Landing at Boston Logan International Airport

What BOS is like

Logan sits on a headland pushed out into the harbour, so from parts of the terminals you can see the city skyline across the water. Several buildings line a loop road, and walking between some pairs of them means taking a shuttle instead. This is a university city, so the start of term and graduation weeks fill the halls with students and their families. The distance into town is much shorter than at most large American airports, which changes what you need on arrival.

On arrival

Switch the line on at landing. The international building is busiest in the morning, when the transatlantic arrivals land together, and immigration comes before the baggage belts as usual. After customs, decide before you go out of the doors whether you are taking a shuttle to the subway station, the express bus that runs into the city's main rail station, or an app-booked car. All three board in different places at each building, and the signs are clear once you know what you are looking for. In winter the cold makes standing outside for long a thing worth avoiding, so settle it inside.

How far the airport Wi-Fi gets you

The Wi-Fi here is free and works well inside the terminals, but follows the American shape: a sign-in page with an advertisement and a limit per session. What catches people out is moving between buildings on the shuttle, because the connection drops and the next building asks you to sign in again, and the shuttle itself carries no Wi-Fi. In the harbour tunnel on the way into town, both Wi-Fi and mobile signal break for a short while, which is the reason to settle the address with your driver before the car goes in.

Getting into town

The way into town is through the harbour tunnel by road, or on public transport reached from the airport shuttle: an express bus runs to the big station south of downtown, and one subway line is reachable by shuttle from the terminals. The short distance makes both time and fare better than at a typical American airport, though at rush hour the tunnel backs up badly. Data on this leg goes mostly on the map and a transit app telling you when the next service leaves. In winter it is worth having a connection of your own to check service notices, which do appear when heavy snow arrives and plans have to change quickly.

What people ask about this airport

• Give the address before the tunnel — Signal breaks briefly under the harbour, so confirm the destination with the driver before you go down.
• Each building signs you in again — The inter-terminal shuttle has no Wi-Fi, and the next building asks you to register all over again.
• Snow rewrites the plan — In winter, service notices and cancellations appear quickly, so keep your own connection for watching them.