sinoflyer

This is definitely doable. The Airtrain between the rail station and C takes no more than 10 minutes. Headway is 2-4 minutes. You should be in C by 16:30, which still gives you a 30 minute cushion to check in (assuming wait times, etc).

Safe travels!

Kacee

Risky.

This. Plus Amtrak is not consistently reliable. And you still have to take the Airtrain to the terminal, which is an additional 10+ minutes.

For non status pax with no Pre-Check? And assuming no Amtrak delay into the NYC area? That's wishful thinking in my opinion

PsiFighter37

The timing is doable, but I wouldn't put my flight departure in the hands of Amtrak running perfectly on-time. I'd aim for a train that gets in at least 2.5 hours ahead of time, if not even a little more.

physioprof

I agree that it is cutting it too close. If everything goes smoothly, you'll make it. But any glitches could be fatal. Given that you are multiple people, have you considered taking a car service or shuttle from Philly right to the terminal? It could be cost effective.

TA

An UberX looks to be ~$90-100 from Philadelphia to EWR. Perhaps OP could assess the situation at the rail station (or before leaving for the rail station), and if things are not looking favorable, get in a car.

sinoflyer

I agree, it's risky, but I'm also assuming that OP already understands the risks with arriving 1:55 before departure. Besides, if Amtrak/SEPTA/NJ Transit are still having schedule problems with North Phila., we'd be hearing about it. I didn't hear anything in N.Y. last week.

Having done the ZFV-EWR connection many times, including around that time of the day, I'd be okay with OP's plan, but I can also understand why others would prefer a bigger cushion.

Kacee

Fair enough.

My last Amtrak ride into NYC from Boston (mid-April) involved creeping through Connecticut at about 10 mph. We arrived around an hour late.

I'm not a frequent EWR traveler, but seem to recall reading here that the UA terminals can be quite chaotic in the early evening, with lengthy waits at counters and security.

49er

Thanks for the responses.

I didn't consider Uber as an option, and looking at the shaded service area on the map on Uber's Philadelphia page, it doesn't look like Philadelphia-EWR is a viable option on Uber: https://www.uber.com/cities/philadelphia

Unfortunately taking an earlier train has its own drawbacks, because the next earlier train leaves Philadelphia 3hrs earlier (at noon); there is no departure between noon and 3pm. So my predicament is either "cut it close" or "spend a lot of time in the airport".

I'm UA plat and I get pre-check almost always these days. I couldn't find the information on UA's site regarding bag check-in deadline; if it's 45 minutes then we should be ok. If the cut off is 60 minutes or more, then there's a problem. We're all sitting in Economy Plus and since we're checking in bags I don't need to board early to get overhead bin space.

sanfran8080

Take the early train and spend some quality time at the United Club

lhrpitlhr

Is curb side check in available at C terminal EWR

Flying TATL if that makes a difference.

Thanks

Kacee

You can't check-in curbside for an international flight.

mjh00008

Flying United for the first time in many years in approx 10 days. We booked a low level award, had a schedule change, and switched to our current reservation details below.

Itinerary is MSY - EWR - VCE. There is only one flight per day from EWR - VCE, departing at 6:45 PM. It is the only direct United flight to VCE from North America systemwide. Our MSY - EWR segment is scheduled to get us in 2.5 hours before the international segment. Normally I would not be at all concerned, but our 12 PM departure from MSY to EWR has been delayed or canceled an inordinate amount of times in the last few days. Yesterday's flight was altogether canceled. There are typically only 3 direct flights from MSY to EWR per day, with only 2 arriving in time to make a 645 connection.

I called United to inquire about switching to the earlier flight and two reps stated I would need to pay a $75 change fee per ticket. The fee seems reasonable enough, but I wanted to get some opinions on if I should make the change now, or wait to see if a problem develops. If operations are normal on day of departure then we have nothing to worry about, but I'm just concerned about waiting too late, and missing a day due to irregular ops.

I appreciate any feedback in advance. Thank you.

JBord

I would not change, 2.5 hours is fine.

That said, if it's really only $75 and it gives you peace of mind, it may be worth it to you.

3Cforme

Two and a half hours is generously above the Minimum Connect Time for a UA domestic to UA international transfer at Newark. That's why UA asks for a change fee.

Don't drive yourself crazy looking at performance of unrelated flights. (Yes, if today's EWR-VCE is delayed much, tomorrow's VCE-EWR is likely to be delayed, but yesterday's MSY-EWR may be a different aircraft from today's MSY-EWR.) Check now for alternatives on other carriers for MSY-VCE and EWR-VCE, then check flight status early on your day of travel. If you're shown to be heading for a misconnect, quickly call UA and asked for your preferred routing. Trying to keep this to two segments, think about AA (US-operated) MSY-PHL-VCE departing from MSY at 12:50PM or Delta's MSY-ATL-VCE departing as late as 2:15PM.

mjh00008

Thank you both! Good advice on preparing an alternate itinerary. For irregular ops can United push me onto a partner carrier? There are Air Canada and KLM routes with connections that wouldn't cost us much time if we make the change early if a problem develops.