EWR first impressions

Old Mar 20, 2014, 11:51 am
  #16  
 
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That is good to hear about the AirTrain, or at least good to be made aware of. I haven't had problems with it during daytime hours, even at ~06:00. First time on this flight in in May so like I said, happy to get the heads up.
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Old Apr 7, 2014, 12:04 pm
  #17  
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Return experience at EWR

Pretty straight forward, no one else is around, only CX flight. As long as you are at the front of the plane getting through customs is a breeze. Then pick up your luggage, walk out. Much much better experience than JFK that if you are unlucky and get stuck behind a BA plane, expect a good 30-40 minutes at customs if you don't have Global Entry or something similar.

If you live in Manhattan this is golden, go out, get on I-78, Lincoln Tunnel, you're there, 10-15 minutes drive tops.

I heard EWR is getting major load and CX is so impressed by it it is considering adding another flight. All I have to say is: I TOLD YOU SO
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Old Apr 7, 2014, 12:38 pm
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So did you get op up'd ?
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Old Apr 7, 2014, 12:39 pm
  #19  
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Maybe 2nd flight with F?

Last edited by beckoa; Apr 8, 2014 at 1:14 am Reason: bb spelling
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Old Apr 8, 2014, 12:12 pm
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Originally Posted by Guy Betsy
So did you get op up'd ?
Yes, both ways...
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Old Apr 8, 2014, 1:50 pm
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Originally Posted by Cathay Boy
Pretty straight forward, no one else is around, only CX flight. As long as you are at the front of the plane getting through customs is a breeze. Then pick up your luggage, walk out. Much much better experience than JFK that if you are unlucky and get stuck behind a BA plane, expect a good 30-40 minutes at customs if you don't have Global Entry or something similar.

If you live in Manhattan this is golden, go out, get on I-78, Lincoln Tunnel, you're there, 10-15 minutes drive tops.

I heard EWR is getting major load and CX is so impressed by it it is considering adding another flight. All I have to say is: I TOLD YOU SO
Its great to see CX doing well at EWR so quickly. What was the load on the flights you have taken been like?
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Old Apr 8, 2014, 2:02 pm
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Originally Posted by CX828
Its great to see CX doing well at EWR so quickly. What was the load on the flights you have taken been like?
If he got opupped then i guess the loads must have been pretty good...
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Old Apr 8, 2014, 9:43 pm
  #23  
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Originally Posted by CX828
Its great to see CX doing well at EWR so quickly. What was the load on the flights you have taken been like?
To HKG - plane was 77W due to 77G went tech, so all packed in F/J/Y+/Y cabins

From HKG - plane was 77G, Y packed, Y+ packed, wasn't sure about J but a quick survey of heads that I can see suggests at least 70-75% packed.
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Old Apr 9, 2014, 12:56 am
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I've flown once so far, and have 3 more EWR sectors in the next few months. 0 JFK. I never thought I'd use EWR to this extent but so far it's easier to get D and I fare tix to/from EWR than JFK, CX890 is an hour earlier than CX846, and it seems like EWR-midtown drive is at worst the same, but much likely faster into downtown or midtown. I'm not from NY so maybe this is wrong but that's how it seems to me. The downside is I can't buy J and use miles to upgrade to F, but that's really not the end of the world.

The other thing EWR enables for me I didn't realize was meetings in Philadelphia are easier. I can shave off 30-60 minutes of transport time by going ex-EWR instead of having to drive out to JFK. I'm ending two upcoming USA trips ex-EWR, whereas before I probably would've either gone ex-JFK or made the trip so that I ended in California and went ex-SFO or ex-LAX. EWR is a nice option.

My main concern about EWR is if a plane goes tech at EWR. I imagine it will suck given there's only one flight a day. Someone posted something like that the first week EWR was launched didn't sound fun. At least at JFK there is so much metal CX has some flexibility.
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Old Apr 9, 2014, 1:05 am
  #25  
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Originally Posted by QRC3288

My main concern about EWR is if a plane goes tech at EWR. I imagine it will suck given there's only one flight a day. Someone posted something like that the first week EWR was launched didn't sound fun. At least at JFK there is so much metal CX has some flexibility.
When we went tech in YVR it was late, no metal, the YVR staff promptly put people in hotels, and ask them to return the next day. It all depends on how the staff handles the situation. But yeah, heard the first time EWR went tech there was nothing but chaos.
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Old Apr 10, 2014, 12:09 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by Cathay Boy
To HKG - plane was 77W due to 77G went tech, so all packed in F/J/Y+/Y cabins

From HKG - plane was 77G, Y packed, Y+ packed, wasn't sure about J but a quick survey of heads that I can see suggests at least 70-75% packed.
Looking at this post you were in Y class I am curious how you got upgraded from Y to C not Y+
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Old Apr 10, 2014, 5:06 am
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Just a heads up to those of us who would be taking the train to EWR, the AirTrain will be down on 5/1 for at least 75 days.

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/2520017...pended-75-days

Plan accordingly.
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Old Apr 10, 2014, 5:29 pm
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We took this fight [J] in early March. No problems at check-in. As noted previously, lounge is shared w. BA. The meal/buffet is only for BA and the fruits and finger sandwiches for CX pax are tired looking. Plane was very clean and one of the best sleeper/beds we've encountered. Staff was good- very good but less so than SQ or Emirates. The food service is off for a 16 hour flight. The rapidly served snack [they whisk away the tray without asking if you'd like cheese, dessert or coffee' is about 1 hour into the flight and breakfast 14 hours later. The 'available snacks' were soup with insufficiently cooked noodles and a dry sandwich of indeterminate content. The beds win here but SQ and Emirates surpass in service and cuisine.

While some many be fortunate enough to arrive from Manhattan in 20 minutes, I certainly would advise allowing longer as the tunnel can be quite congested.
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Old Apr 10, 2014, 7:02 pm
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Originally Posted by PaulaJK
The food service is off for a 16 hour flight. The rapidly served snack [they whisk away the tray without asking if you'd like cheese, dessert or coffee' is about 1 hour into the flight and breakfast 14 hours later. The 'available snacks' were soup with insufficiently cooked noodles and a dry sandwich of indeterminate content. The beds win here but SQ and Emirates surpass in service and cuisine.
I suppose CX can't please everyone. I personally love that approach to the flight (it's similar on CX845 ex-JFK at the same time)....get that first supper meal service done fast, and then maximize the time I can sleep. Breakfast is done ~2 hours before landing. I slept something like 10-11 hours EWR-HKG a month ago. Was perfect. After a week of crazy US meetings and little sleep, the last thing I wanted was some drawn out meal service that extended for hours after take-off and an elaborate breakfast that started half-way through the flight.

CX J "cuisine" certainly leaves something to be desired, but end of the day I still prefer CX J to SQ J primarily on account of the hard product and the fact I don't have to flip the bed over to use it.
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Old Apr 10, 2014, 11:57 pm
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Originally Posted by QRC3288
CX J "cuisine" certainly leaves something to be desired, but end of the day I still prefer CX J to SQ J primarily on account of the hard product and the fact I don't have to flip the bed over to use it.
+1 I really can't stand that SQ seat, and find the CX seat far more flexible for lounging, watching movies and relaxing as well as sleeping... I think it is definitely the best business class out there and with the number of airlines going for the reverse herringbone, it clearly shows that this product is popular with both airlines and customers!!!
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