I have to agree that the AirTrain has sucked big time over the last 6 months or so. It's caused me to miss 1 flight and plead my way to the front of the Pre-Check line in order to make my flight on at least 3 occasions. I've avoided driving to the airport through it all, but I'm probably going to have to bite the bullet now, since I don't want to add a shuttle bus trip to my already long ground itinerary (2 trains & 2 subways). On the other hand, parking charges will rise as more people start to drive in.
Hopefully, reliability will improve after they get the train back in service.