This is key. Lots of HVF are based in Lower Manhattan for work, but live in UES, Brooklyn, Queens etc. When I used to stay in the UES, JFK was much much easier to get to. Plus, the terminal set up in JFK was a breeze compared to EWR.

I live on the UWS, and the last time I flew into EWR, the cab ride home cost me $120, plus tip. Steep, you say? I agree. But the cab driver insisted that was the price. I was absolutely exhausted, after a day of weather delays that had turned what should have been a couple of short hops (FLL-CLT-EWR) into a day-long nightmare. Add to that the fact that I had developed a migraine and I was further muddled. So I gave him the $120, and gave him a tip on top of that. Later on, I realized he had included his tip as part of the $120, so I tipped twice. I felt like a fool, but as I had a headache that was not fully under control and was nauseated from the migraine, I was not in a position to beat myself up too much.

This is exactly the point. They sold the slots too cheap (at least in cash terms - you could argue that the real value was to be connected with tieing up EWR) and the price has gone up since then. However asset prices go up and go down - my guess is that they will wait for a dip in prices (someone else pulling out, perhaps) and buy in again.

Like I said. If that's the reason why a return isn't worth it, which is reasonable, that means JFK was a marginal operation at best on the overall bottom line. That makes his blanket "wrong move" statement very suspicious. If an operation is only worth the capital already placed into it, then it's not lucrative and worthy to be cut if that capital can be used elsewhere for better effect (which has happened at EWR).

A return to JFK would be a mistake according to his own admission unless capital costs (including the need for more aircraft) plummet.

I live in Chelsea and feel the same way. Most of my travel out of JFK/LGA is with OPM so I'm in a cab about 90% of the time. Every cab I've taken from EWR has ended up as a hassle. I've excluded EWR from every personal trip flight search for as long as I can remember because of the annoyances. I also haven't flown UA metal since the 90's so maybe they should stay out at EWR so my JFK flight delays don't get any worse. :D

The JFK operation may not have been profitable, but the knock-on effect was losing NYC, LAX and SFO based HVF, which has reduced profits across the whole network.

I said "overall bottom line", which means the entire network. Again, if every factual statement he says is correct, that means JFK was only worth the capital already invested. That's actually an admission that JFK was worthy to be cut. At that point it's a sunk cost scenario (except for the aircraft and some equipment and employees which can be reallocated), and the only question that needs to be answered is if higher returns can be found by moving capital elsewhere.

The "admission" was that JFK was important to big corporate accounts that fly a lot across the network. So, if they lost $10M a year on JFK, but those accounts contributed $100M overall profit across the network, they lost $90M getting out and losing those account.

At this point they probably have to sleep in the bed they've made, since going back to JFK means buying slots, getting real estate , building a polaris lounge, etc.

Leaving New York’s JFK "Was the Wrong Decision"...

What a coincidence: that's exactly what I said on my UA post-flight survey asking about my p.s. EWR->SFO in March. ;)

As a once/twice a year "P" fare customer on this route, I've never run an airline but, esp. coming back to pick up p.s. from Brooklyn or W. Conn., there's no question which terminal is easier and quicker to get to: JFK. And while JFK has some serious traffic issues getting to/from, so can EWR.

Once one gets to JFK, the customer experience is infinitely better in so many aspects: signage, check-in, TSA Pre check, distance between TSA or baggage claim and the gate/UC Club, avoiding the hordes of people in poorly designed piers in this mega-plex which EWR is, helpfulness of UA staff, etc., etc.

Only Q. I have is: when is UA returning p.s. to JFK??

What assessment did I make? oh, that's right, I didn't offer one. :)

"We?" Who else are you speaking on behalf of? :confused:

How do you have better evidence than the current president of United?

Maybe *A should be told to fly to EWR instead of JFK.

I also live in Chelsea. I take the train 95% of the time and the transit time to either jFK or EWR is roughly the same. EWR costs $10 more but both are under $20. And if you're taking a car anyways I'm not suer what the hassle is. Call dispatch, stand on the curb, get in, ride, get out.
You got fleeced by a cab driver. Definitely blame UA for that. :rolleyes:
Decidedly not $20, but keep trying.
:confused:
There is one river crossing from any of the three airports to Manhattan. If you're crossing more than one bridge or tunnel you're doing it wrong.

Can someone here tell me which *A carriers and other partners use EWR and which ones use JFK? Furthermore, are there AC flights to/from LGA?

Why would I blame UA for that? I wasn't flying UA when it happened.

It's simply one of the (big) reasons why I choose to avoid EWR: it's expensive, inconvenient, takes forever to get there and back, and, IMO, it's a pit of an airport.

You're definitely taking the wrong train from JFK then. I think actual travel time from Penn Station to both airports is roughly similar (JFK probably a few minutes shorter).

But the LIRR offers much more frequent service than NJ Transit, especially on the weekends and at off hours. I almost never bother checking the LIRR schedule, I know there will always be a train in 10-15 minutes. With NJT, it can be 40+ minutes between trains sometimes.

I used to be a die-hard CO traveler, and as an Upper West Side resident, it wasn't hard to justify that EWR wasn't really that bad to get to.
But there are just more (reasonable) options to get to/from JFK. It's easy to avoid the tolls, especially at off-hours. Even taxis are fine in a pinch, in either direction. Nobody in their right mind should take a taxi to Manhattan from EWR! And good luck finding one to take you there from Manhattan...