United States: Air Travel

AIR TRAVEL Terminal at JFK International in New York Air travel in the U.S. will likely change drastically since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Expect delays. Still the most effective way to travel across the large continent, by air it takes only five hours to cross the American continent east to west, and two hours north to south. All cities in the U.S. are interconnected by air. Only the most remote regions are not served by a domestic U.S. airline. Strong competition among the airlines has led to wide variances in fares on identical itineraries. Customary categories of fares are first-class, coach (economy), excursion, and discount/stand-by. Overnight flights (red eyes) are usually cheaper. Traveling by air in the U.S. is relatively inexpensive when compared with most other parts of the world. Only on the eastern seaboard, between Washington, D.C., in the south and Boston in the north, is it feasible to travel by train (or bus) for business transit. Most of the rest of the country's major cities are too far from each other to consider anything other than air travel. Most airlines have toll-free numbers for reservations and inquiries. However, keep in mind that with heightened security in effect, it will take much longer to clear security and check-in.