Tagsf16

Dear Fellow Travellers,

quick question: I have a flight in late Feb from Munich to Newark on LH. Is there a big difference from flying to Newark rather than JFK?

Best and thanks, Tags

zoegksf

EWR is a pit. LH at JFK is much nicer - fairly new terminal

oliver2002

Flying to EWR is much nicer, immigration is faster there, the connection to Manhattan with the train to NYP is painless. Arriving in JFK is a pain, immigration at noon in T1 can take 60-90mins. Trains into JFK is trickier, subway is a pain.

Departing from JFK is nicer, EWR with the new LH lounge is barely OK.

Concerto

Yes, that's how I do it, into EWR and out from JFK. Amazing, I thought that was just a peculiarity that I had invented because of bad luck on repeated occasions!

Tagsf16

Thanks guys. I am just flying to EWR from MUC, then I carry on to SFO the next day with United after some meetings and then return to MUC from SFO.

Thanks for the guidance - much appreciated. I flew into JFK several times and agree that immigration is a pain in the neck.

Best, TAGS

cas_de

While I do agree with what Oliver2002 states, I prefer to fly out of EWR (at least to MUC), because I always try to depart from the US (to Europe) as late as possible. This helps me to deal w/jetlag. EWR-MUC leaves NYC later than JFK-MUC.

N1003U

While I will directionally agree, I think the differences in immigration delays are overstated. Both airports can be a crapshoot in terms of how long it takes. When immigration at JFK goes bad, the delays can be impressive. Same at EWR, but not quite so much, IME and observation.

The train to Penn Station is (IMHO) neither more nor less painful from either airport, and for connections at the regional train platform, I would give a slight edge to LIRR connecting from the JFK AirTrain compared to NJT connecting from the EWR AirTrain.

For taxi/limo transfer into midtown, I give a slight edge to JFK.

The OP discussed arrivals, but I also agree that the departure experience at JFK is better. If with *G status, you can check in at the LH F counter, which is 20m from the terminal entrance, then it is another 50m to security, and then 20m to the lounge, and (departure gate dependent) typical a very short walk to the gate (with a very conveniently located and reasonably stocked duty free shop on the way to the gate, if you are one who uses such services). Curb-to-lounge or to-gate, the LH/JFK departure experience is difficult to beat (unless you are flying F, but that is a whole different discussion).

This is a good point. I generally fly to FRA, so I think of JFK as the last departure, but for MUC (as the OP is planning), a later flight ex-EWR might fit the need better.

cfischer

what is wrong w/ departing from EWR? At least in C/F the premium line @ security is always short and the lounge is fine.

econprof

In my opinion, immigration at JFK is *much* better than at EWR. Maybe it's just the time of day that I fly, but I usually have very little wait at JFK (for one of the automated kiosks), whereas at EWR you have to wait in line to speak with an immigration officer (unless you have Global Entry, which I really should have).

Baggage is generally handled much faster at JFK than at EWR, in my experience (10-12 arrivals on LH in NYC per year).

That said, if you're transferring to UA, EWR is the only game in town.

Departing from JFK wins hands down. SEN lounge at JFK is 10 times better than the cramped thing at EWR (even with the renovation).

econprof

Also, I find the Airtrain to LIRR combination to Penn Station to be a lot better than the Airtrain to NJ Transit combination to Penn Station. Quicker and fewer stops plus more frequent (and sensibly spaced) service on the LIRR.

Uber from JFK to midtown is also cheaper than Uber from EWR.

jawnbc

JFK is not quite as vile as LAX, but close. Especially if you need to clear US customs and immigration; even more so if you need to connect to a domestic flight in a different terminal.

EWR isn't perfect, but it's much more manageable for your sort of journey. For folks travelling to the greater New York City area, I would pick my airport based on where you're going: for New Jersey, Rockland Co, Manhattan, Staten Island and western Brooklyn I'd go EWR. For Long Island or Queens I'd go JFK.

klausa

so... always?

fassy

As long as we exclude domestic arrivals.

Anyway, in my limited experience EWR immigration beats all the other point of entries to the US I tried in terms of ridiculous wait times in line, rudeness of both the airport staff and the CBP staff.

At JFK I never had that unpleasant 2 hour long immigration lines which I regularly experience in EWR.

At least for me never again... Just got my Global Entry

NYC1

Before Global Entry, my experience was that JFK was always worse for immigration than EWR. Now, it doesn't matter to me, but just looking at the lines over the last several years, it seems like JFK is also worse than EWR. The worst of them all seems to be Terminal 7 (so not LH) where you have CX and BA arriving. If you're the poor ....... in the last row of a BA 747 after a CX 777 just arrived, then you're SOL.

I'm limiting this to the immigration process at arrival. There are other issues like travel from the airport to the city/suburbs etc. Also departure issues (check in, security, lounges) where JFK is the clear winner to me.

oliver2002

Weird, must be the different times LH flights from MUC arrive at these two. In EWR you literally walk thru immigration and customs, in JFK you stand in line behind the AF and KE arrivals (both either A380 or B77W).