I am going to take the Airtrain next Wednesday, Feb 4. I'm flying roundtrip same day to SYR with flight times amenable to my using the Airtrain both ways. I will be carrying my purse along with my computer and going via the E to Jamaica. I live on the east side so this makes the most sense. I'm curious to see how this will go.

For those of you who have done this, I typically use an unlimited metrocard so I know I can't use it on the Airtrain next week. But if I buy a $10 metrocard the next time I'm on the subway (like tonight), I can use that for the Airtrain and thus not have to buy one at Jamaica----this is correct, isn't it? Please let me know. Thanks.

Also, I'm going to Jetblue's terminal. Anyone know how much time it takes to go from Jamaica to terminal 6?

Yes, you are correct. If you purchase a $10 Metrocard, you will in fact receive a $12 Metrocard: any pay-per-ride Metrocard purchased with $10 or more yields a 20% bonus. So after you have used the card for two Air Train trips, you will still have $2.00 left over, which you can:

1) use on the subway or a local bus after your unlimited ride card expires; or
2) give to anyone else to use on the subway or local bus.

You can also hold onto the card and refill it the next time you plan to use Air Train. Eventually, the 20% bonuses you get on Metrocard purchases/refills of $10.00 or more will add up to enough to get a ride on the Air Train.

Thanks! I knew about the bonus; I just wanted to make sure that I was not forced to buy a special "Airtrain" $5 metrocard or something like that.

Any word about the time to travel from Jamaica to terminal 6?

No time flat. Actually about 5-7 mins including waiting for the train. Really amazing.

Analise, please provide us with a detailed account of your experience with Airtrain. I have not used it, and probably won't evr, because of my location. I, as I'm sure many others on this board, would love to hear your perceptions of Airtrain. Thanks.

OK, so I am still confused. I used to park right by the Howard Beach station because the busses would board you first not waiting in the cold and a seat was usually nice.
If I read this correctly I now have to park someplace else if I want to forgo the $10.

I took the AirTrain last week for the first time. A few observations:

On the outbound:

• If you're in midtown, the E train out to Sutphin Avenue is awesome - about a 30 minute ride
• Signs for the AirTrain are clearly visible in the from the subway
• The AirTrain station at Jamaica is a cool new building. But it looks like they wasted a couple million dollars on what's nothing more than an elevated platform that doesn't connect to the subway and doesn't connect to the LIRR.
• It's about 7 minutes from Jamaica to the terminals. Much faster than the bus was from Howard Beach (up to 30 min), and faster than the EWR monorail which is agonizingly slow.

On the return:

• Elevator from the road-level up to the train was not working. Had to walk 3 flights of stairs - no biggie for me but might be for others.
• There are hand-made, laminated signs in the windows of the train which tell you if the train is going to Jamaica or to Howard Beach.
• The scrolling message board in the Airtrain tells you that you'll pay the fare when exiting in Jamaica.
• Signs for the subway are not visible when you leave the AirTrain station.
• If you hit the E train late-night (it was 9:30pm) the train runs local and adds about 10 min.

If you mean you parked inside the JFK long-term parking lot right next to the Howard Beach subway station, then you can still park there and take the free Airtrain to the terminals. You still have to pay for using the parking lot, which I suppose also pays for your using the Airtrain. When you enter the long-term parking lot, there will be an Aitrain station right there, so you don't have to drive far, but I suspect these parking spots will fill up fast, so you might want to drive to the end of the lot, right next to the Howard Beach subway station, and use the (free) Aitrain station there (there are only 2 Airtrain station in the long-term parking lot).
I don't think you meant you parked on the public streets next to the Howard Beach subway stop, because then you would have had to pay a subway fare to walk through the station to get to the free buses to the terminals. If that is the case, it would now cost you $5 to get to the terminals (I hear there is an exit from the Airtrain station at Howard Beach direct to public streets).
I suppose you could avoid both the parking lot fee and the Aitrain $5 fare by parking on public streets close to the entrance to the long-term parking lot and getting on the Aitrain there (is there even anyplace to park around there?).

Thank you! I park inside the lot next to the station. I would never leave my car on the street : ) I want it to be there when I return.
Those busses were horrible.

I've used the AirTrain inter-terminal on two prior occasions, but earlier this week I used it to get from Manhattan for the first time.

I actually began my journey in Philadelphia, and took Amtrak's Accela Express to Penn Station. My train arrived at Penn Station at 5:04pm. At 5:06pm I was purchasing my LIRR ticket from one of the automated machines, and at 5:08pm I was on the 5:10 Sekonk train. The train arrived at Jamaica at 5:34pm, and by 5:37pm I was on the AirTrain platform (I had a MetroCard already, so I saved time by not having to buy one). Although the sign indicated that there were AirTrains every nine minutes, and I'm fairly certain that I had not just missed one, it did not arrive until 5:48pm, and departed at 5:49pm. The train arrived at Terminal 1 (after a stop at the Federal Circle station) at 5:57pm, and at Terminals 8/9, my stop, at 6:06pm. I was inside the terminal a couple of minutes later.

