Will be taking a late night departure from NYC area in a few months. Which is the better airport to use? Has the EWR flight become reliable? The first few weeks were a disaster, according to this forum. It seems that only CathyBoy uses EWR airport.

I believe that the BA lounge in EWR is nicer than the JFK lounge. True? I have flown from JFK on the afternoon flight and BA just barely caters the 1st class lounge. EWR is easier to get to than JFK from the DC area.

was about to open another post on this, hope you don't mind me tagging on my question here

I am thinking of taking CX840 JFK or CX890 EWR and plan to take a taxi into downtown Manhattan. Does anyone know if either of these flights would generally run into long queues at immigration, or have horrible traffic congestion on the way to town? Thanks

I've had a family member recently run into extremely long immigration queues at JFK getting off CX840 - two hours as a non-citizen. At least one BA flight and perhaps some other flights (IB perhaps, others?) must have arrived just before CX. My previous experiences on CX840 were no wait at immigration, and I haven't flown into EWR.

If you want to avoid long queue at USA, then EWR is the way to go. JFK you hit into BA jumbo and immigration easily becomes 500+ people. If you are not Global Entry forget it, it's easily 1 HR plus if not more for non-citizens.

EWR gets to downtown Manhattan easily too by asking them to take the Holland tunnel and you get right in.

EWR flights are reliable as it's probably one of the few airlines taking off that late. The ground staff are much better trained now and everything is smooth (the last two times I've flew out of EWR).

BA lounge in EWR is not nicer but definitely less people uses it. JFK J lounge is bigger but busier. EWR do not have a separate First Class lounge (although it's a joke at JFK, BA First Class lounge are only a joke and only exists to satisfy Oneworld requirements.)

I fly in and out of both more times a year than I want to, so here are my pointers:

1. From/to EWR by taxi means crossing a state border and means fares double. Take the train into Penn Station and you are away, the service is pretty good.
2. Taxi down the Van Wyck is horrendous most times a day, and along with the shuttle horrendous. It is usually quicker but more tiring to get the Air Train to Jamaica and LIRR into Penn Station.
3. Unless you have time the subway to JFK on A/C lines can prove long and frustrating. But Cheap.
4. New Jersey Transit to Penn Station is frequent, quick and inexpensive.
5. Where you are staying in Manhatten can make a serious impact on your decision.
6. If time of departure is important for JFK, probably not for EWR, then an airport hotel is very good value for money.
7. At JFK the BA lounges are pure crap, except for Long Island Chardonneys in the BA Business class lounge. The First Class lounge is a bad joke by BA on its clientele.
8. The EWR lounge is better, but only opens 3 hours in advance of flights when CX check in opens whereas JFK is not.
9. EWR security is quite efficient in the evening and compares to Fast Track at JFK if you can check in at the Business Class counter.
10. If you have an APEC card then JFK is better for arrival.

Safe travelling!

While there's plenty of information about transportation into Manhattan from EWR vs JFK in the NYC forum, I really wouldn't consider the "crossing state lines" a big issue. Just don't take a taxi to/from EWR, use a car service like Dial7 or Carmel. The price is similar for JFK vs EWR and competitive with a yellow cab from JFK. I think Uber has the "state line" penalty as well, so not a great choice for EWR.

This is not easy if you are dragging two large luggage with a carry-on.

See above. Not everyone is light-traveling savvy business traveler

VERY LONG, train schedule from waiting to getting on the trains, easily 2 hours.

See first answer

Nothing paying a little extra for taxi (or uber) wouldn't help. Come on, you've already paid $1500 to fly over here and are dead tired from the travel, don't cheap out on another $50-$100 for easy cab into the city.

I've flown into both JFK/EWR over the years on a number of airlines. I find the airport experience at EWR marginally more pleasant than JFK, although they both stink in my opinion. NYC area airports really suck. We do lots of things really well, but airports aren't one of them

My preferred way to get to Newark is by the Express Bus (with luggage), or PATH to AirTrain (no luggage):
- Express Bus leaves close to Grand Central every 15 mins, and is $17 one-way/$25 return. Much cheaper than taxi, and delivers you right to the terminal. https://newarkairportexpress.com/Newark/$/
- Info on AirTrain: http://www.panynj.gov/airports/ewr-airtrain.html

For JFK, either taxi with luggage or subway without. Other than that, unfortunately no really good options. I've tried taking the bus to JFK which also leaves from near Grand Central, but I haven't found them too reliable. They only leave when they have enough passengers, unlike the Newark Express Bus. Maybe that has changed, I haven't tried recently.

Can't speak to the BA lounge or Cathay flight experience but for what it's worth, I recently chose to fly out of JFK on my recent flight because of the JFK-HKG flight frequency. I managed to upgrade to Business, so went through the Business Class check-in desk and express security line so it was all a breeze!

Ah well my pointers are not much use to you, especially as I did not know about the luggage. Sorry about that.

After I arrive I am keen to get to my hotel asap, and the train is nearly always quickest and most reliable, and yes I do travel light. Its not all about the money.

Though my point on staying in Manhatten is valid, I have clients in Westchester County, Brooklyn, and Downtown, so hotel location to ensure easy transit can be quite valid

Yes, while transportation and airports in the NYC metropolitan area may affect choice of departure airport, I would refer that to the NYC forum http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/new-york-city-465/ for such discussions.

Please keep the discussion here as much as possible to CX-related topics. Thanks.

cxfan1960
CX CoMod

I prefer JFK for the increased frequency. I've missed 11 of 20 connections in HKG this year. If flying direct to HKG, I'd have no problem with EWR.

Thanks all for your input, it's very useful! I have booked CX890 EWR ^ Don't wanna risk getting stuck behind the BA flights if I take 840 instead.