RooseveltL

Best option.. NY Penn - take any NJ Transit train which has EWR as a stop. Get to Newark Airport Rail Station and take AirTrain.

NOTE - April 30 will have HEAVY rains which is 100% guarantee delays at EWR operating two runways but not full capacity due to runway construction! As you mention you are arriving early to airport - please continually check with the airline on flight status (prior to departure if you can) as it is almost child abuse force a 2 yr old to wait around any airport for what can quickly grow to 5 hrs before a flight (which may take equally as long). Equally challenging for parents to keep him entertain for so long with everything packed away.

thekfc

Thanks for the info.

Although I am a "semi experience" flyer, I haven't flown through EWR in over 15 years - mainly out of JFK. Plus I am traveling with my wife and kid - which is virgin territory for me - I am usually a single traveler.

I checked the flight status first thing this morning and it shows "on schedule". I will check again before we head out about 10 for the 3:15 flight.

We have a tablet and extra cellphone full of games, movies and the likes for him should it be needed. We also have his "essentials" packed in a small carry-on/shoulder bag, we decided to bring an other one just in case.

I was planning on doing one of the lounges but then I notices that the lounges that I have access to are in a different terminal - AA (TA) & BA (TB) but we are flying out of TC.

Already have the NJT tickets in hand - bought them yesterday and also have the schedule of when each are suppose to leave NY Penn.

RooseveltL

Hope it worked out.. I find EWR lounges specifically United (especially on weekends) more like a day-care center (families/kids everywhere) with grandmothers swiping mass quantities of food/snacks not only for flight but to feed their village.

During early mornings it is more tolerable (as less international departures and more business clientele).

TheAJ

Between this, the bridge closing, PATH being shutdown on weekends, and the runway closings, New Jersey is really doing its best to screw everyone over this summer.

Analise

PATH between Exchange St and WTC will be closed. The PATH to Christopher, 9th, 14th, & 33rd Sts will still be available on weekends.

adcer

Anyone tried this yet? The few posts I can find on the twitter are not great:

@mfcompany No AirTrain at Newark. So, get in terminal bus and it goes to the parking garages. Utter chaos. Lots of pissed passengers.

@happyrobot EWR's AirTrain is down for maintenance. The shuttle service is ridiculous. 20min for bus to come. Traffic in Newark at standstill.

@jimschachter Day 1 without AirTrain service at Newark. Signage clear, lots of staff, bus arrived quickly outside Term C. #oksofar @WNYC @TransportNation

@BethRabbitt Way to screw up something you've had months to plan for, Newark Airport. #EWR #airtrain

adcer

Not bad at all - 614p Wednesday departure from NY Penn to Newark Penn, transferred to shuttle bus downstairs, arrived terminal A at 652p and terminal C at 655p. May have been faster than airtrain....

bigealta

Anyone take the shuttle or #62 bus early afternoon from Newark Penn? going to try it midweek 2-3PM from Newark Penn.

thanks

RooseveltL

#62 during early afternoon should take you roughly 15-20 minutes to Terminal.

Miesque

I have a flight into EWR the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and its a reservation a made several months ago as I definitely would not have chosen to fly into EWR. I had been planning on taking the AirTrain to the train to Penn Station but after reading the announcements I decided I had no desire to deal with any of it and just made a reservation with Carmel, seems a car service is the best way to go (and its really not that expensive relative to the hassle factor of dealing the very likely chaos of the shuttles et al)

voodoogirl

How long are we talking to get from a domestic inbound flight to the international terminal? Both legs are United. I'm wondering how tight my connection will be.

Analise

I think you made a smart decision.

reddevil_guy

With the AirTrain not running, here's a question regarding the part of the AirTrain that goes from the car rental area to the EWR terminals:

is it possible to WALK from the Hertz/Avis/National hub to Terminal C?


I remember, more than a dozen years ago, being able to walk from the Hertz/Avis/National area to Terminal A. But can you continue the (long) walk to Terminal C, or will you run into a roadblock?


(The reason I ask is to have a backup, emergency option to the temporary shuttle bus.)

ijgordon

Sunday on Memorial Day weekend shouldn't be too bad to get into the city, so you can just take the car service, or even just take the NYC Airporter bus direct into the city.

I wouldn't want to be landing at EWR on a weekday at 5pm. Then it takes 2 hrs to get to midtown by road.

Critic

You did say both legs are on UA metal, right?

Most UA international departures are from Terminal C. The real question is your inbound flight. If you're arriving at Terminal C (meaning you're on a non-UAX route), then congratulations - you're fine; the AirTrain shutdown wouldn't have affected you anyway. As long as you're within the MCT (90 min on an INTL flight), you should be fine to change gates at Terminal C.

If you're on a UAX route that arrives at Terminal A, well...congratulations, because you're still fine. There's an airside shuttle bus from UA's gates in A to the C1 pier (gate 70), so no need to clear security or rely on the AirTrain bypass busses. You'll want to make sure to allow some extra time for the airside transfer, but again, as long as you're within the MCT, you should be fine.