United ads compare travel time to Newark vs. JFK. (Image: United)
United Airlines has kicked off a clever advertising campaign to convince NYC travelers they should fly out of its Newark hub instead of JFK Airport.
The airline has put digital displays on the roofs of 125 New York City taxis showing the estimated travel times to both JFK and Newark – and Newark comes out the winner.
The clever part is that these aren’t average travel times – they’re estimates based on the taxi’s location at the time you see it (the cabs are equipped with GPS software), and real-time traffic conditions in the New York area.
Of course, travel time is one thing and cost is another. The New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission has established a $52 flat fee for trips from Manhattan to JFK (plus tolls and tip). There’s no flat fee to Newark; the meter fare is around $48 from Midtown – but there’s also a $17.50 surcharge for EWR trips that doesn’t apply to JFK.
And then there is the Uber/Lyft option.
The route from Manhattan to EWR. (Image: RideGuru)
We looked up the cost of rides from Times Square to both airports on RideGuru. It put the cost of a taxi ride to EWR at $68, vs. $73 on Lyft and $77 on UberX (with no surge pricing premium). A taxi to JFK came to $54, vs. $45 on UberX and Lyft.
But our favorite way for getting to Newark has to be the New Jersey Transit train service from Penn Station. A ride on the frequent service from Penn Station in Manhattan to EWR takes less than half an hour and costs just $13.
Readers: Which New York airport do you generally fly out of, and how do you get there?
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Also love the E train. Incredibly convenient and it doesn’t stop everywhere.
The LIRR takes you solely to Penn Station. On the other hand, the E hits Midtown at 53rd Street and then runs down to the Hilton across from the World Trade Center. That route puts you within easy walking distance of so very many key Manhattan hotels.
I still think the E to the AirTrain is the best way to JFK although LIRR is probably slightly faster. I can leave my office on the east side be in the JFK terminal in roughly 45 minutes, its $7.75 with the airTrain fee, and Im less queasy.
The last couple of times I flew into Newark I used the AirTrain/New Jersey Transit. My next leisure trip has me going into JFK and I’m going to give the A Train a shot to my hotel in lower Manhattan.
UberPool from EWR is a really great deal – instead of the usual $70-90 highway ransom, sunday night it offered me $29 all the way EWR to Lower Manhattan by barely adding 10-15 mins to the journey.
my solution around the NJT frequency gaps is take Uber for $8-9 to Newark Penn if I miss the NJT, then from there catch PATH to WTC.
my usual LGA uber bill comes out to $35-40 so UberPool EWR at $29 is an excellent alternative.
LGA is the easiest to get to using the E subway and Q70 bus.
JFK is the next easiest using the E subway (express on weekdays) and Airtrain. From midtown 53rd & Broadway, it takes a little over an hour.
EWR takes way too long in a cab, especially when the tunnels are backed up with traffic. And for the return, it’s a big hassle to use a credit card in the cab. You have to get a voucher, fill out a form, etc.
You can take the train to EWR on NJ Transit out of Penn Station. However, the problem is the return from the airport. The train frequency from Newark back to Penn Station is not that good. I have waited over an hour and the platform is uncovered outdoors.