I can never justify the cost of a taxi from Manhattan to JFK Airport when I travel alone, and instead go with the NYC Subway or Long Island Railroad that connects to the JFK AirTrain at either Jamaica station or Howard Beach station. It costs only $7.50 to take the subway + AirTrain or $15.50 for the faster LIRR + AirTrain combo.
When you take the AirTrain from Manhattan to JFK, you either begin at Jamaica station (off the E train or LIRR) or at Howard Beach station (off the A train). From there you head toward toward JFK Airport via Federal Circle station. The train you initially ride into the airport stops at Terminal 1 first, then visits Terminal 2, Terminal 4, Terminal 5, Terminal 7, and Terminal 8 in that order. It can be a long ride if you need to fly out of Terminal 8, but it doesn’t have to be.
The AirTrains from Howard Beach and Jamaica run counterclockwise on the “outer loop” of the 2 tracks. There is a separate “inner loop” for a train that only visits airport terminals. This train runs clockwise, in the opposite direction as the outer loop.
That means if you are flying out of Terminal 8 at JFK, it’s best to get off the “outer loop” train at Terminal 1 and switch to an “inner loop” train, where Terminal 8 is the next stop, instead of 5 stops away. Terminal 8 includes American Airlines, Air Berlin, FinnAir, LAN, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, TAM, and US Airways.
It might even be best to do this switch if you are flying out of Terminal 7, but the time savings may not be as phenomenal unless you’re able to catch an inner loop train quickly. Terminal 7 includes Air Canada, ANA, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, Icelandair, OpenSkies, Qantas, and United.
It takes about 2 minutes to go from station to station, and trains run every 10 minutes on the inner loop.
The same idea exists if you are trying to depart the airport from Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. Get on the inner loop train and get off at Terminal 8. Switch to the outer loop track to catch a Howard Beach train or Jamaica train (or either if you’re going to Federal Circle).
Knowing your way around the AirTrain JFK can mean the difference between running to your gate vs. being able to make a quick lounge visit. Just read what this American Airlines flyer has to tweet 😉
@PointsToPointB totally doing your inner loop trick!
— The Miles Professor (@TheMilesProfess) October 17, 2013
@PointsToPointB you saved me just enough time to stop in the club and grab some yogurt covered pretzels 🙂
— The Miles Professor (@TheMilesProfess) October 17, 2013
I know I’ll be doing this “trick” a lot in the coming future for American Airlines in Terminal 8, seeing as how a certain EXcePtional stAAtus appeared this morning for me 😀
