Questions about connecting flight--JetBlue at JFK

[Miffy]

For my inbound trip on July 30th, I booked a 1-stop flight (MCO - JFK - SYR).

I've flown only nonstop on JetBlue for years, so this is new to me, but the nonstop flight back to SYR left so early in the morning that I decided on the connecting flight instead, since that way I get an additional park day.

There're 1.5 hours between landing and takeoff of the next flight at JFK, so I'm pretty sure I'll have enough time, especially since I have an EMS seat near the front of the plane and am doing only carry-on.

My questions:

(1) When I get the boarding pass before the flight, will it have both flights on it? Or are there 2 separate boarding passes?

(2) Will the JetBlue app show the gate for the connecting flight at JFK? Or will I have to walk/jog/run around to find a departure board near the arrival gate?

(3) What happens if the MCO-JFK plane is delayed and by the time the plane lands at JFK the plane to SYR has departed? Does JetBlue put me on a flight the next day? I can't imagine there's another JetBlue flight to SYR from JFK late at night.

TIA, you more experienced travelers!

 

[nykelly]

I don't have an answer for you but sympathize with you. We are flying from SYR to MCO and back and was hesitant to do the early am flight as well because I was concerned about getting everyone moving so early in the morning. There was one flight later in the day but dragged my feet too long and the flight's price jumped by about $1,000 for the 6 of us. Everyone agreed it was best to take the earlier one and have the convenience of the non-stop flight and save the money. Wished they offered more options.

 

[sam_gordon]

My questions:

(1) When I get the boarding pass before the flight, will it have both flights on it? Or are there 2 separate boarding passes?

There will/should be two boarding passes. One for each "leg". The app will probably have somewhere to select which BP you want to display.

(2) Will the JetBlue app show the gate for the connecting flight at JFK? Or will I have to walk/jog/run around to find a departure board near the arrival gate?

I'm not familiar with JB, but for Delta, on the BP page, it does show the departure gate. However, I *ALWAYS* double check at least one monitor. Delta has them setup right outside the gates specifically for people on that flight, or I find one of the "massive" boards showing all flights. Gates can change at just about anytime. So it's a good idea to triple check.

(3) What happens if the MCO-JFK plane is delayed and by the time the plane lands at JFK the plane to SYR has departed? Does JetBlue put me on a flight the next day? I can't imagine there's another JetBlue flight to SYR from JFK late at night.

JB should put you on the next available flight. That does not mean the next flight. It depends on how many people were affected and how many seats were available on the plane. If your first flight is delayed for a JB reason (maintenance, crew, etc), JB should get you a hotel reservation and transportation to/from the hotel, if you choose to utilize it. However, if there's been a lot of delays, they may run out of rooms and you're on your own.

As I mentioned, I primary fly Delta but have also used American, and all three answers are the same.

 

[ParrotBill]

sam_gordon is spot on. I can add some.
Late evening at JFK is often full of delays due to saturation of arrivals and departures. If your flight to JFK is late, there is a good chance the SYR flight will also be delayed and you will make it. If not, find Jetblue agents and try not to leave terminal 5 until you get answers about hotel accommodation and meal vouchers.

When I transfer I always research the connecting airport and even print a map sometimes. JFK Terminal 5 has two and a half "wings" and you could find yourself simply in the longer wing arriving and departing. There may not be a departure board. If the next flight gate is near, go look there to see if the SYR flight is on the board, and stay if it is. Otherwise find a departure board by walking toward the center.
Also save a link to the departures web site, and turn your phone off airplane mode as soon as you touch down, look it up before you get to the gate.

https://www.ifly.com/airports/john-f-kennedy-international-airport/terminal-map/Terminal-5-map
https://www.jfkairport.com/flight-tracker?view=VIEW_DEPARTURE&apt=JFK

 

[Miffy]

sam_gordon is spot on. I can add some.
Late evening at JFK is often full of delays due to saturation of arrivals and departures. If your flight to JFK is late, there is a good chance the SYR flight will also be delayed and you will make it. If not, find Jetblue agents and try not to leave terminal 5 until you get answers about hotel accommodation and meal vouchers.

When I transfer I always research the connecting airport and even print a map sometimes. JFK Terminal 5 has two and a half "wings" and you could find yourself simply in the longer wing arriving and departing. There may not be a departure board. If the next flight gate is near, go look there to see if the SYR flight is on the board, and stay if it is. Otherwise find a departure board by walking toward the center.
Also save a link to the departures web site, and turn your phone off airplane mode as soon as you touch down, look it up before you get to the gate.

https://www.ifly.com/airports/john-f-kennedy-international-airport/terminal-map/Terminal-5-map
https://www.jfkairport.com/flight-tracker?view=VIEW_DEPARTURE&apt=JFK

Many many thanks for this!

 

[jimmymc]

(1) When I get the boarding pass before the flight, will it have both flights on it? Or are there 2 separate boarding passes?

You'll get two boarding passes. The app will also have two boarding passes.

(2) Will the JetBlue app show the gate for the connecting flight at JFK? Or will I have to walk/jog/run around to find a departure board near the arrival gate?

