New York City - Best way for me to get to JFK tomorrow?

Ok, I have a flight at JFK tomorrow at 7:45pm.
I will have a rental car and I need to pick someone up from the subway around 5:30.

So I am thinking:
Meet them at 5:30. Get to JFK by 6:30. Return the rental car and take the air train to the terminal. Get to the terminal by 6:45 and get through security by 7:15, which gets me to the gate when they are ready to board.

Cutting it too close?

Here are my options
1. Meet in Flushing (7 train) at 5:30 and then take the Van Wyck.
or
2. Meet at the F train (179st), then take the Cross Island.

Cons for each:
Option 1 - I heard the Van Wyck at that time is horrible, barely moving.
Option 2 - Flushing is already half way to JFK. If I meet at 179st, then I have to drive away from JFK to get back to the Cross Island.

So which option is best?

Thank you!

Is there a reason you have to meet at the 7 or F?

If they're coming from Manhattan, why not just have them take the A out to North Conduit, which is just a few minutes away from where you'll return your rental car?

If they're coming from Queens, why not just have them take the E to the AirTrain and meet you at the airport?

Bad idea all around. The Van Wyck will be horrible. The Cross Island to the Belt? Even more horrible.

Have your friend get to the airport on his/her own and meet at the gate. Tell me where this person is starting and I (or one of us here) will get him/her to the E to the Airtrain or to Penn Station for the LIRR to the Airtrain.

I would get to JFK 2 hours early (you'll need time to return the car and hop on the Airtrain). You will sit in traffic tomorrow—it's bad enough that it's a Friday night. It's a pity you can't return the rental earlier and take public transportation to JFK. But I don't know if you'll be coming from Manhattan, one of the boroughs or one of the burbs.

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the prompt replies!

I was just thinking of the cheapest way, and if we car pool it saves them some money. (since they have an unlimited Metrocard)
Plus, I am familiar with both the F and 7 (I live in Douglaston) so I can estimate the travel time for their subway.

Do I have to use a rental car? Nope, but coming from home, thats the easiest. I can pick up a rental and use my free day for it. (instead of paying $40 for a taxi).
Theres no real subway near me, I would have to take a bus to get to either the F or 7

E to the Airtrain? hmmm didnt know about that.
They will be coming from Grand Central, and the 7 is right there.
Or they could walk to the F train at 47-50.

Ok....so:
1. My options is either rental car (using points) or pay $40 for a taxi. Since Im not near a subway. So I think I will get the rental. I dont use my rental points much anyway.

2. My friend's option. Sounds like E to the airtrain is best. Since the E and F travel along the same line mostly. So E to Suptin station.
How long would the trip from 47-50 rockefeller to the terminal be?
50 minutes E train ride...plus airtrain?

Thanks!

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Um, how about the #7 to Woodside or Main Street, Flushing, and the LIRR from either place to Douglaston? (The connection via Woodside is easier, but more expensive.)

2. My friend's option. Sounds like E to the airtrain is best. Since the E and F travel along the same line mostly. So E to Suptin station.
How long would the trip from 47-50 rockefeller to the terminal be?
50 minutes E train ride...plus airtrain?

If the friend is near Grand Central, there's no reason to go all the way over to Rockefeller Center. He can pick up the E at 53rd and Lex. From there to JFK via the E train and the AirTrain should be about an hour (allow for slightly more to be safe) total.

This might be a bit too much on the last-minute options to JFK - a few thoughts added, but concurred with others -

Forgetaboutit - both the GCP and VWE going southbound toward JFK are jammed pack in the afternoon, Fridays tend to be worse, starting often before the Jewel Ave. exit/entrance ramps below the LIE (expect 30-45 minutes of bumper to bumper, stop-n-go traffic to get thru here without any blocked lanes or accidents ...) Going south on Main Street, away from Flushing is slow with traffic lights - everyone else has the same idea including locals/car service & taxi drivers: about 30 minutes to get down to Hillside Ave. ramp.

Waiting for friends coming out of #7 subway on Main Street, Flushing - not going to happen. Traffic agents will ticket you or chase you away from fire hydrants (if there are any available ones) - or friends will have to drag their luggage or carry their backpacks at least 2 or 3 blocks to meet up, if you are lucky enough to find an on-street meter parking spot (snow in the forecast overnight/tomorrow - expect the usual shopping rush later) and not get lost. City buses are everywhere near the Main St/7 train station and you do not wanna compete with them to find a park-n-wait spot, legal or otherwise.

