JFK to Washington DC

[Jordan247]

Good afternoon.

I have a business trip planned for a couple of days to Washington DC.

My company is complaining about the cost of business class flights but JetBlue seems to coming well within budget. The only downside is that they only fly to JFK from London.

How bad would the drive down from New York to DC be?

[Panamax]

I believe it's one of the few routes in USA that has an effective train service. The Acela train does the journey to DC in about 3 hours from Penn station.

[Rich_AR]

I've done the drive before, it's not too bad (3.5-4hrs or so). Not exactly exciting. Once out of NY you basically drive past Philly and Baltimore on the 'freeway'.

Edited by Rich_AR on Tuesday 7th March 15:26

[belleair302]

Catch the train. Simple, faster than driving and way less stressful.

[RC1807]

belleair302 said:

Catch the train. Simple, faster than driving and way less stressful.

That's what I'd do. It's about 3hr and far less stressful than driving.

[RicksAlfas]

We did it on the train. Much easier than driving and interesting gawping out of the window. Good service from the red cap baggage handlers at Penn, one of whom picked up all our holiday luggage in one hand.

[Jordan247]

Well thank you very much to all that's responded. It looks like the train is the winner.

Next question has anyone used JetBlue Business and if so is it any good? I've used Are Lingus in the past and was impressed with their business seats

[GCH]

Take the Acela. Hands down the best way from the city to DC. If cost is a consideration, you can take the regular amtrak (non acela) which is a little slower (not much) but usually much cheaper.

Jordan247 said:

Next question has anyone used JetBlue Business and if so is it any good? I've used Are Lingus in the past and was impressed with their business seats

Yeah it's ok, especially the 'throne' seat.

[nordboy]

I did the train from NY to DC a few years ago. Very efficient and had all the wifi etc. Quite a nice trip as far as rail travel goes.

[Truckosaurus]

I've done the train. The interesting views seem mostly to be suburbs and dismal ghettos as seen on television shows such as 'The Wire'.

[2 GKC]

6 hours on a train over a two day trip sounds like a ballache to me. I’d rather fly direct in premium economy than do that.

[nebpor]

2 GKC said:

6 hours on a train over a two day trip sounds like a ballache to me. I’d rather fly direct in premium economy than do that.

Agreed. I’m actually off to DC next week, for three nights. Either I flew Edinburgh to JFK then got train/plane to DC, or fly to LHR then direct to Dulles on a BA A380

I chose the latter, as the trip from JFK into Manhattan for the train is a horrible one as well - it’s not like you step off the plane in NYC and enter a lovely transport hub, so factor that in

If you are lucky enough to live near an airport with a direct flight to IAD, take that instead IMO - it’s not a very long flight

Tellingly, three of my colleagues who live in NYC and NJ are all getting the train ….

Edited by nebpor on Wednesday 8th March 08:24

Edited by nebpor on Wednesday 8th March 12:34

[Truckosaurus]

Indeed. If you are already in Manhatten then the train is worthwhile (the express train is much quicker - 3hrs?) as you'll save the time travelling out to the airports (although Reagan National at the DC end is just across the river from the city centre so not too bad to travel from).

[Hedgeman]

The train is the better choice than car from NYC to DC, but getting to Penn station and then taking the train is going to add hours onto your journey. Worth bearing in mind the immigration time at JFK too unless you have Global Entry, a colleague of mine queued for 2 hours last week, albeit at T8 which is where BA have moved to. https://awt.cbp.gov/

I'd fly direct to DC in PE, at least on the outbound during the day rather than take the train from NYC. Another option, which I'd take in preference to the train and transiting via Manhattan, is a domestic flight from JFK to Ronald Reagan airport, which as others have said is very close to downtown DC, rather than an hour out of the city like Dulles.

[nebpor]

Plus you can fly into BWI Baltimore and get a 40 minute train from there into DC as well

[Panamax]

Swings and roundabouts. At the end of the day it's broadly the same decision as whether to fly to Paris from London or go on Eurostar. It's not as if the Eurostar trains are empty. Largely IMO it comes down to your particular departure point and destination. Same for NYC to DC.

[Jordan247]

Should anyone be interested in the conclusion of this thread I have actually decided to fly Aer Lingus Business Class to DC via Dublin so I can pre-clear US Immigration and arrive as a domestic arrival. My return is via American Airlines Business from DC to Heathrow.

Pre-clearing US Immigration at Dublin should hopefully save the enormous queue in DC also this seems to have pleased my accounts department (for now)

[nebpor]

Good luck, I deliberately skipped Aer Lingus as a choice as they've twice lost my baggage on the way to the states. I suspect part of this problem is down to the miserable Glasgow->Dublin service however. I was only in Aer Lingus economy. It was really basic, but the staff were lovely.

I need to check a bag in as I'm taking a nice bottle of whisky over for someone!