Travel: Flights to New York City

New York City is served by several airports, both international and domestic. Most international flights are found in John F Kennedy and Newark Liberty Airport while LaGuardia Airport serves a lot of domestic flights:

John F. Kennedy International Airport (IATA: JFK) is located to the east of the city. There are a number of options for getting from JFK to the city.

Taxicab The most flexible route into the city from JFK is a taxi, although the wait for one can be long. Cab fare runs a standard $45 anywhere in Manhattan, not including tolls or tips.

Note that the arrivals terminals are filled with drivers hawking illegal livery rides at grossly inflated prices that prey on newly arrived tourists, so beware. But if you don't want to wait a half hour for a Yellow Cab and the black livery car has a sticker of a car service name - you can usually bargain down the price to $35 - 40.

Coach services that provide bus service from JFK and La Guardia to Grand Central Station and Penn Station. As of December 2005, the cost is $15 ($27 roundtrip).

Subway JFK AirTrain runs to Howard Beach station to connect with the "A" subway and to Jamaica station to connect with the "E" and "J/Z" subways (Sutphin Blvd station), the Long Island Rail Road and buses. If you are travelling to the downtown area (the financial district), use the "A" train from Howard Beach. If heading to the midtown area (including Times Square) use the "E" train. However, as the E train makes so few stops in Queens, it could be faster to take the E regardlessly. The JFK AirTrain costs $5; the subway costs $2.

Commuter rail From Jamaica station, you may connect to Long Island Rail Road trains to Long Island or to Penn Station. You may also get trains to Downtown Brooklyn or to Hunterspoint Ave in Queens. This last option is useful if your destination is in downtown Queens or on the east side of Manhattan. The Hunterspoint and Brooklyn trains are less frequent than the Penn Station trains. Taking the train can be significantly faster than a taxi if your ultimate destination is in Midtown Manhattan, especially during peak travel times. This route is less attractive if you have a lot of baggage, however. You can also save a lot of money over a taxi if you are travelling alone or with one other person. You may also take trains to Ronkonkoma, where you can get shuttles to Islip airport, useful for catching flights on Southwest Airlines. The Long Island Railroad is sometimes substantially more expensive than the Subway?it costs $7.50 to travel from Jamaica to the city center during peak periods. On weekends, any travel within city borders on any MTA railroad is $3. Other times, the fare is $5.

While traveling to the airport from the city, it is important to board "A" trains with destination signs marked with Far Rockaway via JFK Airport or Rockaway Park via JFK Airport. If you catch a Ozone Park-Lefferts Blvd A, you will need to transfer to a train headed to the Rockaways. If you do end up on a train to Lefferts and miss an opportunity to transfer, IT IS OKAY. At Lefferts Boulevard, transfer to the Q10 bus on street level, which travels to JFK Airport. Or you can backtrack as well. When using the "E" train to connect to the AirTrain, exit at the penultimate Sutphin Blvd. stop (the stop that the subway map calls Jamaica is not served by the AirTrain). Subways serve both the Jamaica and Howard Beach station 24 hours a day, so you will always be able to take a train, even if you have an early departure. However at nights, the trains will run slowly (local) and infrequently (every 20 minutes). When taking this route into or out of Manhattan during the overnight hours be alert of your surroundings as you will be passing through some rough neighborhoods.

For JFK, if you really want to slum it and avoid the $5 AirTrain ticket, you can take NYCT buses ($2 or a free transfer from the subway) to Lefferts Boulevard station where you can catch an A train, or to New Lots Avenue, in Brooklyn, where you can catch a 3 train. Note that the latter option is right in the middle of East New York, which may not the best place to be if you're not a local. You may also remain on the bus, and transfer to either the "L" train at Van Sindren Avenue (New Lots Avenue station), the (C) at Kingston-Throop Avenues or the (J) or (M) trains at Flushing Avenue, the last stop on the bus. 'Transferring between bus and subway requires a MetroCard; the single ride ticket does not allow transfers.

JFK Airport is also a major business airport center and many visitors engage in business meetings near the airport; thus, there are numerous hotels close to JFK with amenities that are aimed at the business traveler.

Newark Liberty International Airport (IATA: EWR) is located to the west of the city in New Jersey. From Newark Airport, take the AirTrain to the Newark Airport Train Station (about 10 minutes) to connect to a NJ Transit or Amtrak train running along the Northeast Corridor line to Penn Station. Expect to spend at least 15 minutes getting ticketed and changing trains. One-way fares to Penn Station are $14.00 if you take a NJ Transit train, and between $20 and $30 on Amtrak. Note that if you take the NJ Transit train there is also a stop at Penn Station, New Jersey - stay on till Penn Station, New York. The NJ Transit train from Newark Airport to Penn Station, New York takes about 30 minutes.

Two bus options are also available from Newark. For the most direct route, Olympia Trails ($14 one way, $23 round trip) runs buses every 15 minutes to Manhattan, with stops at the Port Authority Bus Terminal (42nd St. & Eighth Avenue), Bryant Park, and Grand Central Station. One-way trip time is about 40 minutes depending on traffic. For the most inexpensive option possible, however, take NJTransit bus #62 to Newark Penn Station (one-way fare $1.25). From there, you may take a PATH subway train either to World Trade Center station in lower Manhattan, or, by transferring at the Journal Square station to the 33rd St. train (across the platform), to one of several stops along Sixth Avenue (last stop 33rd Street & 6th Avenue). The combined fare for the bus/PATH option ($2.75) is significantly lower than the EWR AirTrain with NJTransit, but will take longer —plan on 1.5?2 hours — and requires 1-2 transfers. As a word of caution, note that this is not a well-publicized option; you may well find yourself to be the only tourist on the bus, so don't expect much help or companionship in finding your way.

When choosing how to get into the city you should also keep in mind where you are going. If you are staying at the New Yorker, which is right next to New York Penn Station, it would make sense to take the EWR AirTrain and a NJTransit train that will take you right to Penn Station. If you are staying at the Millennium, then it is right across from the WTC station, so it might make sense to take the NJTransit bus and the PATH, instead of slug