How early does one need to be at JFK-NYC airport for a commuter flight?

October 28, 2015 5:59 AM

I've never done the commuter flight thing before....realistically, how early do I need to show up to JFK (NYC airport) for a 6:30 AM flight to Boston this Saturday?

I have no luggage (just a small backpack) and was planning on leaving the East Village at 4:45-5 AM which I estimate should get me to JFK via cab by 5:30 AM. Is 1 hr to clear security fool hardy?

Basically if I had luggage or an international flight I'd give myself a solid 2hrs to clear security etc. but for a local hop like this? do things work differently? do you really need to spend more time in the airports than in the air?

bonus question: Uber or Cab? subway is going to be too unreliable at 4am for me to risk it...

posted by larthegreat to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (11 answers total)

I have never gotten to the airport more than an hour early for the commuter flight in either direction.
posted by xingcat at 6:04 AM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Best answer: One hour that early will be fine. I used to travel to and from Chicago a lot, not as busy but close, no luggage, and in the morning we would get there mere minutes before the plane was boarding without any problems (in the super busy early-afternoon we got there 90 minutes early). But make sure you check in online/phone app before you even leave your residence.

Keep in mind that overall, a "local hop" isn't the distinguishing factor here--it doesn't matter (domestically) if your flight is 45 minutes or 4 hours. What matters is the time of day you are getting to the airport (is it busy at security or not at that time) and if you are checking anything.
posted by TinWhistle at 6:11 AM on October 28, 2015 [6 favorites]

For a 6:30 flight on a Saturday out of JFK, I would seek to arrive at around 5:50 but would not be concerned until about 6:05.

Bonus answer: I would take Uber for the price and for the reliability.

Fwiw, I would rather take an early Acela to Boston from NYC than fly..
posted by AugustWest at 6:36 AM on October 28, 2015 [2 favorites]

Pre-checked in and with no baggage, I personally would aim to get there about 6:00, and would only start panicking at 6:10. But I live life on the edge like that. I can't speak to method of transport, because I've never taken an Uber. I would reserve the cab/car service at 5:15 am.
posted by Liesl at 6:56 AM on October 28, 2015

The nice thing about commuter flights is that if you miss one, there's generally another one very soon, which I think is why people are more cavalier about getting to the airport in time for them.

What's your worst case scenario if you miss your flight and end up on the next flight or the flight after that? If you have a once-in-a-lifetime job interview an hour after you land, then leave extra time. If getting to Boston an hour or two late (and possibly with rebooking fees, although these will often be waived if you call as soon as you know you're going to miss the flight and explain how SOMETHING CRAZY happened to hold you up and you are nice) is nbd, then feel free to cut it close.

5:30 is plenty of time; I don't know JFK security lines well but I would not even think of an hour as remotely cutting it close at that time of day. But if you're going to be sitting in your apartment freaking out that you haven't left enough time, you might as well go as soon as you're ready.
posted by mskyle at 7:12 AM on October 28, 2015

Getting there no later than 6 is ideal but I'm a little anxious about shit like that so I personally would aim for 530, which would get me there at 545 because I'm also a shitty procrastinator. There will be little to no traffic so I don't see the ride taking longer than 30 min.
posted by poffin boffin at 7:30 AM on October 28, 2015

I usually leave about 90 minutes or so for domestic flights out of the NYC airports (~2 hours for international), but I'm usually not traveling that early in the morning and I dislike cutting it close. I think 45 minutes to an hour should be fine.

Also, nthing the suggestion to take a cab. It will be much faster than public transit at that time of day on the weekend.
posted by breakin' the law at 7:55 AM on October 28, 2015

Best answer: That's the JetBlue flight. An hour's fine, because JetBlue doesn't have the risk of 10 simultaneous jumbo jet departures between 7:30 to 8:30 a.m., and has a very low premium and relatively low TSA pre rate, so has a better "regular" passenger boarding process. This advice definitely doesn't apply to American, United or Delta commuter flight from JFK, where passengers without any line skipping privileges need to budget full international wait times if they don't want to risk missing their flight.
posted by MattD at 8:37 AM on October 28, 2015

Response by poster: It is the JetBlue Flight! that I got on their Halloween special! (hence paying somewhat less than my usual bus ticket, and about a third of a train ticket for)

And MattD, that is precisely the information I needed. thank you. I'll be taking an AA flight back, but I'm planning on giving myself more time in Boston on Monday than I will in NY.
posted by larthegreat at 10:13 AM on October 28, 2015

In my experience, early-morning flights actually have the worst wait times. This is more likely to be problematic with smaller airports, though: if you have a 6:30 AM flight and the airline ticket counter doesn't open until 5 or 5:30, that will create a long line of people who then hit security in a bunch.
posted by yarntheory at 6:35 PM on October 28, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Uber on either side had been the right choice. Left east village with 1.5hrs to take off and that was rather generous on jetblue(even with 40min ride). Left Cambridge with 2.5hrs to take off, and its been shitshow, 15min car ride, well over 1.5hrs through security. I thought I was being silly leaving so early, but I'm glad my friends convinced me too.
posted by larthegreat at 2:17 AM on November 2, 2015