179th Street & Hillside Avenue is a bit better, but not by much - from there, you do NOT want to go east for the CIP and around the Belt to go west for JFK. If you know this area, drop south toward Atlantic Avenue or Liberty Avenue toward VWE, and then turn left onto the Service Road (option to get back on highway or stay local - traffic tend to ease up & move along better around here - you've passed the Queens Blvd/Hillside long-term construction slowdown on the VWE) Typically, 30+ minutes will get you to JFK long-term lots/car rental from Hillside.

Using freebies for a rental car, in this case, is really not practical for many reasons - refill the gas, dropoff, AirTrain to the terminal stop & down to departure across the street, etc. Unleaded gasoline is around $4 a gallon this morning at the BP Station here in Flushing.

Depending on where you are in Douglaston (LIE/Macy's area ?) - call your local neighborhood car service if you don't feel like taking/transfering buses to get to Jamaica/LIRR station, pickup at your home & dropoff at LIRR for the AirTrain (total - should be less than $25) and, here - you can even meet your friend(s) coming from Manhattan, and then take the AT together to your JFK terminal stop quickly & easily (and enjoy the short, quick ride abroad) - while saving $15 for not riding a car service in rush hour traffic directly to JFK.

Depending on which terminal & airline at JFK, definitely allow 60 to 90 minutes to clear security unless you have "status" - lines to get pass the checkpoints with radiology (just kidding ... :D) could be long with oversea departures in the evening - your original schedule is just cutting way too close without no time allowance for unexpected contingency. If it's me, I would plan to be at the airline counter or checkpoint leading to the gate no later than 6:30 p.m. (unless it's international) - YMMV.

Hi everyone.

Thanks for all the replies.

My friend is going to indeed take the E to the Air train.


Letitride3c:
>179th Street & Hillside Avenue is a bit better, but not by much - from there, you do NOT want to go east for the CIP and around the Belt to go west for JFK
>

Yeah, thats why I was leaning toward Flushing, since its halfway to JFK already.
With the Cross Island, I would have to backtrack to get to it, although the 2 times I took the Van Wyck, it was stop and go and bad.


>Depending on where you are in Douglaston (LIE/Macy's area ?) - call your local neighborhood car service
>

Yep, near Macys.

>Depending on which terminal & airline at JFK, definitely allow 60 to 90 minutes to clear security unless you have "status" - lines to get pass the checkpoints with radiology
>

I do have Plat, so I will try to bypass the regular line.
Although I always opt for the pat down instead of the machine (dont want to start a debate on that!)


>Using freebies for a rental car, in this case, is really not practical for many reasons - refill the gas, dropoff, AirTrain
>

Yeah...thinking about it last night while trying to sleep...I decided its not worth getting a rental.
So finally my decision is to...take the Q30 to 169, take the F and transfer to the E and then the Air Train.
Yes my schedule is cutting it close, but with work, plus the interest of saving money is going to make my stomach churn as I rush today.

Leave home at 5pm...walk to the bus/take the bus...arrive at 169 at 5:45.
Transfer to the E and get to Suptin Blvd by 6pm.
Get to the Terminal by 6:15pm.
Leaves me 60 minutes for Security.

*fingers crossed*

Thanks everyone!

Hi everyone.

Thanks for the prompt replies!

I was just thinking of the cheapest way, and if we car pool it saves them some money. (since they have an unlimited Metrocard)
Plus, I am familiar with both the F and 7 (I live in Douglaston) so I can estimate the travel time for their subway.

Do I have to use a rental car? Nope, but coming from home, thats the easiest. I can pick up a rental and use my free day for it. (instead of paying $40 for a taxi).
Theres no real subway near me, I would have to take a bus to get to either the F or 7So you're starting at Douglaston? I still wouldn't drive at rush hour. I would take the LIRR from Douglaston to Woodside, change to the LIRR to Jamaica and then take the Airtrain. I bet it would be FASTER than driving.

E to the Airtrain? hmmm didnt know about that.
They will be coming from Grand Central, and the 7 is right there.
Or they could walk to the F train at 47-50.Forget that. They can take the 6 uptown from GCT one stop to 51st St (sit in the first car), and then walk to the escalator down to the E train. Signage is easy. Allow 45 minutes to the Airtrain and another 15-20 minutes (depending on the wait) for the Airtrain to the terminal.

