JetBlue just can’t catch a break. The struggling carrier has been dropping much of its Los Angeles flying and exiting several markets, cutting Europe flying and other key routes, slashing flying out of Washington National airport and dropping routes like Boston – LaGuardia. They no longer chase business travelers. They’ve scaled back their aircraft orders, reduced their pilot workforce and they are trying to reinvent their product.
The carrier still has strength at New York JFK, Boston, Fort Lauderdale and San Juan. JFK is their original base, using a slot portfolio gifted to them by Senator Chuck Schumer. However customers are likely to start avoiding flying JetBlue into New York JFK because of changes to ground transportation there.
Stating today, rideshare pickups – like Uber and Lyft – for New York JFK’s terminal 5 (JetBlue) and terminal 7 (hodgepodge in the old British Airways terminal slated for demolition) are going to be relegated to the JFK Airtran Howard Beach station.
To get to the parking lot at the Howard Beach station, passengers will have to walk to the AirTrain (with luggage!), take the green line train to Howard Beach and exit towards Long Term Parking. Since the amount of time to get there is going to vary quite a lot, many will wait until after the schlepp to request their ride, further adding to the time it takes to get out of JFK.
What’s worse is it’s not the first time this has happened to JetBlue at terminal 5. A return of inconvenience and added time – especially with luggage – makes JetBlue and the requirement for “plane to train to automobile” an inferior option at the airport. If you are flying into JFK terminal 5, plan to take a taxi (which, no doubt, is what proponents of this change want to happen).
At this point perhaps the only thing JetBlue has going for it is United CEO Scott Kirby’s desire to exact revenge on American Airlines over his firing there and so it seems likely he’s overpaying and overpromising to grab a JetBlue partnership out from under American.
Or you could just hop on the air train to a different terminal (1, 4, 8) and catch a ride from there. Definitely inconvenient but less time.
This article is woefully insufficient. Why is this change being made? Why just these two terminals? Why not just take the AirTrain to a different terminal at JFK and get an Uber from there?
Am I misunderstanding something – the AirTrain is expressly designed to accommodate luggage. This isn’t like schlepping through the narrow sidewalks of Soho on a Saturday afternoon with sunglasses-donning tote bag-carrying twentysomething bitches power-walking around you.
If you think the airtrain jfk is some kind of overwhelming challenge, then you either despise the working class airport employees who share it with passengers, or you just haven’t been on it and assume it sucks.
The worst part about airtrain is having to pay exit fare. The exit gates are such a bottleneck. But you won’t encounter them if you’re going to the rideshare station.
This article is pure garbage… the lyft and Uber restrictions is for construction… they can’t accommodate all that traffic during construction of the new road and terminal … the measure is temporary for CONSTRUCTION … theyve been doing it on and off for a couple of years , the Airtrain is designed for pax and luggage… walking a couple extra minutes and sitting on the train is not that bad relax with the drama dude ..
The schlep from gate to baggage claim to AirTrain is substantial. It is about a mile. Just from baggage claim to AirTrain station, there are two escalators/elevators, two moving walkways, and another elevator.
The easiest, fastest way out of JFK is yellow taxi — and they don’t cost more than rideshare.
rideshare/uber/lyft pickup location move has already happened at terminal 4 many months ago… it’s all part of the ongoing renovation and construction…. really not that big of a deal. It’s all only temporary.
All a political, dirty sport.
JetBlue is walking dead. United will buy them within a year for planes and slots then they will cease to exist. Frankly their revised business model is the worst of any US airline and no way they survive
Started at least two weeks ago. And, yes, it was a nuisance. Probably took about 12 minutes to get to the pick up area from the baggage claim area.
Nope. Private car service. Not rideshare.
Can they walk over to the TWA hotel and get a pickup from there?
That entire JFK set up is moronic. JetBlue will continue to get bottom of the barrel flyers that will do a 35 connection for a cheap fare. Most people buying Mint aren’t going to schlep all the way to Howard Beach to get an Uber.
Nobody is gonna stop flying JetBlue for this. What even is this article? Did you get paid for this hit piece ? lol
Regardless of whether or not it’s a big deal, @Craig Jones is correct: it reflects dirty politics with our leaders making decisions based on powerful lobbyists not the general public.
The public should be upset that we are once again being shown that we are simply a tool to help our leaders’ political friends.
What’s missing here is that to get an Uber or Lyft until now, you had to already take the Air Train – just to a different station using the Jamaica Bound train. The only thing changing is that you take the Howard Beach train now , which I’m sure is completely empty because the A train tracks in the Rockaways are being repaired so the A isn’t stopping at Howard Beach/JFK.
At least you can take the Airtrain. If you’re flying Delta you’ll have to take a bus to a remote parking lot turned into a ride share pickup from Terminal 4 This is a much worse experience than the Airtrain, You should mention this in an article also for some more doom and gloom reporting.
