getting from LGA to JFK & connection times?

[Laurie]

What minimum connection times do folks recommend? How long would this realistically take, not just travel but getting back thru security etc?

Is 4 hrs enough on a Friday afternoon for an international connection, when the flight out of JFK is the last one of the day?

 

[jerseygirl]

4 hours should be enough -- but Friday afternoons are brutal with all the people heading to the Hamptons and other weekend getaways. Add in an accident or two, plus construction, and you could be sitting in a very long parking lot. (It once took us 5 hours to get from LGA to the city ... with dd's high school graduation looming ... very stressful ... good thing no one could see her shorts and tank top under her graduation gown!).

In no traffic, the trip is about 30 minutes.

If your luggage isn't too much of a hassle, I'd recommend taking a cab to Jamaica Station (a stop on both the Long Island Railroad and the NYC subway). From there, you can jump on the Airtrain, which is not affected by traffic-- you'll disembark right at your terminal.

http://www.panynj.gov/airports/jfk-airtrain.html

 

[Laurie]

The flight I'm looking at actually shows 4hr 25min connection. There's an earlier flight into LGA with a 6hr 10min connection. I hate to get up earlier to waste time at the airport, but I hate worrying about missing a connection even more, so would you recommend that to be safe? (I know arrival times are approximate to understate it, almost every flight I've flown in the past few years has been delayed, some seriously.)

Also I looked at the map, and Jamaica Sta is so close to JFK; it would save that much time because the snarl-ups would be going into JFK?

This wouldn't be peak season, but end of Oct.

We've used the AirTrain to get from JFK to the subway into Manhattan, and hope to travel light enough on this trip to be able to handle that OK.

Thanks for your help! I hope to nail this flight down in the next day or 2.

 

[jerseygirl]

Hmmmmmmmm ... that's a tough decision. I hate sitting around airports almost as much as I hate sitting in traffic. But, I think I would take the earlier flight just because LGA (and all the NY airports) can be nightmares if there's bad weather -- even just rain. I wish I had $1 for every extra minute I've been delayed on flights involving EWR, JFK and LGA!!

About this time last year, I had a flight from JFK to Athens. Weather channel was predicting heavy snow in NY. I had bought two separate tickets -- one to get me to JFK ... and then the international ticket (I wasn't sure when I was returning from Europe, wanted to avoid as many change fees as possible and was doing things somewhat peacemeal). I called Delta the day before my flights and asked them if I could take the domestic flight a day early (same day) based on the weather predictions -- explained I needed to get there to make my international connection (also on Delta). Surprisingly, they let me -- with no extra costs. I ended up just spending the night in Manhattan, having dinner with friends -- it worked out beautifully -- and many of the next day's flights were cancelled so there's a decent chance I wouldn't have been able to get to NY to catch the Athens flight if I didn't go a day ahead of time. And, while most of the domestic flights were being cancelled at JFK the day of the snow storm, they got the vast majority of international flights out. A friend that I was meeting at JFK did the same thing ... took the redeye the night before and got there at the crack of dawn for a late afternoon/early evening flight ... bought a one-day pass to the President's Club (or whatever Delta calls it), showered, napped, etc! Bottom line: If we hadn't gone early, we would have not made our Greece flight.

So ..... I would say take the earlier flight ... not because of traffic between LGA and JFK .... but due to potential delays into LGA. And, if it's really early, just go into NY a day early and enjoy yourself! It breaks up the long trip and removes the stress!

And ... to answer your question ... yes, there can be HUGE snarlups getting that very short distance from Jamaica to JFK. Millions (?? probably an exxageration but LOTS) of people need to take that highway to get home to Long Island each evening. The whole area is a giant traffic nightmare.

 

[Laurie]

OK, thanks for the advice, think I'll do that.

This will be all on 1 ticket (and ff miles). I once booked int'l flights on 2 separate tickets in the past to save $$ - way too stressful, even w/a 6-hr connection we almost did miss the int'l flight! Never again (without an overnite anyway). In fact we did miss our most recent int'l flight because of a delay on connection, fortunately on 1 ticket.

In this case the airline said if the connection is missed due to traffic, we're out of luck. If there's a delay in first flight's arrival *and* traffic (not to mention long security lines), I'm not sure how they'd determine fault, but don't want to have to find out... The earlier start will make it a 24-hr trip; but sounds like the stress reduction will be worth the extra travel time.

 

[tschwa2]

I agree, I would go for at least the 6 hr connection. At JFK for an international flight you should arrive at least 2 hours prior to get through security, etc. I think 2 hours to travel between airports is cutting it too close.

Good luck.

 

[beejaybee]

happened to us once

Using AA ff tix, we flew into LGA and out of JFK. Got to LGA @9. We rented a car to spend the day visiting DH's and my old haunts on the island and returned the car without a drop fee to JFK with hours to spare for our 8pm flight to DUB. This was in '04.

Coming back we had a horrendously long time gap between arriving at JFK and departing LGA. We took a taxi and spent the wait at LGA, which was okay since we were pretty jet-lagged and not up for anything but the wait.

But don't want to have to do this airport switcheroo in the future if possible.

 

[x3 skier]

Day Pass

If you do get to JFK early, look into a Day Pass to one of the Airline Clubs like Delta, American or whoever you are flying with. Much nicer surroundings and with free drinks and snacks, more relaxing. IIRC most are $25 for the day.

Cheers

 

[Laurie]

These are AA ff tix as well, maybe common for their int'l ff itineraries. We signed up for their Citi card to get 75k miles specifically for this trip, then had to wait til we'd spent enough on it. Now our travel is only 7 months out, so I may have missed the best flights. Fortunately the one coming home doesn't route that way, connects at JFK.

It is a hassle but I can live with the inconvenience for the savings. That was the easiest ff miles we've ever accumulated! We'll fly into Milan and probably out of Rome, for just 80k miles for 2, all courtesy of Citibank and the folks who posted that info here, and flyertalk. (Thank you TUG!! )

 

[mbh]

Take the earlier flight

There is no airport with more delays than LGA. Why make yourself nervous for a difference of less than 2 hours. This is coming from a New York native who has flown and driven to all NY airports too many times to count.

 

[Laurie]

So I'm debating the departing flight again, wondering whether 6 hrs is enough! I could go even earlier for a longer connection to change airports: 8.25 hrs. Would you all recommend that over the 6.25 hr one? (We'd be leaving home in the dark to get there, very unpleasant start to a trip IMO.)

OR there's one that leaves so early there's no point in going to bed at all the night b4, with a 10.5 hr wait at JFK without having to change airports. I really don't want to do that.

There are better flights but we don't have enough ff miles.

(Return flights were easy and I purchased those. We got the last cheap ff flights from Rome to home. )

Thanks again for advice!

 

[bjones9942]

Laurie, You're becoming a little OCD! Welcome to the club!!!

Growing up we were always late for flights. Now I arrive hours early. Many times I've been able to take an earlier flight just by asking the nice airline people at the terminal.

In any event, if you *do* take the 10 hr early flight, you can always take the A train into Manhattan, have a bite to eat and then take the A train back to JFK. If you do that, make sure your train back to JFK actually says it goes there - some of the A trains don't make the full trip.

Have a great time!

 

[Laurie]

Update: I just found a much better flight connecting at JFK, leaving 2 days earlier. I'm thinking we'll probably do this, to have a more sane travel day. Darn, that means we'll have to spend 2 extra days in Italy!

Laurie, You're becoming a little OCD! Welcome to the club!!!

Don't you mean CDO? (It's in alphabetical order! I saw this on TUG somewhere)