trying to get flights to japan for April/May 2025, not having much luck with prices for premium economy from EWR (Newark) to NRT or HND and i have some questions about using JFK since the flights for the prem econ are about $500 less per person.
we usually drive from PA up to EWR and park off airport and the parking place drives us to and from the airport - approx $17/day - no issues or hassles with several international trips using a place called 'corporate airport parking' which i highly recommend.

any recommendations for the same type of parking using JFK - i assume its an extra 45 minutes to drive into JFK vs EWR plus another $30 in tolls for the tunnel but wanted to see if anyone has used both airports and has any feedback...thx

There's an "on-airport" Long Term Parking lot at JFK which offers shuttle service. You can find rates and pre-book a reservation using their website: https://www.jfkairport.com/to-from-airport/parking

There are also dozens of off airport Long Term Parking Lots that are within a 5 to 15 minute drive. All offer shuttle service. Rates are less expensive than at the on-airport lot and depend on how far the individual lot is from the airport. A simple internet search for "Long Term parking at JFK" will bring up lots of links.

Depending on time and day of week I allow between 45 and 90 minutes additional travel time from PA to JFK vs. PA to EWR. If traveling during normal rush hours traffic getting into NYC from NJ in mornings or getting out of NYC going to JFK in the evenings can be horrendous. Use Google Maps to plan the best route based on time of day and your starting point in PA. You'll pay tolls getting from NJ to NY and another when leaving NYC to get to Long Island (where JFK is located).

RA got it spot on. I would do whatever I could to avoid going through NYC to get to JFK, and fly out of EWR if at all possible.

yes i agree 100% and that was my plan but my google flights searches are showing approx $500 to $750 pp cheaper to fly JFK to HND vs EWR to HND in premium economy nonstop....but I'll keep looking.

I understand your dilemma. I live in NJ and consider EWR my home airport even though it's same distance to PHL. JFK always is cheaper but getting there has always stopped me. I flew out of there once as friends husbands took us but said they would never again drive us. Getting there was no issue but they sat in hours and hours of traffic trying to get home.

I have another friend who drives there from PA but after her trip in May her husband said no more. I have another friend whose Mom sometimes flies from JFK and uses the train to get there. She said it's easy as she has mobility issues. So you could do that maybe but I really don't think the cost saving is worth the time spent going to home to airport and back.

this is a tough one because JFK to HND nonstop prem econ on AA/JAL is $1900 pp - EWR to HND UA/ANA nonstop prem econ is $2650....so that is $1500 savings for 2 travelers....i also am wary of a JFK traffic after 14 hours in the air and messing around with customs and dealing with airport shuttles....so have to figure out if there is a better option.

Have you looked at Delta thru Detroit? DL prem econ is a nice product. I was able to upgrade on acrecent trip across the Pacific.

I totally get it as I really have thought about using JFK.

Another thought, when talking about using JFK, I'd have to stay over night close by as much as my friend's mom said how easy the train is. Hotel isn't cheap so a few other factors would come into play. Perhaps a hotel stay with parking included while away might not eat up the savings cost.

You could consider an open jaw, JFK->TYO, TYO->EWR if you would prefer returning to EWR.
You could spend a night at/near JFK.
You could use some of the $1500 savings to get an Uber or taxi between your EWR off-airport parking and JFK. Or a shuttle between airports.
Use PHL

I prefer Newark airport when flying to Philadelphia. (I live in Italy.) I have used JFK in the past, but I wouldn't consider driving there. Traffic can be truly awful, as I learned once when I took a taxi from JFK to Brooklyn. A horrible trip, with copious exhaust fumes, after an overnight flight.

In your situation, if you want to fly from JFK, I would drive to Newark airport, where you can get a train to Penn station, and get the Long Island Railroad train to JFK. You have to change to the Air Train in Jamaica, Queens. (We have sometimes taken the E subway from Penn station instead of the LIRR. You then change to the Air Train at Howard Beach.) In any case, there would be two changes of train, and the savings might not be worth it, especially with a lot of luggage.