The app will show the gate your first leg lands at and where the second leg departs from. They'll probably be near each other, but either way, it will show both.

(3) What happens if the MCO-JFK plane is delayed and by the time the plane lands at JFK the plane to SYR has departed? Does JetBlue put me on a flight the next day? I can't imagine there's another JetBlue flight to SYR from JFK late at night.

If that happens, you should automatically be put on the next available flight to Syracuse. That could mean going the next day if nothing else is scheduled that night.

People connect all the time for flights, and 95% of the time, you'll easily walk to your next flight and make it home as scheduled.

 

[_19disnA]

Haven't flown on Jet Blue, but agree with the above comments. You will get boarding passes for BOTH legs of your trip when you initially check-in for departure. I have never flown on any airline that doesn't do that.

My experience has been that sometimes your boarding pass will show the assigned gate of the connecting flight and sometimes not. If, for example, you check in very early for the first leg of the flight, the next gate may not have been assigned. When exiting the plane at the connecting airport, I ALWAYS check those TV monitors to verify what gate the next flight will depart from. Various things can cause the gate to change even if printed on your boarding pass. Large airports have several monitors so it should be fairly easy to find one and check the status of your connecting flight before walking to the wrong departure gate.

Airline phone apps I have used will also show both legs of your trip once you 'check-in'. I prefer to print a boarding pass before I leave home since it is one less thing to go wrong when traveling. You can also print your boarding passes at one of those kiosks all airlines now have near their departure counters. Other good thing to remember if you don't generally fly on connecting flights is that you should NOT exit the secure area of the terminal once you land to shop/eat/etc. or you will have to go back through security again which can add extra time at your connecting airport.

 

[kylenne]

JFK T5 is big but not as big as 4. Even if you were at opposite ends somehow, I would not worry about making a 1.5 hour connection...IF you are on time from MCO, and that will largely depend on the time of day. This time of year you are virtually guaranteed being delayed flying into the NYC area in the later afternoon/early evenings because of weather either in FL or NY or both. When I came home on 7/6 my roughly 8p flight was delayed nearly 3.5 hours and we didn't take off until 11:30pm. Due to weather delays in both areas.

Have a backup plan is what I'm saying. I don't mean to scare you but I'm struggling to recall a time when I wasn't delayed flying home in the summer from MCO-JFK on the later flights. And looking at my Flighty data, my history of delays from MCO is 62%...roughly an hour on average. Sometimes less, sometimes more. Usually not to the degree I had a couple of weeks ago, but we are coming up on hurricane season starting to peak. I personally would have taken the nonstop in this scenario even if it meant less time at the parks.

 

[Best Aunt]

If you already have the JetBlue app on your phone, make sure it is set up for notifications. The app should show you which gate for arrival and departure. If the gate changes, hopefully the notifications will tell you.

If you have an iphone: you can go into Settings, then Notifications. Then scroll down through the different apps listed, and make sure it doesn't say "Off" under JetBlue. Tap on it, and you can choose the type of notifications you want for the app (sound, banner, etc). If you have an Android phone, I can't help you LOL.

I used to fly JetBlue with connections at JFK, but haven't since before COVID. The main thing I remember is birds in that terminal, and bird poop on the seats near the gates. Perhaps that is no longer a problem.

Since there seem to be SYR people in this thread:
If anybody is flying out of SYR in the next few weeks, and has an Enhanced driver's license, I would love it if you could post as to whether you had any problems going through security at SYR. Or at MCO. I've been hearing that these licenses don't scan as Real ID Compliant and that an update to the scanner software is supposed to come out this month to fix that. (I know there was a separate thread about this, but I've just been reading about the upcoming update recently.) I'm taking my passport just in case, but it feels ridiculous to have to do that.

 

[Miffy]

If you already have the JetBlue app on your phone, make sure it is set up for notifications. The app should show you which gate for arrival and departure. If the gate changes, hopefully the notifications will tell you.

If you have an iphone: you can go into Settings, then Notifications. Then scroll down through the different apps listed, and make sure it doesn't say "Off" under JetBlue. Tap on it, and you can choose the type of notifications you want for the app (sound, banner, etc). If you have an Android phone, I can't help you LOL.

I used to fly JetBlue with connections at JFK, but haven't since before COVID. The main thing I remember is birds in that terminal, and bird poop on the seats near the gates. Perhaps that is no longer a problem.

Since there seem to be SYR people in this thread:
If anybody is flying out of SYR in the next few weeks, and has an Enhanced driver's license, I would love it if you could post as to whether you had any problems going through security at SYR. Or at MCO. I've been hearing that these licenses don't scan as Real ID Compliant and that an update to the scanner software is supposed to come out this month to fix that. (I know there was a separate thread about this, but I've just been reading about the upcoming update recently.) I'm taking my passport just in case, but it feels ridiculous to have to do that.

I've flown out of SYR since the Real ID came into effect. I have an Enhanced NYS license and had no problem at all either in SYR or at MCO.

@kylenne: I suppose DH could drive to JFK from Syracuse to pick me up if the connection doesn't work out, but I'd hate to ask him to do this. It's a very long drive. It's too late to take a train to Syracuse and no way would I take a bus even if that were possible. I'm pretty sure JetBlue doesn't have another flight from JFK to SYR until the next day, but I'll be checking to make sure.