People who use “gifted” as a transitive verb should be hitted with a dead mackerel.
You can still take a taxi. It is typically cheaper than Uber/Lyft anyway to Manhattan at the flat $70.
Whatever. T5 Air train connection is a little bit of a walk, but it is often faster to take transit to Jamaica and then commuter train into Penn Station or GCT anyway. I sometimes spring for a rideshare to the airport at 5am, but generally the traffic on the southern Van Wyck makes it less convenient to take a car. I always take the train leaving the airport. And if money is no object, just take a cab or hire a car. This is pretty much a non-issue.
@andrew Yes—pin “TWA Hotel” (One Idlewild Dr.) and the Uber/Lyft app will dispatch a driver there rather than force‑routing to Howard Beach. It works because the hotel sits just outside the “central terminal loop” geo‑fence that the apps use to block curbside pins at T5/T7. Note that Port Authority or the apps can redraw the geo‑fence at any time so YMMV.
I did this last week. Between the the actual distance from terminal 5 to the air train and all the construction going on at thr airport, it’s an ordeal. There are at least 4 long walkways an escalator and a walk between the terminal and airtrain. Plus, this time I decided to take the F train to the airport and save some money. Jamaica station is closed so you have to get off at sutphin and walk 10 blocks to the air train through Queens. That was fun.
Where did you get your info that passengers would rather skip flying JetBlue? You are aware that other terminals are facing the same issues, right? Oh wait, just another biased story from this place. Keep up that “stellar” reporting ♂️
Oh no! The horrors of having to take public transportation. How will we ever survive?
Oh, FYI, yellow cab is still there and the price is comparable, if not better, than uber/lyft
If you have to take the Airtrain, might as well just take the Airtrain to T8 or T4 and call the Uber from there.
Would love to hear how Jetblue got a “slot portfolio gifted to them by Senator Chuck Schumer.” I know there was some requirement that JB serve upstate NY — such as Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany and Rochester — which they still do today.
Except Kirby over delivers.The only question is why B6 hasn’t accepted the take over offer yet. Even if the offer was yesterdays close, B6 should be jumping all over it. B6 becomes less valuable everyday.
This is terrible! The walk from the baggage claim requires going up 2 escalators, walking a distance that has 3 moving sidewalks, taking an elevator up, walking a bit more, then taking an elevator down to the platform for the air train. The distance is about 3/4 of a mile. It takes at least 20 minutes going at a regular pace. And once you leave baggage claim, there are NO BATHROOMS ANYWHERE. None at the AirTran station and none at the long term parking (Lefferts Blvd). You take the green line toward Howard Beach but the long term parking is at the Lefferts Blvd stop. This is a huge inconvenience for travelers. And if you have alot of luggage or are handicapped or in a wheelchair or just have difficulty ambulating, this is a disaster. The trains have minimal space for luggage and usually people sit with their luggage next to them, crowding the aisles. I’ve taken the air train many times and I know what I am talking about. Whatever beef the airport has with JetBlue shouldn’t been taken out on the passengers.
Why is it just two terminals? If you’re getting on the airtrain anyway couldn’t you just go to one of the other terminals? This still sounds far better than the LAXit setup at LAX, but at least that applies to everyone.
LAXit does not apply to everyone – you can call a Black car to the curbside
@Gary. B6 can’t catch a break when they have to deal with the worst blogger in history. YOU! What about them expanding in Europe ? Adding back seasonal services from JFK. And who are you to say what other people will do. You are a real POS. Hurting the little guy.
We recently flew into terminal 5 and had to go to terminal 7 to get an Uber. You would think the aircraft would go terminal 5 then 6 then 7. No. It went the other way around the loop the long way and this was with luggage and a four month old baby.
Delta will start using a bus to their lot next week. That’s basically as terrible as this. The main competitive advantage a flight can have this summer in the entire NYC metro is to not be JFK or EWR. At either airport, the experience will be terrible for everyone.
Have you ever taken the AirTrain Gary? Sure beats taking the bus to remote rideshare parking lot and getting stuck in traffic. That’s the system for Delta arrivals after noon right now.
New York overall seems kind of incompetent. In nearly every other city a train will take you right from the airport to downtown non-stop.
So you are saying people won’t use the long term parking at JFK too because they need to take their bags on the airtrain also? Your comment sounds silly. Hardly a major reason for people to avoid flying them, especially if you can just jump to a neighboring terminal like T4 or T8.
I love Jet Blue. Seats are more comfortable with a little more room, prices are usually pretty good and so far every flight I’ve taken the personnel are very polite. We fly to West Palm Beach, Florida to avoid the craziness of Ft Lauderdale. I certainly hope they remain in business for a very long time. I also hope they don’t merge with United. It is well known United treats it’s customers like crap. JFK airport is a zoo. I would never fly there. Fly somewhere easier. Use alternate transportation to get to your destination.
