I’m flying into JFK on the redeye and I’ll arrive early Sunday morning. Because I can’t check in to my rental in the city until 3pm, and I’ll have a huge suitcase with me, I was thinking of just hanging around the airport, eating overpriced food and surfing the net on my laptop.
I’m wondering, however: at JFK, are there any areas you can do that after you’ve picked up your bags? Or are all the food/common areas behind security? Should I just take a cab to the city and wheel my suitcase around in a sleep-deprived haze for 6 hours?
Almost all hotels will allow you to check your bag in the morning at the hotel if you are checking in later. I would recommend you do that.
Also, if you have time, and the inclination, you may want to take the Airtrain into Manhattan from JFK and save yourself a bit of cash. Taxis have a fixed fare of $45.00 plus tolls (almost $5.00) plus tip (at least $5.00). You can get the Airtrain to Jamaica for $5.00 and the LIRR to Penn Station for less than $5.00, depending on time. You can also take the Subway into the City for $2.00, or perhaps less if you buy a $10.00 or more – or an unlimited – Metrocard.
I’m renting an apartment rather than staying in a hotel. I may in fact decide to go to the city earlier, but supposing I wanted to stay at JFK, is it even possible? Or is the baggage claim area accessible only to the curb? I’ve been to JFK a few times before, but I usually bolt as soon as I get there.
I also usually take the Airtrain, but I’m counting on being DEAD tired, so I was thinking I might splurge on door-to-door service for once.
I haven’t been to NYC, but I second the idea of depositing your luggage at the hotel first thing. Then you can do whatever. Are you going for business or pleasure? Have you spent much time there?
I’d just try to think of some low-stress thing to do like going to a museum, seeing a couple of sights if you haven’t already done all of those, or maybe taking a leisurely lunch some place. From what I’ve read you can see dozens of worthwhile things just on a walk through Central Park.
Oops, sorry, I missed where you said you were renting an apartment.
I don’t know what to recommend. And my guess is that as an arriving passenger you’ll find most of the airport off limits to you as well, since those areas tend to be open only to departing passengers.
Pretty much each domestic airline at JFK has their own terminal. So the answer will depend strongly on which airline you fly in on.
But yes, in general, the pickin’s are real slim outside security. I haven’t been to JFK in a few years, so I won’t hazard a guess at your best bet nowadays.
There is a shuttle bus that circulates between the terminals so you could try other terminals if the one you arrive at is particularly sparse.
The jfk website http://www.panynj.gov/aviation/jfkhomemain.html seems to be pretty informative. You might also want to check your airline’s website & see if they have terminal maps; most established carriers do for their major stations. These will usually indicate amenities like food & hotspots.
Since this is in GQ and I got a lot of IMHOs, I’ll answer my own question…I’m typing this from the upper level shopping/dining area of terminal 4, sipping on some java. I was even able to store my suitcase downstairs (for a small fee), so I can roam freely up here for a while.
On to my own honest opinion/mundane personal info: I’m dead tired at the moment (no sleep on the plane as I predicted), but if I didn’t have my bag to contend with, I’d probably be in the city soaking up some sun. It’s looking to be a really nice day.