So you're starting at Douglaston? I still wouldn't drive at rush hour. I would take the LIRR from Douglaston to Woodside, change to the LIRR to Jamaica and then take the Airtrain. I bet it would be FASTER than driving.

Love ya, Analise, but I call BS.

Even if he takes the GCP just for a few exits and takes Baisley Blvd all of the rest of the way to the airport, it's a quick trip and virtually no traffic ever.

Love ya, Analise, but I call BS.

Even if he takes the GCP just for a few exits and takes Baisley Blvd all of the rest of the way to the airport, it's a quick trip and virtually no traffic ever.At 6pm tonight? What....is he like Samantha who can twitch his nose to make the traffic vanish? :eek: ;) I'm referring to the highways. I don't know about the boulevards. Is there a good way to avoid all highways to get to JFK from Douglaston?

If so, I look forward to hearing about it tomorrow. :)

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"So finally my decision is to...take the Q30 to 169, take the F and transfer to the E and then the Air Train."

I suggest that you just stay on the Q30 all the way to the Jamaica Station Air Train terminal, which is the Q30's southern terminus.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

"So finally my decision is to...take the Q30 to 169, take the F and transfer to the E and then the Air Train."

I suggest that you just stay on the Q30 all the way to the Jamaica Station Air Train terminal, which is the Q30's southern terminus.

wow, am I glad I checked this before I left.

I always get off the Q30 at 169 for the F.
I did not know it went to the Air Train.

Thanks!!!

That saves me from getting on to the F and transferring to the E.

At 6pm tonight? What....is he like Samantha who can twitch his nose to make the traffic vanish? :eek: ;) I'm referring to the highways. I don't know about the boulevards. Is there a good way to avoid all highways to get to JFK from Douglaston?

If so, I look forward to hearing about it tomorrow. :)

Hah, not vanish, but there shouldn't be any traffic between the Cross Island and the Clearview (where he'd get off to the back roads), heading toward the city on the Grand Central, at that time.

sard, you started this thread asking us for advice. It's Monday. ;) Please share with us what happpened. :)

Hi everyone, took awhile for me to reply because, I just got home tonight.

The delay was due to 2 reasons:
1. Didn't come here while working
2. Don't want to "send" my password information over the hotel wifi. I always heard that someone could potentially steal my info. Heck, even when you connect to the hotel wifi, you get the message "you are connecting to an unsecure connection...."

Anyway, my friend and I both took the air train.
In fact, we left at the same time and my friend got to the air train BEFORE me!

So I got on the Q30, and it took about 55 minutes to arrive at Jamaica station.
Thanks to guv1976 I did not take the Q30 to the F to the E.
I took the Q30 directly to the Air Train station.

Once I got to the station, it took around 20 minutes to get to the terminal, we were at terminal 8, which was the last stop.

Surprisingly there was NO line at security. So we went right through.

Thanks for all the help!

Glad it all worked out! :) Your concern about the hotel wifi is interesting—I would never do online banking, for example, but I have logged on to Flyertalk.

Glad it all worked out! :) Your concern about the hotel wifi is interesting—I would never do online banking, for example, but I have logged on to Flyertalk.

Online banking is actually less of an issue because your connection is encrypted. With flyertalk, your connection isn't encrypted so if you use the same username/password on other sites, someone might in theory be able to get it. Although I don't think I've ever heard of someone actually getting hacked by using hotel wifi (the vast, vast majority of password theft is through social engineering attacks like phishing).

Glad it all worked out! :) Your concern about the hotel wifi is interesting—I would never do online banking, for example, but I have logged on to Flyertalk.

Why don't you do online banking over hotel wifi?

For me...Same answer but it applies to all my accounts.
I could be paranoid but...

I know someone stealing the password for online banking is a lot different than stealing the password to a forum....but I like to keep all my logins safe

:)

Online banking is actually less of an issue because your connection is encrypted. With flyertalk, your connection isn't encrypted so if you use the same username/password on other sites, someone might in theory be able to get it. Although I don't think I've ever heard of someone actually getting hacked by using hotel wifi (the vast, vast majority of password theft is through social engineering attacks like phishing).
OT:
Basically correct, although the issue is less about stealing the password (most are hashed, not plain text) and more about stealing the session cookie (allowing them to impersonate an existing connection). Encrypted connections (bank, reputable shopping sites, etc) are much less vulnerable. Google "firesheep" for a whole lot more discussion of the issue.
/OT

Why don't you do online banking over hotel wifi?I won't do online banking over any wifi.