JFK International Airport

Pros: It is easy to get around
Cons: Still a lot of construction

JFK has made many changes in the last few years. The AIR-TRAIN is one of the most notable. This has helped getting around and to and from the airport easier and faster in many ways. The AIR-TRAIN opened just a few months ago on December 17, 2003. The ...

Pros: Lots of options for inexpensive international travel...
Cons: Poor design makes for myriad problems...

There's a lot of reasons for people to use New York's JFK International Airport. It's definitely one of America's largest and busiest airports, and it handles more trans-atlantic traffic than any other airport in America. If you want the absolute best ...

Pros: Many flights to international destinations
Cons: Bad design, hard to reach, chaotic, filthy, smelly, run down.

The Worst the World has to offer When you mention New York city, Connecticut residents seem to harbor extreme views of the Big Apple. Feelings range from disdain (I never set foot in that stinking shithole) to adoration (New York is ...

Pros: easy accessible from LI, JetBlue
Cons: not easily accessible from Manhattan

Location JFK International Airport is located in Jamaica, Queens. JFK International Airport is very convenient to Long Islands residents, and is very easily accessible to those residents. However, if you are coming from Manhattan is quite a...

Pros: A rich history, an international gateway, and it's now receiving a sleek makeover.
Cons: Traffic and ramps can be chaotic at times, and its reinvention was long overdue.

This is one of NY area airport reviews. I also have an essay on Newark Airport (EWR) at h ttp://www.epinions.com/content _125837020804 Welcome to John F. Kennedy International Airport. What I will describe most is ...

Pros: You'll eventually probably get on a plane.
Cons: There has been no effort to make it user-friendly. Hard to pick up arriving passengers.

This is my least favorite airport in New York as it's the longest drive into the city and post 9/11 there are employees stationed outside to prevent those coming to pick up passengers from waiting, which means someone in a car has to drive around the ...

Pros: It gets you into the EXCELLENT city of New York
Cons: Lines of queues EVERYWHERE-Unorganised. CROWDED arrivals lounge packed to the door.

I arrived in New York JFK from Manchester, England Via Paris, tired but eager to see the USA and thi ...

Pros: Very big, lots to do while waiting for airplane, ample parking.
Cons: Long taxiing times to the runway, heavy delays in bad weather.

From my past experience JFK is not what I would call the best in airports but it does depend on how you experience the airport. Currently there are 9 different terminals to view the airport from, each one would give you a different feeling about the...

Pros: Quick and efficient if you do not have much luggage.
Cons: No place for an international traveler's luggage on LIRR. Too many ticket purchases required.

I am not a NYC area resident but I use JFK for many international flights. I live in southern NJ so I do not have a friend or family drive me there. Instead I have taken Amtrak to Penn Station, then transferred to LIRR, then on the Air Train to JFK. ...

Pros: close to Boston so next time I can just drive instead of fly.
Cons: disorganized, confused management, long waits, late gate updates, uninformed and rude staff

This is easily the most disorganized airport I have ever traveled through. We had a 1 hour layover to transfer flights and they almost made us late because the plane could not just park itself, we had to wait for a little car thing to tow us into ...

Pros: Plenty of direct flights to Europe.
Cons: Nearly everything else.

I hate JFK.  Connections through JFK often require going from one terminal to another, meaning you have to clear security AGAIN!  And delays!  Any flight going through JFK is going to be delayed. Period!  It, along with Newark, are simply disasters.  It is hard to believe that the airline industry allows this to continue.

Pros: Nothing
Cons: Terminals 8 and 9 are truly horrible

Avoid terminals 8 and 9 -- the American Airlines terminals -- at all costs.

They are old, dilapidated and dirty. Worse, you often have to check in at the domestic terminal 9 for a domestic flight flight that leaves from the "international" terminal, which entails a long walk outside in the cold to terminal 8. The Transportation Security personnel and American Airlines employees are often surly and humorless; the food selection is awful (American-style fast food, yet expensive and only before security); there is not enough seating at the gates; the carpets are old and musty smelling; the lighting is often bare bulb fluorescents; PA systems hard to understand. It looks as if the terminals were built and 1960s and never remodeled. Arrival from overseas is horrendous: long lines at immigration and slow, slow, slow baggage service. Really a third-world experience not worthy of the USA. AVOID!!

Pros: AirTrain works well. Cleaner newer terminals. Construction subsiding.
Cons: Still confusing. Bad signage in English only. Incredibly long distances.

It's true that JFK is getting better after years of being one of the most confusing/ugly airports in the US. The AirTrian works very well, but good luck with the mysterious (English only) signage...no color coding, no clear announcements, no explanations of what airlines serve the terminals (maps are scattered around here and there, but you need to decode what they actually mean by looking at several). The transfer to the LIRR to Penn Station is the cleanest/safest/cheapest way to get to Manhattan, but it's still a hassle.

For a real workout, try getting from one end of the new gigantic American Airlines Terminal 9 to the AirTrain...probably a half mile walk up and down 5 escalators and 5 moving walkways...amazingly bad layout. You had better be under 40 and in excellent shape with LOTS of time to kill to navigate the maze. The distances are immense, and the signage is weak at best. Give yourself extra time. Also, the American terminal is the last one on the AirTrain...you have to stop at C through 7 first...takes some time if you're in a rush...and be careful what train you get on or you'll start looping the airport.