JFK & Across the Atlantic

Saturday, March 19, 2016 - NYC

After a hectic two weeks of moving plans, we were on our way. I started early and boarded my flight to JFK at 6:30am. I was coming east from LAX and mom started in ROC. 

My upgrade had not cleared, so I would be enjoying American Airlines finest Main Cabin Extra seat. Just over 5 hours later, I was on the ground at JFK. By 5:30pm I was in the East Village, fed, and ready to visit with friends. Mom arrived via Delta and was in the Delta JFK SkyClub Lounge by 8:30pm.

Pro Tip - Need to get from Manhattan to JFK efficiently? Take the LIRR from Penn Station $7.50 each way and only 19-20 minutes. The JFK Airtrain is another $5, and takes anywhere from 7-15 minutes (terminal depending) to get to security. 25-35 minutes and $12.50, it's a great option!

Unfortunately due to our schedule change we lost our JFK-AMS direct flight and instead had a connection via LHR. Our JFK-LHR flight was scheduled for 11:30pm. One of the benefits of flying Delta One (or Business Class) is the ability to board at your leisure and not worry about fighting your fellow passengers for overhead bin space. It’s important to note this because mom boarded when invited and was leisurely enjoying a glass of champagne when I strolled up to our seats at 11:10pm.

Mom Tip - Business Class beats Main Cabin Economy - especially on a flight to Europe from the US.

The Delta crew were attentive and friendly. Since it was a short (less than 6 hours) overnight flight, we tried to spend as much time napping as possible, which Delta made difficult by offering a 5 course meal. Yes please!

After the meal service there was only ~4.5 hours left in the flight. We converted the seats to beds and tried to get some rest.

About 1 hour before landing we were offered a light breakfast and had time to discuss the logistics of our transfer at LHR for AMS.