Have you ever done a search for a flight to New York City?
And seen three different choices?
Today we're going to be discussing what the best option is for you.
Alright fellow travelers.You're planning your trip to New York City and you've got three airports to work with.
JFK and Laguardia in Queens.
And Newark Airport in Northern New Jersey.
Which one should you choose?
Let's break them all down by pros, cons , and what I would use them for.
John F. Kennedy airport is probably the most famous New York City airport and maybe the one you've heard of if you've never been to the United States.
Let's start off with the pros and the biggest pro is the ease of commute to Manhattan.
You would take a $5.00 air train and a $2.75 subway. And that can basically take you to Manhattan in an hour.
Hour ten, hour twenty.
Depending on your terminal.
You can also take a $15 train on Long Island Railroad.
To either long island or mid town Manhattan. And you have multiple options there.
Another great pro about JFK is they have the most international flights arriving and departing with different carriers.
And they also have the most access to lounges if you have let's say a priority pass card.
Now the con's.
Probably the biggest one is the taxi cost from JFK to get to Manhattan.
It can cost you 60 to 70 dollars depending on exactly where you're going to be going.
The other issue is you're taking the subway from the JFK station. If it's really crowded during a rush hour period.
You might be stuck standing with your suitcase for an hour or more.
And that brings us to why I would use JFK airport?
I would fly to JFK 100% if I was staying in Brooklyn. Queens, Long Island, or the east side of Manhattan.
If you're talking about midtown manhattan or downtown manhattan it's a toss up between JFK and Newark airport in New Jersey.
Which we're going to be getting to.
Depending on what is going to be cheaper?
Another reason to fly to JFK.
Is your hub airport or do you ahve status with an airline such as American or Delta?
If so you're probably better off flying to JFK.
Next on the list is Laguardia. And this is the smallest of the 3 area airports.
And probably the one you're least likely to fly to.
If you're going to be coming in from an international destination.
Let's start with the pros.
And the biggest one here is it's location in proximity to Manhattan.
It's the closest one to Manhattan and the cheapest taxi ride. About 35 to 40 dollars.
An easy split with a couple of friends or family members.
The other thing I really like about LaGuardia is the fact that it has an American Express Centurion Lounge .
So if you have any Am Ex Platinum or Centurion card.
You get free access for yourself and all of your guests.
And it's one of my favorite lounges ever.
Now the cons. LaGuardia has quite a few.
We're going to start off with a lack of public transportation options.
To get to the airport.
Right now your only choice are either to take a bus to one of the subway stations in queens.
Which is certianly not that convenient.
Or to take a $15.00 charter bus to Penn Station, to Grand Central Station, or to Port Authority.
Also not that convenient. Which brings us up to the final con.
And probably the biggest issue.
They're doing a lot of construction right now expanding LaGuardia.
The traffic has been a nightmare i've read articles. I've heard stories.
People are waiting an hour or two in traffic to get into that terminal.
So unless you're going early in the morning or late at night.
You might be wasting a lot of your time.
Why would I choose LaGuardia airport?
Honestly, there's not that many reasons right now.
If you're a glutton for punishment.
And you want to be sitting your taxi for a long time taking pictures of New York City.
That could be one reason.
If you've got a lot of time to kill before your flight and you want to check out the centurioun lounge.. Maybe that would work.
Or if you got an extremely good flight deal.
The other way would be if my flight was early in the morning.
Or late at night.
You could avoid some of those traffic woes. But otherwise I don't see to many advantages right now.
To going to Laguardia until they get construction taken care of in 2017 or 2018.
Last but not least.
EWR aka Newark Airport located in Northern New Jersey.
And a lot of people don't realize this.
But newark airport is just as close to Midtown Manhattan as JFK is.
Alright now some of the pros of flying to Newark Airport.
And this one is my favorite.
They have a direct charter bus from all the terminals directly to Port Authority on 42nd street.
It's $16.00 and I have made it to Mid-Town Manhattan in 30 minutes or less.
Another option is for $12.50 to take the sky train.
Which connects to NJ transit.
Which goes to Penn Station on 34th street.
That one costs you $12.50 . Takes about 40 to 45 minutes.
And of course if you live anywhere in New jersey. It's a no-brainer to fly there.
Some of the cons of Newark Airport.
If you're going to Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, the upper east side or some of the eastern points of Manhattan.
It can be kind of a bummer getting in.
Why would I fly to Newark over the other airports?
I would fly to Newark first of all if I had status or United was my personal carrier.
Almost all of the United flights in the area do go directly into New York.
Another reason would be if I was staying in Mid-town Manhattan or Lower Manhattan. And I got a better price on a flight to Newark.
Over JFK.
I would lean towards Newark in that situation.
Or of course as I just mentioned. If you're staying in New Jersey it's super convenient to everything around there.
Or even possibly Philadelphia.
Alright guys I hope you foudn that information useful.
Really it depends on where you're going to be staying.
And how much money you save between Newark and JFK.
Right now it would take a lot for me to be using LaGuardia.
With all of those traffic problems.
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