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What to do at jfk for 6 hours!


Streblo
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So my flight EK201 arrives at JFK (my first time ever) from Dubai at 14:25 Sunday 21 October 2018. My next leg to Tampa B6225 was originally scheduled for an 18:30 departure, but now Jet Blue has moved it to a 20:30 departure. No real biggie; it does reduce any issues about arriving late at JFK, getting through immigration, customs, TSA etc. but if it is early or on time, I've got quite a long wait ahead.

I'd appreciate any suggestions on what to do to kill the extra time? What do y'all do? We will have 2 x checked cases, so lugging them about is our only other concern.

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I'd appreciate any suggestions on what to do to kill the extra time? What do y'all do?
Are you flying straight through from Durban?

 

jetBlue's website suggests that they will take bags from 6 hours before departure time, so from 1430 you should be able to drop your bag. It will take you a while to get out of T4 anyway, so even if you can't drop your bag immediately after customs at T4 and you have to take them over to T5 yourself, you should presumably be able to drop them immediately then.

 

What I think I would personally do, after consulting the jetBlue website briefly, is to pay $25 each to use the lounge - primarily for the shower, which will probably be very welcome - especially if you've flown overnight from Durban to Dubai - but then you'd be free to use the other facilities there too. The only thing I'd watch out for is to make sure you know how you can get that $25 price - it seems possible that that's the pre-booking price and you'd have to pay more if you just turn up on the doorstep.

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We 2nd the idea of buying your way into the lounge. But you could also take advantage of all that time and treat yourselves to a nice sit-down dinner in one of the decent Terminal 5 restaurants. You could choose between an ok steakhouse, French bistro, etc. So get yourself over to T5, check your luggage (if it has not already been checked) and use the time to relax, eat, and enjoy.

 

Hank

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Thank you Hank and Globaliser for the advice.

We are EK764 JNB - DXB, arriving around 05:25 to depart next leg 08:30 to JFK. I don't know if I would fit a shower in at DXB, even though we will be in transit only. So maybe a wet-wipe freshen up is in order here. The idea of a more leisurely shower at JFK makes more sense. I've emailed T5 to ask about the duration of the lounge use. In South Africa, you are generally limited to 2 hours in their domestic slow lounges. We will certainly check out the restaurants to see what catches our fancy.

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Is your entire trip on one ticket or is your B6 portion on a separate ticket? If it is all one there is some hope that you will be able to drop your bags at a re-check point once you clear customs so you don't have to haul them over to T5 on your own.

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Is that if you pay to enter? I've never had a SLOW lounge throw me out after 2 hours!

 

I was with an associate in Cape Town 2 weeks back and had around 3 hours before our flight to Durban. We went to the the slow lounge which serves British Airways, FNB and a few other corporates. He used his credit card rewards which got us both in, but we were told to come back in an hour because of the 2 hour limit. Maybe they need to keep traffic thru the doors manageable. I did find that when I researched flights through Heathrow, this was also the practice for some of the paid lounges.

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Using the lounge is a good idea, a shower will make a world of difference, but don't expect much from the Airspace Lounge. It is tiny and the few times I've used it very busy. Sadly there isn't much choice of lounges in T5....The $25 does include a $10 credit towards food/drink for purchase in the bar. T5 does have some decent dining options within it though.

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Is your entire trip on one ticket or is your B6 portion on a separate ticket? If it is all one there is some hope that you will be able to drop your bags at a re-check point once you clear customs so you don't have to haul them over to T5 on your own.

 

Yes, I have a single through ticket, so I will try to re-check once cleared, although its not much of a hassle to wheel them between terminals, like you said.

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Using the lounge is a good idea, a shower will make a world of difference, but don't expect much from the Airspace Lounge. It is tiny and the few times I've used it very busy. Sadly there isn't much choice of lounges in T5....The $25 does include a $10 credit towards food/drink for purchase in the bar. T5 does have some decent dining options within it though.

 

I saw the images on the website and thought it looked a little bit pokey! I'm hopeful that a Sunday afternoon wont be as busy as a mid week morning, but then again, this is JFK! Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

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When we've had 5-6 hours at JFK, we have a nice meal outside the lounge, go to Xpress Spa and enjoy mani-pedis and/or a shoulder/neck massage, then go to the lounge for the remaining hours. Lounges are nice, but even the nice ones can start to get old after 3 or 4 hours.

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When we've had 5-6 hours at JFK, we have a nice meal outside the lounge, go to Xpress Spa and enjoy mani-pedis and/or a shoulder/neck massage, then go to the lounge for the remaining hours. Lounges are nice, but even the nice ones can start to get old after 3 or 4 hours.

 

I hear you Waterbug. When you consider that we will fly 1hr from DUR to JNB, wait 7hrs then fly 8hrs over night from JNB, 3 hrs layover then 14 hours from DXB, I'm pretty sure the novelty of flying will have worn thin before arriving at JFK. The little comforts you've suggested could make things a heap more pleasant. I also saw there is a lounge called Moroso where you can watch planes arriving and taking off. Ever been there?

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I also saw there is a lounge called Moroso where you can watch planes arriving and taking off.
You might want to see this, which is quite recent:-

 

First time jetBlue Mint experience JFK - LAX

 

...

 

There is also the Moroso Lounge listed on the jetBlue website, but as far as I could tell, this wasn't exactly a lounge at all; rather, it was just an open area between gates 14 and 15. All the furniture seen in pictures here aren't there anymore. Instead, there is just a big open space with carpeting. It's a shame, the furniture looks really cool in the pictures. I ended up spending most of my time here, since this place offered pretty good views of the taxiway and of aircraft landing and taking off at runways in the distance.

 

...

It looks like the name Moroso refers to the funky furniture that used to be there.
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