Shuttle to and from JFK to Manhattan?
 

Anything besides SuperShuttle?

How many connections do you have to make to get to the major subway lines?

Is it feasible while lugging a couple of pieces of luggage?

Only one connection to the A, E, or J or to the LIRR. From the A or E it's one more connection to most other lines. Where in Manhattan are you going?

The AirTrain is no problem, and transferring from the AirTrain to the subway isn't too tough, either. But transferring between subway lines and exiting the subway with lots of luggage can be a challenge. If you have more than one big piece of luggage, I'd recommend against the AirTrain/subway route. Take SuperShuttle if you're on a budget. Or if you're in a hurry just take a taxi ($45 + tolls and tip).

Other SuperShuttle competitors:

http://airlinknyc.com/
http://goldentouchtransportation.com

Airlink is not particularly recommended on FT, in part because they tried to spam this messageboard. See:

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=449683

I've never used any of them, though. I just take the subway and airtrain, or (more often) the subway and bus to LGA.

NY Airport Service bus
 

I usually use

http://nyairportservice.com/

They are adequate. A few years ago I decided to upgrade myself, arranged for a car service, it got stuck in traffic, never arrived. I went back to the bus.

Sylvia

Those are good prices. One thing I don't get is why the round-trip fare from JFK to the Midtown hotels cost more than the one-way fares:

http://nyairportservice.com/fares.html

Do you remember what the transit times were like, with a full bus?

I take the ny airport service whenever I fly out of LGA or JFK if I have baggage. Otherwise I take the subway—from JFK anyway. I always allow at least an hour to and fro as you never know traffic on the Van Wyck or what will happen in inclement weather.

Because buses never get stuck in traffic... :rolleyes:

I forgot about the bus. I often use them for EWR, but only used them once for JFK (back before the AirTrain existed).

transit times
 

My memory is it can take 20 minutes (from Terminal 9 - AA) to stop at the other terminals, collect the fares, get moving. The ride itself, even with dreadful traffic, is about 40 minutes. Then there's the transfer from the bus stop (I get off at Grand Central) to the shuttle for the midtown hotels. It can take 10 minutes for the shuttle to come, sometimes 20 minutes to get to my hotel. (Last time I took a cab for that last piece.) There's a senior discount, but not for purchase on the bus, only at the downtown stations. Going to JFK I allow myself more, but it's never taken more than an hour from Grand Central to Terminal 9.

Sylvia

Hmm they don't offer direct service from JFK to the hotels?

Or from the hotels to JFK?

On their website, they estimate 90-minute transit times.

Maybe some other service offers direct service rather than making you transfer?

I believe Sylvia was referring to the NY Airport Service bus, which is not a hotel shuttle like Super Shuttle or Golden Touch or Airlink, but is merely a bus from the airport to a few major transit hubs in Manhattan (Grand Central, Port Authority, Penn Station).

Most of the shuttles say 90 minutes so as to underpromise and overdeliver. But it can be anywhere from 35 to 120 minutes depending on traffic.

Again, where in Manhattan are you going?

Yeah that site she linked is where I saw that you could select various NYC hotels so I assumed it would be a direct ride from the hotels in their list to JFK.

I'm trying to reserve at Hotel Excelsior in the UWS (via octopustravel.com, which says it takes up to 48 hours to confirm). Failing that, probably a midtown hotel like the Edison.

FWIW, the Excelsior is half a block from the C train stop at 81st St. If you take the AirTrain to the A train, you can ride the A to 59th, where you just walk across the platform and get on the C for the last few stops.

And the Edison is just a few blocks from the 42nd St stop on both the A train and the E train.

Still a pain with luggage, but if you can schlep it...

I would pay more just to avoid the connections.

Now the question is whether the NY Airport shuttle is a direct service or not.