Transfer EWR - JFK or JFK (domestic) - JFK (International)?
 

Hi everyone,

We originally planned the following flights for Saturday 5 May and booked them separately:

6:24 BNA - 9:52 JFK, AA First Class
14:45 JFK - 11:50 AUH, Etihad First Class

Unfortunately, AA emailed us today to say that our domestic flight will now be changed to 7:55 BNA - 11:24 JFK Economy, which leaves us 3 hours and 21 minutes to make the transfer with our checked luggage. Is this sufficient time to do this or would we be cutting it a bit fine especially given we are not US nationals and won't have access to pre-clearance? The only alternative (other than moving flights to the day before and giving up pre-paid concert tickets/hotel booking) is a 6:09 BNA - 9:19 EWR United First Class flight. This has the advantage of a 5 and a half hour transfer window but I have read nightmares about potential traffic issues that could cause problems.

Any thoughts or suggestions much appreciated!

Maybe a more experienced JFK person can comment on the connection time but it seems sufficient. It's better than flying to Newark and getting over to JFK.

If you want a longer connection time, consider booking through Chicago instead of JFK, assuming you can back out of your current ticket.

Barring a major delay, which would likely have to be mechanical at that time of day/year, 3h21m should be fine. 30-40 minutes max to get out of the AA terminal with your checked bags, 15-20 minutes on the AirTrain (including walking) from T8 to T4 for EY checkin. Presumably EY FC will let you use the priority security lane at T4, but on a Saturday mid-day it probably won't be too backed up.

But there are some other alternatives also --
An AA flight to LGA 6:30am -> 10am, at that time on a Saturday a taxi from LGA to JFK shouldn't take more than 20-30 minutes. No first class on that flight though.
Alternatively, a DL flight from BNA-JFK that departs 7:30am and arrives 10:54am, which gives you a little additional cushion vs. the later AA flight, and a chance you won't have to change terminals (not sure if that flight would come into T4 or T2, but even T2 is a fairly quick transfer.

Is there any reason you can't book the AA-EY flight on the same reservation? Then AA would transfer your bags for you.
If that's not possible, maybe I'd do the DL flight as my first choice.

Thanks everyone! Given we used a companion ticket to book the Etihad flights before deciding to stay longer in Nashville for a concert, they can't amend the route to add on an extra leg. AA have already confirmed that they won't interline the bags so looks like we have no option but to wait for luggage (at least we can check in online to the AUH flight in advance so that should save time).

I checked the 7:30 DL flight but it looks like it travels to LGA rather than JFK. That leaves the AA LGA flight which might be the best option other than leaving plans as is. As noted by ijgordon above, we would have to arrange a car but if the journey should be fairly short that should still be doable and result in a slighter longer transfer window.

You will have plenty of time. Definitely not worth transiting an alternative airport. Expect the EY check-in area to be a zoo when you get there -- it always is -- but you'll still be fine. They are not going to close the door to the flight if there are still people waiting to check in. Note that there is a separate line for F passengers, but it often is overwhelmed by the long line of J passengers (there are A LOT of J seats on the A380!). Don't be shy about working yourself to the front of the line as an F passenger. Also, I think there is a separate line for security for premium passengers off to the right, near the pre-check line.

Edited to add: Notwithstanding my comments above, ijgordon's suggestion of AA's LGA flight is not a bad one. First, since AA changed the time of your JFK flight, they should be willing to change you to the LGA flight without charging you a change fee. Second, if you get to BNA and there's a problem with the LGA flight, you'll have the JFK flight as a backup. Third, although the transit time likely will be longer, you won't have to do as much walking, as the taxi will drop you right outside the EY terimnal (T4) at JFK, requiring less walking than the AA-EY (T8-T4) transfer by AirTrain at JFK. As ijgordon noted, traffic between LGA and JFK should be light, and even if it's not you will have plenty of time. I highly recommend a taxi rather than a car service.

Hmm...I see that now too. Either DL changed the schedule (which they tend to do), ExpertFlyer was out of sync, or I just goofed. :o

The airport switch would eat up a decent chunk of the extra 2 hours you'd get from the UA flight. And add a layer of annoyance and complexity that you'll want to avoid.

The 3+ hour connection should be fine, even if it does eat in to lounge time at JFK a bit.