So all in, the trip took a little more than an hour (compared to the 35 minutes advertised in the PA brochure). Passengers less familiar with the layout of Penn Station and Jamaica Station should budget more time. But I found the whole thing to be fairly easy, including the transfer from the LIRR to the AirTrain at Jamaica, and certainly quicker and cheaper than taking a cab (although not a great deal quicker, but a lot cheaper). Yes, they could have made it better, and yes a one-seat ride would have been ideal, but I certainly will use it again. Also, if I were leaving from my office at 53rd and 3rd, I almost certainly would take the E Train to Sutphin Avenue rather than going back to catch the LIRR at Penn Station.

[This message has been edited by Blumie (edited Jan 30, 2004).]

I have taken AirTrain three times in the last month. It is worth the 5 dollars!

It is amazingly fast from JFK to Jamaica. I was expecting a tricycle speed train like the one at Sewark "Liberty" (an airport I will never ever use again). Even though I left from the Delta terminal (2/3), the time it takes to reach Jamaica is about the same amount of time it takes just to get out of the airport on the bus.

The signage from AirTrain to the subway could use some improvement. I've been to Jamaica twice before but not that particular location. I did manage to find it by guessing that it might be around the corner.

I don't know why everyone is saying the Sutphin Ave subway station is seedy. It appears to be a typical NYC subway station -- not glamorous, but functional.

And now for a tangent -- the only slight downside was that seeing the turnstiles at the Jamaica AirTrain station reminded me of my hell trip to Washington, DC I took three years ago (same kind of turnstile the Metro uses). I was trying to figure out how to pay the fare on the Metro for more than one person, and the transit employee wouldn't help me (turns out you need a complicated card purchase for every passenger). Well, I wasn't going to stand there all day and miss my DCA flight, so I climbed over the turnstile. While I was waiting for the train, the &#98&#105&#116&#99&#104 came downstairs and chewed me out. I swore I would never visit Washington, DC again. Newark and DC -- may you both rot in hell!


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"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint." -- Mark Twain

[This message has been edited by JS (edited Jan 30, 2004).]

Analise: Assuming that you are flying out of JFK in the MORNING, you have an attractive (and cheaper) alternative to Air Train. On weekday mornings only, Green Bus Lines run an express bus, the Q10A, from Kew Gardens to JFK. Busses leave every 20 minutes from 7:09 AM until 8:49 AM. The busses make no stops between Kew Gardens and JFK, and travel along the Van Wyck Expressway. Scheduled travel time from Kew Gardens to the Jet Blue terminal is about 20 minutes (subject to highway traffic, of course). The bus fare is the same as that for a local bus, and your unlimited ride Metrocard will be accepted. For more information, go to:

www.greenbus.com

I've only taken the Q10A once, a few years ago, but it is fast. It seems to be used mostly by airport workers. The bus loads on the south side of Queens Boulevard, just east of Union Turnpike. (It does NOT load on Kew Gardens Road, where the regular, local Q10 loads.) If you take the E train, get off at Union Turnpike/Kew Gardens station. Exit to the front of the train, and follow the signs for the staircase leading to the Q10. When you reach street level, just keep walking straight (east) on Queens Boulevard for about 30 feet, and you'll see the Q10A bus stop.

By the way, the Q10A operates only to JFK; there is no Q10A service from JFK back to Kew Gardens.

The Port Authority's 35-minute figure assumes:

• Your home or office is inside Penn Station.
• Right when you stop to think, "Gee, I should head to the airport," the LIRR train will be there waiting for you, as if by magic.
• When the train arrives in Jamaica you will have had the foresight to be in the car whose doors open right in front of the stairs to the mezzanine.
• You continue your streak of astonishing scheduling coincidences by walking straight over to AirTrain and getting on just as the doors are ready to close.
• You are flying out of Terminal One.

An hour is a more reasonable amount of time to budget for the trip. That's still competitive with a cab, especially during rush hour.

It is the fastest airport people-mover train I have ever been on. Even when traffic is light on the Van Wyck Expressway (ha, ha!) AirTrain keeps pace with the cars below. The between-concourse train at ATL is a mere travellator in comparison.

I agree completely. In fact, my one-hour trip began at Penn Station, and things went as well as could be expected, except the slight wait for the AirTrain at Jamaica Station (although even had the AitTrain come promptly, it still would have been a 50-minute trip). But even at an hour, I am fairly certain I could not have beaten that time by hopping in a cab at Penn Station (if I could have found one at 5pm).

I tried the AirTrain to Jamaica/E train (subway) combo in both directions this past weekend.

I landed at JFK very early Saturday morning and returned to JFK on Saturday afternoon for an evening flight home. The one-hour timing from midtown Manhattan seems realistic, but I wonder how different it might be on a weekday, especially during peak periods?

In my case, on the return I caught the E train at the 47-50 Sts./Rockefeller Center station (yes, that's right, the E train; it was running partly on the F route over the weekend, owing I guess to construction) just about 4:30 PM. I walked into JFK Terminal 7 (for a UA flight) about an hour later.

Although the NJ Transit train/AirTrain ride from NY Penn Station to EWR is a bit shorter, easier, and more comfortable than the subway/AirTrain trek to JFK, the latter has the advantage of being doable directly from many more points in Manhattan (and other boroughs), since the A and E subway trains cover a lot of ground. This will certainly influence my choice of airports for future flights to NYC.


Kathy