Fly-in/fly-out meetings are extremely popular for companies, since they offer savings in ground transportation and room rates. Attendees, however, often feel cheated of the authentic destination experience. But that need not be the case when planners select meeting and event venues in the John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) area. Depending on the season, groups meeting in JFK venues may find themselves in the center of everything.
Located in Queens County on Long Island, JFK is New York's busiest airport, serving 41 million passengers per year. There are nine terminals and 100 airlines. Although JFK is 12 miles away from lower Manhattan, it is conveniently accessible through the AirTrain and New York City subway's A train. There are also taxis, car services, Go Airlink NYC, the New York Airport Service Express bus, the Super Shuttle, and private shuttles.
Parts of Queens are on the international stage such as the U.S. Open Championships and Citi Field, home to the New York Mets. An honored neighbor to JFK is the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. The Queens area has also become a magnet for film studios. Kaufman Studios, where several television shows are made, is located in Astoria and is another unique setting for special events. The western portion of Queens is an artistic mecca and features the Museum of African Art, the Noguchi Museum, the Socrates Sculpture Park, and the American Museum of the Moving Image. Other highlights of the area include the Queens Botanical Garden, the Queens County Farm Museum, and The Rockaways, a summer resort area since the 1830s.
In nearby Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Arthur Ashe Stadium/USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center is home to the U.S. Open and has more than 45 acres of indoor and outdoor venues for private events including six restaurants, meeting rooms, and a lounge. Also nearby, Ozone Park is home to Aqueduct Racetrack, a Thoroughbred horseracing track that hosts special events.
There are dozens of hotels serving JFK Airport, including International JFK Airport Hotel, Courtyard by Marriott New York City/JFK Airport, Hilton Garden Inn Queens/JFK Airport, and Holiday Inn Express Kennedy Airport, and many offer meeting space in the JFK area.
There is a plethora of restaurants that cater to groups in Queens County. These include Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden, Astoria; Claudine's, Queens; Don Peppe, Jamaica; Terrace on the Park, Flushing Meadows Park; and Trattoria L'Incontro, Astoria.
Photo by Wikimedia Commons user: Mike Powell
