It has gotten much, much better.
I’ve made extensive efforts to avoid flying in/out of Newark over the years, even as it is actually the slightly quicker transfer for me.
But, LGD in current construction mode is the Newark of airports.
Take the M60 or Q70 bus to the subway. Cheap and much faster than taxis or car shares.
Bad take by Ross. Newark is actually pretty good as far as airports go. Certainly better than LGA and I’d argue better than most of JFK.
Umm…it is a bit of an old joke. The earliest reference I see is 2007, so perhaps some improvement since then.
Cheers!
LGA was always my airport of choice in NYC. Far, far worse would be O’Hara in Chicago, or SFO, where you not only have gridlock you have fog cancellations fairly regularly, or LAX, which was recently awarded the prestigious medal of worst airport in the US. For the next ten years they’ll be under construction. Horrible, horrible airport. And the workers are the worst. I waited a half hour for my luggage and finally got on the mike and asked that some lazy ass worker get his ass over to the baggage check. After the second time I announced that, some guy came over to me and said I shouldn’t be working the PA system. I told him to fuck off. If they didn’t want passengers announcing their own messages on the PA system they should have some employee around when passengers arrive.
When the guy finally showed up, he had an attitude and asked if he didn’t have a right to have lunch. Wrong question. F his lunch when planes are showing up. I got my California sensibility on though and left things on a verbal level.
In comparison, Newark is a breeze.
The attitude of the workers there make Newark a horrible place. I believe NYers are just so accustomed to rude and obnoxious people they don’t notice as much as others.
United added to the pain when they dropped JFK. Now, I refuse to do the EWR to JFK transfer, period. Helps keep me out of EWR.
$110 cab ride from Midtown to EWR on Sunday (Polish parade on 5th added to the gridlock). Thank goodness for expense accounts. Terminal C wasn’t bad except the line to drop your bag off at United after you self checked in and tagged your bag already. And not many seats in the waiting area
Totally agree with Chris here,
I fly through both relatively frequently and have never had a good experience in Newark nor have I noticed any edible food. The new foodcourt at LGA by comparison is the French Laundry or some such. In fact, flying to Philly next month and driving into NJ, just so I don’t have to fly into Newark.
And p.s. the guy who wanted to eat his lunch is right–planes fly all day and night into LGA; he’s gotta eat some time. (NY’ers get NY’ers.)
Expense accounts? 
I thought that you had retired?
Wife’s
Philly is a very good airport, by US standards. Some of the gate areas are still old fashioned and crowded, but you can eat reasonably well, have a decent drink, and there’s a Centurion Lounge. Lines are rarely long. Except at peak traffic times, I can be from my door to the gate in under 45 minutes.
You are now an employee of your wife?
Enough! (Drop mic.)
Is baggage claim any better now?
It’s about average, I’d say. I find it comparable to most other mid-size US airports, and still far superior to some nightmares like LGA or ORD.
NJ thanks you.
It use to be bad, real bad.
Good to know–if we get delayed we may have to the lounge.
Thanks, Josh
P. S. Any restaurant recommendations near the new Barnes. (I’ve been wanting to go to Vetri for years but can never get a reservation. Have gone to the place in the Rittenhouse Hotel, and, of course, other less high-end places; but always open to good suggestions.)
There isn’t a lot of high end food in town, and very little at all that’s worth seeking out. Vetri is still a good restaurant, but it’s time of being someplace really special is long past.
The best food in town is at Vernick. If you can’t get a reservation, going early and eating at the bar is quite comfortable. The new Vernick Fish is probably very good, too, but I haven’t been there yet so can’t say for sure. Cadence is the best BYO in town, hands down. It’s not near the Barnes, though. Res Ipsa is a little farther away as well, but still quite a nice choice.