Originally Posted by
sbm12
Who is operating the ALB-EWR flight? If it is operated by CO Express (and they are the only carrier I see who does operate ALB-EWR) then you will arrive in terminal C, not terminal B. You will not need to change terminals.
The ERJs are slightly slow to deplane because of gate-checked luggage needing to be removed from the hold and brought back to plane-side (in the jetway for EWR). This will potentially slow you down even if you don't have anything in the hold as the deplaning process will be slowed by those waiting for their bags. And the flights from ALB-EWR are among those likely to be delayed if there are weather issues in EWR, which happen more frequently in the afternoons than mornings.
If it is a morning flight you'll probably make it (though just barely). If it is an afternoon flight your chances go down. I'd be more comfortable with a 1 hour connection in EWR if at all possible.
As to the airside bus it does not stop at terminal B. The only CO planes that arrive at terminal B are some international arrivals during the peak arrival time in the afternoon. Since international arrivals are airside when they clear customs anyways the move from B to C for onward connections isn't such a big deal.
Wow. sbm12, I am impressed with your knowledge; you certainly seem to be one with the EWR! More particulars & more questions:
1. The ALB-EWR leg will be a big-ish prop (DH8) by Colgan Air (d/b/a CO Connection <- is that different than Express?). It's a "new" flight as of Feb 1, replacing an ERJ by ExpressJet (d/b/a CO Express). My events coordinator (aka Wife) called CO/OnePass this AM, and they actually checked with EWR. They said this flight will be arriving at Term C, so 32 minutes should be OK (I agree that 1 hour would be much better). Also, since the connection is for EWR-SAN at 8:10am, there's a high possibility that'll be delayed anyway (although it is a Sunday). The seats are up towards the front of the plane, so maybe people will get out of our way quick!
2. Return flight is a bit trickier. There is actually less time for the connection (<30 minutes), which we were told is actually not possible - CO had to force a change to a much later flight (4+ hr layover). They said we could try standing by if we actually make it for the original connection. Looks like we'll be having dinner at EWR. Best place to eat in Term C = ?
3. Out of curiosity, what if we were to ditch our last leg (EWR-ALB), and rent a car to get home (~3 hour drive). How would that work with checked baggage?
4. The odds of CO's schedule to change between now and then (April) is very high, so this may all be a moot discussion if they delay the departure of the EWR-SAN flight. ALB seems to be very regular, especially in the mornings.
5. Sounds like everything CO comes in to Terminal C, for the most part. Do you know what doesn't? It's been a while since I flew through/out of EWR - I thought I remembered a separate little terminal for commuter-type flights (like ALB-EWR), but I could be thinking of somewhere else...
Thanks for all your input. It helps me feel better about going through one of the busiest airports I can think of!