11 hours at Newark

[Suzanne123]

We are flying United first class from Harrisburg to Newark, then United Polaris Business to Brussels next month.  We have an 11 hour layover in Newark.  Are we allowed in the United Lounge?  Can we stay all day?  I don’t have have any special status with United, but I have two lounge passes that I received when I got their credit card.  Thanks.

 

[CruiserBruce]

You want to be in the Polaris Lounge, which you are eligible for as a Business Class passenger. Much nicer than the United Club, which you would also be eligible for. Yes, you can stay all day.

[megr1125]

The Polaris lounge at EWR is awesome.  Showers, quiet rooms with lounge chairs to nap and a sit down restaurant.  Also excellent drinks at the bar.  You won't need the lounge passes.  

[fbgd]

The Polaris Lounge at EWR is decent but would I stay there for 11hrs? Definitely not. Even the very best airline lounges would bore me after that and I love a good airline lounge. There’s no reason why you can’t leave the airport and take the train into NYC easily enough. 
 

Begs the question why are you doing this itinerary? There must be MDT-EWR flights that leave later in the day and if not then it’s less than a 3hr drive…

[Suzanne123]

It’s a long story, but basically there are only two non stop flights out of Harrisburg to Newark. 6AM and 3PM.  The late flight has been canceled at least four times in the past two weeks, including today, hours before takeoff.  
I tried to change the late flight on the app, but United wanted $4,141 pp.  You read that right.😳 I wrote to United and didn’t receive a response, but this morning I was able to change to the earlier flight at no cost.  Thank you United ! (Curiously, there was additional cost if I changed to economy or economy plus.)
My hope is that the early flight gives us a better cushion, and if that should get canceled, I can get an Uber to Newark to catch the flight to Brussels for about $250.  We aren’t checking bags.
Weather, mechanical problems, and flight crew assignments are out of my control, but I’m trying to lessen the chance that we would lose our deeply discounted business class seats if we had to be re-routed at the last minute.  

I’m fine with the 11 hours at Newark if I can stay in the lounge there.  I have a fully loaded iPad and kindle.

 

[the mice]

Was in the Polaris lounge on Tuesday after Memorial Day weekend and it was a total zoo, absolutely jam-packed.

 Surprised as only business class passengers can access it.  Heard from some people that they actually had to wait on a line for 20 or so minutes to get in during late afternoon. So good that you are arriving early so pick out a good place to park yourself.   There is a sit down section with table service for ordering from a menu, but we gave up our slot so as not to lose the seating we finally managed to secure after walking through the entire lounge twice.  So pick a spot you will want to be in if you decide to stay all day in case it gets crowded in the afternoon.

[6rugrats]

Good luck.  EWR has been an absolute sh&& show the last week and a half.  I avoid it at all cost during the summer.  Hopefully, you will be lucky for your trip and avoid the mess.  The Polaris Lounge is very nice, and yes, you are admitted with your Polaris class tickets.  There is no comparison between the United Club and the Polaris Lounge.  Agree, that I would lose my mind there for 11 hours.  I would get a hotel room, but that's just me.  Have a good flight.

[Hlitner]

ROFL.  As one who also lives in Central PA (and sometimes flies out of EWR or JFK) I had to smile at the post.  For me, it is must easier to simply get a one-way rental car and drive to EWR!  It is a relatively easy drive (under 3 hours) which I would find more desirable than cooling my heels at EWR for 11 hours.  And it also takes away the risk of having luggage mis-routed at EWR or left at MDT (this has happened to me twice).

 

Funny thing is we need to fly to Lisbon next week.  Rather than booking out of EWR, we decided to book out of JFK,  do a one-way rental car, and stop in Manhattan to visit a close relative.  What is the #1 airport in the USA for delays and cancelations?  EWR!  Nearly 25% of flights arriving at EWR are delayed or cancelled.  Shocking!

 

Hank