Literally just flew with jetBlue on Sunday into JFK T5, and had no issues. Took the Airtrain from T5 to T8, got a nice Uber, all good. Gary is making a mountain out of mole hill here on that point.
I’m with @Joanna on jetBlue being more comfortable in Economy than most domestic US carriers. More legroom. Better IFE screens. And, if you go premium, Mint is excellent, especially the newer aircraft. The food is as good as if not better than the big-three. I hope they can actually open lounges, because that would be a big deal and actually be worthwhile at least at JFK T5. Folks like @AC wishing for their demise are going to be disappointed. If anything, they’ll reduce some service, like are already doing strategically.
@Brian W and @Nate — You guys are somewhat correct, specifically on that anyone can just go to T8 for regular rideshares (Uber, Lyft, Revel). Unfortunately, as @Esquiar referenced, T4 is limited to Uber Black or Lyft Premium, otherwise, they make you take a shuttle.
@Jesse — You know nothing. New York (state and city) are incredible competent. And folks like @George N Romey should know better because JFK is currently undergoing a major reconstruction, so give that time. Enjoy the new LGA and EWR Terminal A, because those two are the best airports and new terminals (and lounges) in the USA at the moment.
@Marc — Stop whining. Get some exercise. It’s good for you. And if you can’t handle T5, please avoid T4, in case Delta has you go to gate B54; that’s actually like a half-mile, but there is a bus for the lazy folks. Almost always better to walk though, unless you need mobility assistance (a notable and understandable exception).
@marc agreed, and I will go further, yellow cab out of JFK to Manhattan is significantly cheaper than UBER, I haven’t taken a ride share to or from JFK in a couple years.
The guys who write for this trash venue are always bashing on jetblue. Every chance they get. Just get on the air train or leave baggage claim and walk 100 feet to the front of the TWA hotel and get an Uber. It’s not rocket science.
“If you are flying into JFK terminal 5, plan to take a taxi”
Or just take the subway like a normal person. I take luggage on the airtrain and subway all the time
I fly like the general public now, and don’t take $70 Ubers like it’s nothing. I appreciate that there is a very cost effective way to take AirTrain & the subway from JFK to downtown Manhattan — and it might even be faster depending on the time of day. My husband took the $80 (with tip) Uber ride in one direction, then decided to experiment with public transportation back, and found it was simple and cheap. You do walk a bit, but it was no big deal.
Being from the SF Bay Area, back in the day, there was no subway to SFO, and I took a bus from downtown SF to SFO. When they were building new subway transportation to SFO, to kowtow to the many transportation lobbyists and public unions that lawmakers are beholden to, the subway ‘SFO’ stop originally was ACROSS THE FREEWAY from the airport, thus necessitating another paid bus/cab/transport to get to the actual airport. Much like how it was for OAK. CA Bay Area politicians definitely know which side of their bread is buttered. Anyway, now there is a free AirTrain from SFO to the subway stop, though I have never taken it so can’t comment.
Easy workaround – just take the Uber to T4, or the TWA Hotel, which connects to T5.
Like others have said. This article is just trash. What about Delta ? AirTran doesn’t even stop there at times.
This isn’t news.Ride share pick up apps have been picking up at terminal 7 with arrivals from terminal 5for over a year now.Terminal 7 for those who don’t know is just the next terminal over when you take the airtrain. They make that announcement on the plane. Nobody has to go to Howard Beach to grab an uber. That would be more costly and time consuming. There is ride share pick up in terminals 1, 4 and 7. There isn’t in terminal 5 because of construction.
Alexis S. wrote, “The only thing changing is that you take the Howard Beach train now , which I’m sure is completely empty because the A train tracks in the Rockaways are being repaired so the A isn’t stopping at Howard Beach.”
The A currently isn’t running between Howard Beach and the Rockaways, but it is running from 207th Street in Manhattan to Howard Beach. The construction is supposed to be completed this month.
So much of the public has been brainwashed into thinking the only way to get somewhere is by Uber and Lyft. If you’re getting on the AirTrain anyway, just take it to the subway. Or the Q10 bus, which isn’t that much slower if you’re going to Manhattan.
@Brian — Oh, come now, Gary’s an ‘equal opportunity offender.’ You should see the ‘number’ he does on American Airlines, regularly on here. As for “trash venue” … psh, ‘sick burn,’ sir. It’s your fellow commenters who are more ‘partisan’ and apparent in their favoritisms than the author ever is.
This is not true. They are not cutting down European traffic. They are adding more. I believe Madrid is their new destination so get ready!
You can park for free a block away from the Howard Beach station.