Serendipitous

Hello! We're taking a trip to the UK this summer. We usually fly out of Newark-Liberty airport, but the flights out of JFK are cheaper, especially for Gatwick in London (which is supposed to be less of a disaster than Heathrow).

I haven't been to JFK in years. What's your opinion of the airport and its services? Do flights tend to get delayed a lot? Is it a logistical nightmare?

In spite of its bad reputation, Newark has almost always worked out well for us. Or maybe it's just that I'm used to that airport...at any rate, if JFK is really that terrible, it won't be worth the cost savings. And since we live in NJ, we would have to travel the extra distance to the airport.

Thanks in advance for any opinions and advice!

MmePerdu

"Terrible" is in the eye of the beholder. I think LHR is just fine but have a friend whose favorite airport is LGW, the one I most love to hate, so go figure. Sometimes convenience comes into play, as it does for him, so I'd figure convenience highly and worth at least as much as a lower fare. But I wouldn't figure an emotional "terrible" into it. By the way, I think there are many who hate LHR because others say they should. There are many lemmings in this world.

RoamsAround

I've flown (both international & domestic) in/out out of both EWR and JFK numerous times. Other than experiencing a few more air traffic delays on the EWR flights I find no appreciable difference in either airport. Suffice to say, they both have their good days and bad days.

On-time statistics are only a guideline. Keep in mind that "delays" can happen for any number of reasons, any time, at any airport and even if your flight/airport has an excellent "on-time" record there's no guarantee your flight will be "on-time" they day you fly. If your flight has a 95% on-time record but you happen to be on one of the 5% that are delayed then your flight is 100% delayed.

Same with LHR vs. LGW - I've been through both and they too have their good days and bad days. One is not better or worse then the other, they are just different airports.

Since you live in NJ you already know you'll have a longer trip to/from the airport.

So ask yourself:

1) What's the difference in airfare?
2) Is there an added cost for you to get to JFK vs. EWR?
3) How much additional time will you need to get to JFK vs. EWR and how much is that "time" worth to you?
4) Is the net savings from 1, 2 and 3 above enough to make you want to fly in/out of JFK.

Serendipitous

Thank you for your thoughtful and well-reasoned responses. I think we're going to just do what makes the most sense for us (imagine that!) and fly out of Newark and into Heathrow. It's literally the least amount of aggravation, which is worth whatever extra expense it might be.

sassy27

So funny you just posted again on this. There is an airfare deal to Milan out of JFK and to me it's such a good price but getting to JFK from NJ isn't easy. I did a quick google search for car service and think the savings wouldn't be worth the extra time and cost. So Italy will have to wait for another time but I was so tempted. EWR wasn't an option listed.

HappyTrvlr

Good decision serendipitous. I have had more delays out of EWR but it is due to NY airspace issues and JFK gets them too.

doug_stallings

EWR tends to have more afternoon and early evening delays in the summer due to thunderstorms, and delays there can be more disastrous than at JFK (which also has afternoon and evening delays).

But it's a LOT of hassle to get to JFK from New Jersey and adds to the expense. Your time is also worth money. If you're flying on certain airlines, JFK is a much better option, but if you fly United, EWR is always better.