note about Newark airport

Also I know people have had bad experiences with American in the past, but their new aircrafts are great.

Someone obviously has not been on one of the new 737MAX aircraft, which has reduced pitch, no seat back screens, and a lavatory that one can barely get into.

Other than that....

The Dreamliner in Biz is nice but the 737-MAX is awful.. recline in First/Business is awful and the lavatories have been shrunk down. Can’t imagine how bad it is in coach. We are flying to Bangor this weekend for a special family event on AA and dreading it and we are in first class. No meal service at all. At least Delta has more comfortable seating and offers light snacks off meal times. We have the worst airline system in the world imho.

Thanks to the folks who are responding kindly and appreciatively to my post.

United Airlines operates more than 70% of all flights at EWR and most other airlines have given up offering premier services. Even though it is much farther away, we sometimes prefer flying out of JFK just to have a more enjoyable flying experience since UA business class is nothing to write home about.

If one has a long layover at EWR, in addition to the great suggestions provided by irishwitchy, there is a Marriott at the airport which provides very reasonable day rates and they offer a free shuttle. Across the street from The Mall at Short Hills there is a lovely Hilton which also offers day rates.

gnomie :)

We will be flying Virgin Atlantic business out of Newark in Sept. I'm hoping they have lounge access for us! Our flight isn't until later in the evening...

We don't do a whole lot of flying (even a short trip winds up wasting most of a day) but it's basically the only way to get anywhere exotic.

Although I'm in the minority on this one, I'll take Newark over JFK any day. Getting there is NOT half the fun. Nightmare at best, unless you use a car service. Our service won't do JFK....terrible roads, horrifying traffic, if you miss your exit, you're done for, etc. The one thing I really like about Newark is there is an army of people who will help you if you can't find something, need assistance in any way. Sure could've used some of that help the last time we were in the Miami airport. OMG....filthy, no place to sit and no one who knew anything about anything. I won't go on.....wasn't good to put it mildly.....

We will be flying Virgin Atlantic business out of Newark in Sept. I'm hoping they have lounge access for us! Our flight isn't until later in the evening...

We don't do a whole lot of flying (even a short trip winds up wasting most of a day) but it's basically the only way to get anywhere exotic.

Although I'm in the minority on this one, I'll take Newark over JFK any day. Getting there is NOT half the fun. Nightmare at best, unless you use a car service. Our service won't do JFK....terrible roads, horrifying traffic, if you miss your exit, you're done for, etc. The one thing I really like about Newark is there is an army of people who will help you if you can't find something, need assistance in any way. Sure could've used some of that help the last time we were in the Miami airport. OMG....filthy, no place to sit and no one who knew anything about anything. I won't go on.....wasn't good to put it mildly.....

Agree. We are born New Yorkers and have a home in New Jersey. Wherever possible, we prefer Newark Airport over JFK. We would rather go to Philadelphia than JFK. Traffic and roads are awful anytime.

Sheila

All 3 NY airports are run by the Port Authority of NY/NJ. There is a comprehensive website at PANYNJ.gov which contains dozens of links to any info you might need. Sign up for the text alerts to get a heads up on any delays.

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Mudhen,

EWR is our home airport and like yourself we mostly try to avoid that awful journey to JFK.

Virgin Atlantic has a quite nice lounge at EWR. There is a comfortable reading area, a bar where you can relax w a drink, app and pleasant service and a dining area with several choices to order ( hamburger, curry, etc.) . All very nicely delivered. Not bustling or crowded.

That sounds great! Thank you, Paula!

Not sure about all American Airlines Airbus flights, but we were on a A321 in first class and there are no longer any charger/power outlets or in seat entertainment. When asked the flight attendant said they were taken out for weight, though not sure if that is true or not. Anyway, if you are on one of those planes, make sure you have a full charge and backup for a long flight.

Not sure about all American Airlines Airbus flights, but we were on a A321 in first class and there are no longer any charger/power outlets or in seat entertainment. When asked the flight attendant said they were taken out for weight, though not sure if that is true or not. Anyway, if you are on one of those planes, make sure you have a full charge and backup for a long flight.

American is in the process of removing seatback monitors and inflight power from many of their domestic aircraft. The newest 737Max come with reduced pitch, no seatback monitors and no power ports.

Some discussion on the AA corporate view of their domestic product:

LINK HERE

Welcome to the race to the bottom.

Thanks for the link. Very interesting article. I would like to know who the CEO interviewed when he justified that the changes were made in response to what the customer wanted. Too bad I live close to an American Hub, but I will be doing more research on future flights.

