally Posted by FrozenCucumber

(even the folks who have nothing better to do than write one-liners about how smart they are to pat themselves on the back -- its very courageous to be an anonymous Internet tough guy! Your kids must look up to you!)

You've got some thin skin if anything from this thread bothered you.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by FrozenCucumber

Thank you for all of the responses (even the folks who have nothing better to do than write one-liners about how smart they are to pat themselves on the back -- its very courageous to be an anonymous Internet tough guy! Your kids must look up to you!)

Best response was from COTA themselves which is that Airport is 5 minutes away from track so 45 minutes should be more than enough time...

Thank you for the notes on the 5K race.

Well, I would actually vote that as the absolute worst response you received. But if you're feeling good about it, then go for it.

If it was me, I'd just reschedule to a later flight, or, if there are no later flights available out of Austin, I'd switch my departure to a later time in Houston or San Antonio, drive and return the rental car there and avoid the Austin airport fiasco altogether.

Good luck.

Steve