Newark Connection question
 

Hi all,

I have an upcoming trip to India. I fly from PHL to Newark and then From Newark to Delhi. It's on a Wednesday night and I only have a 1.5 hr connection at Newark. I talked to some friends and they told me that it's going to be too close and I should avoid it. I am also a member with National and have 1 free rental day. My plan was to use the rental and drive straight to Newark from Philly and go direct from there.

I don't have too much experience flying so I have a question. Is it possible for me to check in directly from Newark and for-go checking in at Philly? If so, do I have to notify Continental that I am going to do this?

Thanks

You'll probably be just fine w/ a 90 minute connection. But things/delays do happen sometimes.

Assuming this is one booking, if you don't fly from Philly, you won't be able to get on the plane at Newark. They will cancel all the rest of your itinerary. Is your ticket non-refundable/non-changeable?

Yes it is a non-refundable ticket.

The key is to check status of your PHL-EWR flight frequently starting early that day. And/or pay for a same day change to an earlier flight out of PHL. You can do that as early as 12 hours prior to new flight you want to get on.

Perhaps you can fly standby on an earlier PHL to Newark flight. I don't know continental's policies, so check on their website for same day stand-by.

I'd not really be concerned with a 90min layover myself.

90 minutes is a very reasonable connection at EWR, relax. If there is weather the day you are flying that threatens to delay you arrival into EWR do NO

Oops hit send by mistake
Do NOT skip the first leg (PHL to EWR) or your whole itinerary will be cancelled. Instead call and try to get on an earlier flight or make other arrangements with an agent

I don't see any problem. Are you with Continental the whole way? If so, 90 minutes is enough time as long as your flight from PHL to EWR isn't hugely late. You'll do all your check in at PHL and will see your bags again in Delhi.

But you HAVE to fly from PHL. You have no choice now since the ticket is booked.

If your flight is not for a few months, monitor your reservation on the CO website. Sometimes they make changes. If they make a minor (or major) change, call them and tell them you are concerned about the short connection time. Sometimes in that situation they will put you on a flight with a better connection time without charging you the change fee.

Newark is a big airport, but is pretty easy to get around, even hauling your own luggage. I think the 90 minutes is sufficient. So does Continental. If your first flight is late, ask for a cart to the departure gate.

Go to 30th St Station in Philadelphia and ride the NE corridor train to EWR station which is right at the Newark airport.
The train is much more likely to get you there if there is a snowstorm.

Taking the train is a bad idea. Very bad. You can't skip the first leg of an itinerary - the rest of your flights will get cancelled and you'll be SOL.

If you are flying out of Philly AND your destination from PHL on that same reservation is Delhi with just a plane change in EWR, then stick with your ticket. If you miss your connection due to a delayed PHL - EWR leg, your airline will make other arrangements to get you to Delhi, albeit most likely later than your original plan. That is exactly what happened to us on a BWI-Milan flight with a change at JFK and a 3+ hour connection time.

HOWEVER, If your flights from PHL-EWR and EWR to Delhi are booked seperately and not on the same itinerary, most particularly if they are not the same airline (which does not seem to be the case from what you wrote) then consider an alternate way to get to EWR if you can cancel theR/T PHL-EWR leg without major penalty.

Please don't (DON'T!) take the train as suggested. You will lose all the rest of your itinerary -- including your return flight.

The OP has reasons to be worried. EWR has one of the worst on-time records in the country, along with LGA, JFK & PHL. In late spring and summer, when storms are common, significant delays often results. When such situation occurs, the National flight control will issue Ground Stops, stopping all incoming flights from leaving the departure airport. This affects short flights the most, as they won't be stopping longhauls already in flight.

Another issue is that PHL-EWE are mostly on Q200/300 props. Continental will cancel these before they will mainline holding more passengers.

Together, this makes delays and cancellation of flights like PHL-EWR much more likely than other flights. Which is why I suggest the OP to monitor the situation closely, and switch to an earlier flight if necessary.

As for the train, NEXT TIME, book from ZFV instead of PHL. That put you on a CO/UA ticket that departs from the 30th St Station on AMTRAK to EWR. It should be priced similarly as from PHL, and could be cheaper than from EWR with or without the train fare added.