American is in the process of removing seatback monitors and inflight power from many of their domestic aircraft. The newest 737Max come with reduced pitch, no seatback monitors and no power ports.

 

 

 

Some discussion on the AA corporate view of their domestic product:

 

 

 

 

 

LINK HERE

 

 

 

Welcome to the race to the bottom.

Maybe a short domestic flight I can see. But we had the no seat back monitors from Edinburgh to JFK and Madrid to JFK.

Maybe a short domestic flight I can see. But we had the no seat back monitors from Edinburgh to JFK and Madrid to JFK.

Airlines are generally trending to eliminate seatback monitors tied to proprietary entertainment systems because most folks today bring on their own devices loaded with the content they actually want to watch and/or are plugging into the internet right from their seat. On-board entertainment systems are, in other words, old, expensive, and very limited technology that is losing its usefulness for most travelers in the modern era, and is thus not helping sell tickets any longer. The world has moved on.

American is in the process of removing seatback monitors and inflight power from many of their domestic aircraft. The newest 737Max come with reduced pitch, no seatback monitors and no power ports.

 

Some discussion on the AA corporate view of their domestic product:

 

 

LINK HERE

 

Welcome to the race to the bottom.

If you are knowledgeable about the airline industry then you know why they do what they do. Airlines have been trying off and on to sell premium services in the coach cabin forever, going back to the earliest days of deregulation. I remember Bob Crandall (then president of American) trying it back in the 80's I think it was -- that experiment lasted only a few months. It has never worked very well, certainly in the US where there is competition and where most passengers or their employers pay for their travel (unlike the traditional situation in Europe where the flyer wasn't so impacted and government ownership of airlines kept things high class and nobody worried too much about the cost). In other words, there is only one real driver of choice, and that is the cheapest fare. This has been intensified in the internet era where many never look past the first page of flights displayed, so the airline has a extremely strong incentive to post low fares to get listed on the first page. Bottom line is most folks only look at the (low) fares and ignore everything else. And then after their flight they complain. Sorry folks -- you get what you're willing to pay for. So don't blame it on the airlines. For all the talk about how bad airline service has become, they are giving the public what it has revealed as its true preference, i.e. low fares and to heck with service quality.

And by the way, today it's no different in Europe, where the service levels on Ryanair and easyJet are among the worst anywhere and yet those carriers have become the dominant carriers in Europe.

Airlines are generally trending to eliminate seatback monitors tied to proprietary entertainment systems because most folks today bring on their own devices loaded with the content they actually want to watch and/or are plugging into the internet right from their seat. On-board entertainment systems are, in other words, old, expensive, and very limited technology that is losing its usefulness for most travelers in the modern era, and is thus not helping sell tickets any longer. The world has moved on.

Do you work for American? Haha.

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United Airlines operates more than 70% of all flights at EWR and most other airlines have given up offering premier services. Even though it is much farther away, we sometimes prefer flying out of JFK just to have a more enjoyable flying experience since UA business class is nothing to write home about.

 

 

 

 

 

If one has a long layover at EWR, in addition to the great suggestions provided by irishwitchy, there is a Marriott at the airport which provides very reasonable day rates and they offer a free shuttle. Across the street from The Mall at Short Hills there is a lovely Hilton which also offers day rates.

 

 

 

 

 

gnomie :)

EWR is also our closest airport and up until recently we preferred flying from there to avoid the often harrowing drive out to JFK. United is the problem with EWR. They have close to a monopoly there now and they act like it.

We fly to Bermuda more than anywhere else. UA has cut the number of flights to 1 per day that gets in at 3 in the afternoon so you lose a day. We usually use their “premium” coach, but it gets you little more than a smidgeon extra leg room. And they are constantly moving us around. Several times they have moved us out of the Coach Plus (or whatever they are calling it) and back into regular coach - even though there were seats available in the Plus section.

I had to go into the website and change the seats back, pay AGAIN for the Plus up charge, then wait for the refund. Very aggravating.

We had a very nice experience with Delta a couple of years back, so I’ve been looking at Delta first whenever I look for flights. They have been pushed out of EWR for the most part. But I have found that I can book Delta Comfort (which gets us Sky Priority, drinks and a snack), take a very nice car service out to JFK and the price is nearly the same as United out of EWR. I should note that we take a car service to EWR, also, but they charge more for JFK.

