Airfare from Pa

[Hawaii]

Hi all - Am having a really hard time deciding if we should fly out of JFK (non-stop) or out of EWR with stops. I hate to fly so non-stop is the way we have always gone. For any of you that have flown out of JFK how is the airport? Easy to navigate? Both JFK and EWR have early morning flights. Two summers ago we had a non-stop out of EWR but am not seeing that now for our trip at the end of July. I want to book within the next couple of weeks so hoping they will add more non-stops. We are flying out on a Friday, staying on STT for one night then getting to our villa Saturday. Return trip is on a Monday.

[betsyv]

Hi,
There is another thread called "Airfare" that has some info on this.
I just posted there to say we got airfare (AA, leaving JFK to STT nonstop in July) for half of what we would have had to pay from our NE Pa. area. $700. ish for BOTH my husband and me. That would have been EACH from SYR, or AVP.

We still have to do a small road trip to JFK and stay one night at a hotel...but well worth the $300.ish savings.
I haven't flown out of JFK for many years, so I am interest in what its like to navigate too.

Good luck with the search.

[Hawaii]

Thanks Betsy will take a look must have missed it. I have been searching and really do not want to travel to JFK but if the price is right will do it. We did the park and fly two years ago out of Newark. Thanks.

[Timo]

Hawaii, We traveled out of JFK this past November and it was a breeze. I used to fly from JFK all the time when first visiting STJ back in the seventies but have not flown out from there in quite sometime before 11/12. We live down in southern Ocean county NJ by LBI and it took us 2hrs 10min to get to the airport area but, we left home at 3:45am on a Saturday so there was almost no traffic to speak of. We used the Parking Spot parking service and were at the terminal in 15 minutes. Flew non-stop to STT with AA for $380per person and, felt it was well worth the trip to JFK considering the flights out of Newark were in the $600 pp range at that time. We booked the airfare almost 8 months in advance and the cost may have gone down by a few $$ but, not enough to kick ourselves for booking so early. It was a long day of travel but once we were on STJ, the adrenalin kicked in and we were able to shop for food and get a bite to eat before crashing for the night. Hope this helps.

[Barb Y]

JFK is a large airport but easy enough to navigate be sure to give yourself enough time. My friend just booked a Monday to Monday for $300 rt. ya can't beat that we have used avistar offsite parking which had an easy quick transition. Good luck

[GoldenDaze]

Hawaii, I will throw in my 2 cents. We live in NJ and usually fly out of EWR on the United non-stop to STT. United only has non-stop flights to STT from EWR on Saturday during the STJ low season so you probably won't see them adding flights for your days.
When we fly AA from JFK to STT which we have done many times we have stayed at the Days Inn the night before which is fine. There are 2 parking options. You can use their park & fly package where after you check in you drive your car to "The Parking Spot" and they shuttle you back to the hotel and you take the hotel shuttle to terminal 8 in the morning.
The other option is to book a regular room, then wake up early and drive to "The Parking Spot", park your car and take their shuttle to the terminal. If you do this option be sure to print a parking coupon from their website

We have done it both ways without any problems. One thing to consider is that the hotel shuttle only runs once an hour so if you miss it you're in a tight spot. The offsite parking lot runs frequently so there is usually not a long wait no matter when you get there.
During times of the year when bad weather is not a concern we wake up at crack-o-dawn and drive straight to the Parking Spot, in about 90 minutes.
Whatever you choose it should go pretty smooth. Once you get dropped off at terminal 8 it is fairly straight forward and easy to navigate. If you are checking bags I recommend checking them curbside with a skycap and be done with it. Then you are free to go through security and grab some breakfast.
Have a great trip!

[jmq]

From central NJ we would much prefer EWR but the price on that non-stop on AA out of JFK often makes it worthwhile to shelp out to JFK.

It is pretty nice landing so early in STT, assuming the flight takes off on time, because we have experienced some repair delays which made me notice the equipment they tend to run on that route was as old as dirt. Note however that observation was last made over 3 yrs ago and may no longer be valid.

The drive out to JFK on the Staten Island “Expressway” and Belt Parkway is a huge wildcard anytime after about 6:30 am, (after 7am, that 65 mile drive can take 3 hours) and can be made quite unpleasant by those speeding reckless low riding rice burners with the tuna boat mufflers, tailgating limo drivers, and clueless city drivers not used to driving at highway speeds. Way more hazardous and nerve wracking than the flight LOL.