DeeGee26.2

Good morning, I know this is absolutely a YMMV thing, and it's probably an often asked question, but I'm trying to decide whether to change to an earlier flight.

As a bit of background, I'm coming to NYC for the Marathon in November, flying in on Thursday 2 Nov on VS and scheduled to arrive at 7.10pm.

When choosing the flight, I had two realistic options, one which arrived at about 6pm and one which arrived at about 7pm. I took the later one to give me a more comfortable journey to Heathrow in the morning, as I live about 4 hours away and trains are cheaper after 9am!

VS have now knocked the flight time back by about half an hour, so I'll get into JFK at 7.30pm. The earlier flight, which is the only one with J reward availability, will get me in at 6.25pm.

So I'm trying to decide whether it's worth paying the GBP30 or so to take the earlier flight. I want to spend time in the Upper Class Wing at LHR as this may be the only chance I ever get to fly business class. It may be as convenient/cheap for me to do a one-way rental car to LHR. I don't want a night before in a hotel, if I can help it, as this is a solo trip and I don't want to be away from my family for an additional night.

What I'm trying to anticipate is what's likely to happen on arrival in JFK. I have a UK passport, an ESTA and have visited the USA previously on my current passport. Last year I flew into ORD and had seemingly very little wait, but the last time I flew into NYC it was into EWR at a similar time and the line seemed interminable.

Currently I'm booked in the Doubletree by the Rockefeller Centre, and normally I'd anticipate taking LIRR or Subway to the hotel rather than a car service or a cab.

If I get the flight due to arrive at 7.30, realistically, will I have any time to do anything except go straight to bed? Normally I'd like to maybe have a walk around the block just to loosen up and maybe grab a beer. I'm guessing this will be out of the question? Would I be buying myself any additional time if I got the earlier flight, or would I still be arriving too late to do anything at all other than sleep?

Would either of these options allow me at least time to pick up a snack and a six-pack somewhere nearby so I could wind down in my room instead? Would I be any quicker if I were to get a cab instead? I'd rather save my money for eating out and seeing things.

If there's no point changing to the earlier flight, I'll keep everything as it is.

on.the.bowery

Honey, it's New-York City.

You can do whatever you want, whenever you want.

The last time I saw a New-Yorker resting, it was at the Mount St. Mary Cemetery.

You're on 51st street. There's a 24h Morton Williams on West 57th. Also all the shops/stores on Broadway... Klein & Co on 6th closes late.

Walk around 5th, take a bit of "fresh" air and look at the lights on Times Square all night long if you want to. Or walk all the way to 9th Ave, on the same street, and you'll find many cool bars in the kitchen open till 4am.

SQ24 arrives one hour before you, and EK205 a few minutes before. Other than that, a few DL from Europe. It could block a little, but it's not peak hours and it should be relatively fine. Better than other terminals at the same time. I guess you should be on the Airtrain around one hour after landing and with the E train, you should be in midtown a bit before 10pm.

But with JFK... you never know sweetheart ! Remember this airport is always Just F--ng Kidding with us.

Keep the flight and enjoy that LHR lounge and that Business class !

And remember to use common sense and stay close to others when riding the train at night.

Be safe and welcome back to NYC

Brighton Line

In NYC Last Call at a bar is 4 a.m. Drink up.

Off-premises (liquor store or retailer) liquor and wine sales are prohibited between midnight and 8 AM, and until 9 AM on Sundays. On-premises (bar or lounge) sales are prohibited on weekdays between 4 AM and 8 AM, and Sundays between 4 AM and 10 AM.

pbiflyer

Take the later flight. Tons to eat and drink late. And actually arrival time may be better, no traffic if you are taking a taxi or ride share. If you are taking the train, it won't matter.

M60_to_LGA

Neither one of those flight times is even close to being what I would term "late." Don't worry about it.

If you take the subway, and assuming no construction or other disruptions, you'll probably be in Midtown in a little over an hour. Less if you take the LIRR.

As has already been mentioned, there will be loads of places to get food/drink. I'd suggest avoiding the tourist areas near Broadway and heading over to Hell's Kitchen, where you'll probably find better options up and down 8th/9th Aves. That's also the area where the trendy gays have decamped to in recent years, so you'll see a lot of bars catering for that demographic. You can also go to Rudy's, which is mentioned in a stellar Steely Dan song.

michab

I assume you mean the Clubhouse, which is VS’s excellent lounge. The Upper Class Wing is just the check in area, leading directly in to the dedicated security checkpoint. There’s also a private/dedicated driveway if you’re being dropped off by car (taxi, car service, relative, etc.), in which case they’ll meet you at the curb to take your bags, or an elevator from the main check in level if not. Nicely designed, but not somewhere there’s a particular reason to linger for long.

Another consideration when it comes to the choice of flight is the plane - check which ones are scheduled for the different possibilities. When I flew with VS in 2019 (Premium to NY and UC on the return) there were old A330s, A340s, as well as the then-brand new A350-1000s, and having made sure to select a flight on the A350-1000 I can highly recommend them. My onward connection on the old A330 was definitely not as nice. Don’t know how much has changed in four years, but it’s definitely a consideration.

DeeGee26.2

Yes, I meant the Clubhouse.

Current flight is an A350, the earlier one is also an A350.

Flight home is on a Boeing, though, but the times work so well for me that I don't see the benefit in changing that.

DeeGee26.2

Reason enough to visit, then.

I haven't been to NYC solo before, always with my wife or kids, so I've done the touristy stuff, keen to experience other stuff. Casual food and drink are very much my thing.

DeeGee26.2

This works for me OK, to be fair. I'm not going to be super active, as 9pm NYC time is really quite late back in London, but I just need something to keep me awake until a sensible bedtime.

dstan

And good luck in the race! Hopefully we will have good weather for you!