EWR is very nice if you are flying from terminal C on United, but if you are on any other airline fugeddaboutit! [emoji16]

I really hate this whole race to the bottom by both the airlines and the cruise lines. I don’t want to fly or cruise in cattle class. I want and I’m willing to pay for some niceties. I like a skosh more room, priority boarding, dedicated bin space, a drink, a snack I don’t have to schlep onto the plane or take my wallet out for - basically the service you used to get in coach.

On long flights I’m willing to pay for business/first, but not if they are going to downgrade that experience as well. There should be a clear choice, and if you are willing to pay for it, a little bit of luxury without having to charter a plane.

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Do you work for American? Haha.

 

 

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I did briefly in 1966. Now I just follow the industry very closely, and make it a point to understand what is going on and why. Perhaps you should give it a try. Haha

Interesting comment about people using their own devices on airplane. We have not noticed that. And, even though I have my own device I prefer the personal screens in business class on most airplanes.

Reading about American Airlines makes me not too happy to be flying them to Chile next year (787). In general we try to avoid all U.S. based airlines because we feel that the food and service are better on other airlines (plus you generally do not have the issue of your flight making a stop-over in the U.S. requiring you to fly in coach most of the time. In any case, if U.S. carriers are going to downgrade business class, it is yet another reason not to fly them. There is one foreign airline that has downgraded business class and that is British Airways - a carrier that we used to like (except for their service which wasn't very good).

AA is being schizophrenic in their approach - seeming to be downgrading the inflight experience domestically, while improving the product on international premium service. I would not worry about service to SCL suffering - no 737MAX on that route.

In response to our former AA employee, that race to the bottom isn't universal. DL has been investing in a "better" onboard experience for its main and comfort pax, and while not explicitly charging a premium as AA did with MRTC, they are achieving improved yields and load factors as people are slowly moving to the "better" airline.

Not said as a DL cheerleader, just that they are diverging from the philosophies of UA/AA (whose managments have intertwined pasts and experiences).

Thank you for your insight into AA's international flights. There are not many choices when you fly anywhere in South America from Vancouver.

There is one foreign airline that has downgraded business class and that is British Airways - a carrier that we used to like (except for their service which wasn't very good).

I would be interested to know in what way(s), in your opinion, has BA "downgraded" its Business Class offering?

In our opinion BA's service, quality and punctuality on international flights has remained virtually static over the years since introducing lie-flat seating, allowing other airlines to overtake them.

In the last year, BA have added "White Company" bedding to Club World which is a welcome addition.

Our most recent international flying experience was this Spring going to & from Miami from London Heathrow.

Going out we arranged our own flight with British Airways; coming back Regent booked us on Lufthansa.

BA Business Class scored higher in our eyes than LH in all ways ................. but neither airline came close to matching the experience on an airline such as Qatar.

AA is being schizophrenic in their approach - seeming to be downgrading the inflight experience domestically, while improving the product on international premium service. I would not worry about service to SCL suffering - no 737MAX on that route.

 

In response to our former AA employee, that race to the bottom isn't universal. DL has been investing in a "better" onboard experience for its main and comfort pax, and while not explicitly charging a premium as AA did with MRTC, they are achieving improved yields and load factors as people are slowly moving to the "better" airline.

 

Not said as a DL cheerleader, just that they are diverging from the philosophies of UA/AA (whose managments have intertwined pasts and experiences).

I'm not currently plugged in to DL's yields, but they must be good, ie fares are high. We have homes in NC and FL. ATL is the closest major airport to us (while in NC) and would be a logical choice. Tomorrow we are driving to Miami to fly to CPH (SAS/UA) and pick up the Saturday trip on Explorer. We chose it because DL out of ATL was way pricier. In Dec we will drive to DC (visit old friends) to pick up a flight to SIN and eventually a cruise out there. Again, made the choice because DL was way pricier out of ATL. In short, DL is charging a lot for their better service if it really is, and while that may mean they are not racing to the bottom as fast as the others, it's still unsustainable in the long run in my opinion (and yes I realize I'm mixing up domestic and international, but I don't fly much any more so only have limited personal data points). So if that's what you want (pay more to get more) go for it while you can, but my prediction is it won't last.

Loved the photo of the Newarker.....we used to go to the airport to watch the planes take off and land (simple pleasures, back then!) We would only actually eat there if it was a special occasion, like a birthday or anniversary. Thanks for the memories!

Linda

Now that's when Newark was Newark ! I still remember my first time on a plane in 1961 out of the old terminal. Outside observation deck too