Connection in JFK question
 

Folks - I have an award itinerary booked for October. I need to get from Toronto to JFK, where I then catch a South African flight to JNB in J.

The JNB flight leaves at 11:15 am out of JFK. My options to get to JFK are:

a) Land in Newark at 8am (on a weekday) and take the subway (with bags et al) to JFK.
b) Leave YYZ for IAD, 35 minute connection in IAD to JFK, which gets in for 9:30.
c) 8:30am AC departure out of YYZ, direct to JFK which lands at 10:10am.

As far as I see it, none of the three are fantastic.

Option a) leaves me hauling across the city. I'm told the public transit options are decent enough and pain free. I don't pack a lot but I imagine I'll have at least one suitcase plus a carry on.

Option b) leaves me scrambling across IAD... if I miss that flight, I'm screwed.

Option c) leaves me at the whim of AC (if you thought United was bad lately for on-time arrivals, they kick Air Canada's behind.)

If you were me, what would you do?

Fly into NYC the night before.

Of those three options I'd go with C. Morning flights are infrequently delayed (unless weather) followed by option A.

But, if it were me, I'd look at DL or AA flights direct YYZ to JFK. If none of those are palatable AC has earlier flights direct to LGA (I think the first one lands at 8a) which is plenty of cushion. Or, fly in the night before.

Throwing a connection at IAD into the mix is just asking for trouble.

I agree with twoaisleplane-fly into JFK the night before (and look into getting a hotel) or take option A followed by option C. But whatever you do, do not choose option B as while technically a legal connection at IAD, that's a mis-conx waiting to happen (and especially if you have to go from terminal A to C/D or vice versa).

I was going to suggest the same thing, especially Delta because you'd get in earlier than AC and then you wouldn't have to reclear security at JFK (maybe at worst take a Delta shuttle bus from T2 to T4), assuming you could get an online boarding pass from SAA.

But then I realized the OP is checking bags, so you'd need to go outside security at Terminal 4 nonetheless.

I agree option B is a non-starter.

Just how awful is land transfer Newark to JFK? Is LGA to JFK that much better/worse? And if I fly into JFK with AC, is that the same terminal that SA is going to be flying out of?

Figure 2.5 hours on mass transit. It can be a bit better but that's the ballpark I'd work with.
Much better.
No.

Done the trip before, flying in the night before is your best bet.

Option A isnt bad if you are flying Sat or Sun. During the week it will be hell. Getting a Taxi wont help much either here (unless on the weekend).

Alternatively, AC to LGA and then taxi to JFK is a good call (in fact, it will feel closer than trying to switch terminals in JFK!!!).

Night before. Most particularly because it's an award itinerary. Miss that JNB flight and it could be a week before they find you a seat.

[QUOTE=Boogie711;20372465]I agree option B is a non-starter.

Just how awful is land transfer Newark to JFK? Is LGA to JFK that much better/worse? QUOTE]

Transport from EWR to JFK isn't easy or direct. It involves taking the Airtrain to the Newark Liberty rail station, where you get the NJ Transit train into NY Penn Station. From there you either take the subway or the Long Island Rail Road to Jamaica, where you pick up the JFK Airtrain.

LaGuardia to JFK is a simple taxi ride, probably about 15 minutes.

Your best bet is to fly in the night before.

I'll endorse the night before option, with the suggestion that it won't matter which airport you use the night before, so you can go with price and schedule convenience.

Also, Priceline and Hotwire hotel availability/prices tend to be better around EWR than JFK (there are more and better hotels around EWR than either JFK or LGA).

Doing the EWR-JFK train transfers could work well on a weekday as long as you go after rush hour. I'd recommend Newark AirTrain to NJ Transit to Long Island Railroad to JFK AirTrain. You're looking at about a $25 fare, on these various trains. I think that there is also an hourly bus that runs between EWR and JFK.

I would strongly advise against option a, like everyone else. With a checked bag, you're stuck at EWR waiting for your luggage, and then you need to arrive at JFK before check in closes. If the train connections are timed perfectly, you would be looking at 10 minutes on the AirTrain to NJTransit, 25 minutes on NJTransit to Penn Station, 22 minutes on LIRR to Jamaica, and 15 minutes on the JFK AirTrain to your terminal. That's close to 1.25hrs just in transit, without counting actual transfer times (Penn Station isn't small, and the LIRR platforms at Jamaica are at least a minute or two from the AirTrain). If you had four hours between flights, you might risk it, but a delay would ruin that too.

To make a long story short, I too vote for the arrival the night before.

take the 0630 AC flight to LGA arrives 0800 plenty of time to grab a cab to jfk and check in before the 1025 cutoff

and alot cheaper then what a hotel wil cost by JFK

Option C - flying AC into LGA on the 1st. flight in the morning would be the least evil among the 3 options, checked luggages on a regional jet (not gate checking) usually arrrived downstairs at the carousel fairly quickly with minimal to no wait.

This morning, with maybe 3" of heavy, wet snow on the ground that's been forecasted, many LGA in-bound flights were delayed, diverted, redirected and some cancelled. AC's 6:30 YYZ took off late, circled & landed around 8:50 am - so, it most likely yielded less than 60 minutes for you to get your checked luggage, get into the (usually fast-moving) taxi line for the 20 to 40 minutes ride in rush-hour commute to JFK, 13 miles away. Then, it's a matter of getting thru TSA (lines can be rather long for the herds, unless ...) & getting checked in for your int'l departure.

The best option would be to fly into NYC the evening before & hotwire/priceline a hotel nearby (or, use points) for a good night rest, enjoy a breakfast in the morning & then take a ride out to JFK without sweating it out & staring at the clock ticking away, YMMV.