Ouch!!

AirTrain to LIRR to Penn Station: 31 minutes and $13.50.

Maybe not the best option with a lot of luggage, but short of that, beats taxi / Uber / Lyft all day long.

If you don't mind a slower trip, you can get from JFK to Manhattan for as little as $2.90, but with a lot of luggage, that's as impractical as the AirTrain/LIRR combination.

Yes, via Lefferts Blvd and Kew Gardens. Indeed a great option if you have an extra 30 minutes. And not "a lot of luggage" lol

Thanks! Glad to hear not impacted. Lots of luggage as gone in Italy 2.5 weeks prior to the 4 nights in NYC.

Would you be so kind as to specify that route a little bit more? Whenever I�ve flown in to JFK with little luggage and lots of time I�ve taken the air train to Jamaica and then the metro, but this sounds like an even cheaper option?

• from your arrival terminal take the AirTrain towards Howard Beach (green line)
  • runs every 4 minutes at peak times
  • no charge
  • exit Lefferts Blvd
• board MTA Bus Q80
  • runs every 10 minutes at peak times
  • $2.90 fare
  • exit Kew Gardens Rd & 80th Rd
• board MTA E Train or F Train at Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike Station
  • free transfer
  • exit midtown or downtown as needed

If you take the AirTrain towards Jamaica (red line) and transfer to MTA E train at Jamaica you save about 20 minutes, but costs an extra $8.50 for the AirTrain.

Glad to.

Take a "Howard Beach" AirTrain to the Lefferts Boulevard stop. (No charge.) Board a Q10 or Q80 bus from there to the final stop, Kew Gardens. ($2.90 fare.) At Kew Gardens, transfer to a Manhattan-bound E or F train. If you paid your bus fare contactlessly, the transfer is free.

Q10/Q80 timetable here:

https://www.mta.info/schedules/bus/q10


1worldFlyer beat me to it!

Similarly, you can avoid the high surcharges at the SFO BART station if you board the SamTrans 292 bus instead.

OAK / DEN / ORD / EWR also have various surcharges for direct airport access, not sure which others fall into that category.

No surcharges at SEA / PDX / LAX / SLC / MSP / DFW / ATL / IAD / DCA / BWI.

I guess to make the Q10/Q80 marginally more enticing, right now riding any queens bus using tap-to-pay (only - no metrocard) will unlock a second free bus transfer within 3 hours of the first tap. It’s a promo for the bus network “redesign”.

So one could ride the bus from JFK, board the E/F, check into their hotel (any borough), and ride a bus again within 3 hours of the first tap for free.

Also one could use a $5 CTA 24h pass at ORD. If that’s your only ride you don’t save vs the exit fare, but might as well use it to ride unlimited for 24h.

Overnight at JFK. International AA leaves terminal 8 too? If I stay at minute suites overnight, I can't go out to baggage to get my luggage? I thought Minutesuites had security passes to get back in but not anymore?
Also, my minute suite overnight was like $150. I remember they had like outrageous rates and given this is jfK, seems too good to be true?

Hi all -
Domestic to international at JFK is down to 41 minutes - plus the flight into JFK is "always" late. My understanding is that MCT dom to int'l at JFK is 1:15, confirmed by lounge agents and ex plt agents. However, multiple AA ex plt desk agents (huca) have stated that because the scheduling folks say it is a legal connection there is nothing they can do. These agents have been adamant that if the schedule says it's ok, the rules on MCT don't matter (is this correct?). Add to this that it's an award flight with a connecting EU leg. I can get to LHR any number of ways on an award trip same day - on AA or BA - then get to the final destination, also with award availability, but we go from reasonable mileage to 400k ish if I do it myself. Not really sure what to do at this point??? Just see what happens? Continue huca'ing? There is no way this is possible as per AA requirements: " You must be at the gate and ready to board the plane: ... 30 minutes before departure for international flights," understanding there is still time before the gate door closes, this isn't going to be a fun connection.

Thanks in advance

There is padding in the schedules that may help. But if you find that your incoming leg is delayed, you can probably make a case to an AAgent to reroute you. That doesn't help when the available seats may be gone or left with less desirable choices, though. If you can find AA documentation that states JFK Domestic -> International MCT that is more than 41 minutes then you may be able to call again and point the agent to their company's own policies.

If I'm reading the chart correctly, MCT AA-AA DI is 40 minutes: AA-AA DI .40. This seems wildly optimistic IMHO.

Wildly optimistic is an understatement imo. Can you explain the conflicting data? Both the ex plt agents and the lounge agents looked up the MCT and stated 1:15. Expertflyer shows 1:15 DI. I'm surely not questioning your data, but something seems odd.

The MCTs for JFK are listed in the wikipost. 1:15 is International to Domestic. Domestic to International is 40 minutes.