I hope I don't regret booking this connecting flight. I just didn't want to have to wake up at 3 a.m. in order to get the way-too-early inbound flight.

 

[Mikey15]

It’s been a decade, but I did fly SYR->JFK->MCO with Jet Blue for my departure leg one year for timing/price savings. Other than it being annoying boarding, deplaning, waiting, and boarding again when you’re tired, it went about as well as could be expected. We had zero issues at Terminal… 5? at JFK and were able to sit down at our gate for a bit despite only an 80~100minute layover.

I definitely enjoy the convenience of nonstop but JB seems to have annoyingly changed from early AM SYR->MCO, evening MCO->SYR as we prefer it, to early AM MCO->SYR. I don’t get it.

 

[Miffy]

It’s been a decade, but I did fly SYR->JFK->MCO with Jet Blue for my departure leg one year for timing/price savings. Other than it being annoying boarding, deplaning, waiting, and boarding again when you’re tired, it went about as well as could be expected. We had zero issues at Terminal… 5? at JFK and were able to sit down at our gate for a bit despite only an 80~100minute layover.

I definitely enjoy the convenience of nonstop but JB seems to have annoyingly changed from early AM SYR->MCO, evening MCO->SYR as we prefer it, to early AM MCO->SYR. I don’t get it.

I don't get it either. But I have gone MCO-SYR early morning and getting up at 3 am to leave is no fun. I'm good for less than nothing that day and the day after as well. Also no fun.

I'll report back after I take this trip on the 30th. But I'm at WDW now and I don't want to think about leaving!!!

 

[Best Aunt]

I have gone MCO-SYR early morning and getting up at 3 am to leave is no fun.

^^^ This. Love nonstop flights, and love Terminal C at MCO. But when the flights leave SYR at the crack of dawn, it's ridiculous.

 

[EACarlson]

I definitely enjoy the convenience of nonstop but JB seems to have annoyingly changed from early AM SYR->MCO, evening MCO->SYR as we prefer it, to early AM MCO->SYR. I don’t get it.

Crew base at MCO is the reason. Much lower costs if the plane overnights at MCO and starts with a fresh crew than if it overnights at SYR and JB has to pay for hotels, food and transportation for the crew.

 

[Miffy]

^^^ This. Love nonstop flights, and love Terminal C at MCO. But when the flights leave SYR at the crack of dawn, it's ridiculous.

Actually, although I don't love getting up super early to leave SYR, I'll take that any day from having to get up crazy early at WDW to get a plane back home, which was the only choice of a nonstop to SYR on my getaway day.

 

[Miffy]

Update today, July 31st, my bonus day at POFQ. Why? Because the MCO to JFK flight was rescheduled (@kylenne--I should have listened to you!!!) to get into JFK after the JFK to SYR flight had already departed.

Fortunately for me, I hadn't gone to the airport yet when I found this out. JetBlue rescheduled me for a nonstop flight today (no extra charge, no change fee, etc.) and I was able to get a room at POFQ (where I'd stayed all week) at the AP rate.

That is the very last time I'm ever booking a connecting flight from SYR to MCO. If I have to leave my resort at 5 a.m., so be it. That's better than having to scramble to figure out what to do. As it turned out, the person on chat at JetBlue was able to solve my problem and booked me on today's flight and I was lucky that AP-discount rooms were still available at POFQ (or anywhere, for that matter). I get the impression that it's not very crowded at the resorts in general right now.

For my bonus evening, I went to DHS, saw the Villains show again (if you haven't seen this--go! it's amazing) and Fantasmic. A really good evening.

Many thanks to everyone on this thread!

 

[Best Aunt]

Well, I screwed up. I used DVC points to book a trip to Disney this fall. I have been watching airfare for my dates and was waiting to see if it would drop.

My stupidity: when JetBlue had a promo code available recently, I saw that it only applied to cash bookings. I was planning to book using my frequent flyer miles, and the number of miles required had not dropped. So I thought I would wait.

It didn't dawn on me that a lot people who would pay with cash, and could take advantage of the promo code, would book. So now the flight is mostly full now.

Current price for the nonstop flight, one way, from SYR to MCO that I wanted: "from $699." [Edit: that's for one ticket.] That's 53,000 points. Plus the cost of checking a bag, plus the cost of the seat. It had been $164 or about 11,000 points.

AND the nonstop flight from MCO to SYR that I wanted for flying home is gone.

So now I have to either find less convenient flights, or change my dates. But of course if I want to change my dates, the DVC nights I would want are sold out. So I have to wait to see if someone cancels their DVC resie and the coordinating nonstop flights are available at a normal price.

Sometimes planning a Disney trip feels like having a part-time job as a travel agent.

 

[Miffy]

Well, I screwed up. I used DVC points to book a trip to Disney this fall. I have been watching airfare for my dates and was waiting to see if it would drop.

My stupidity: when JetBlue had a promo code available recently, I saw that it only applied to cash bookings. I was planning to book using my frequent flyer miles, and the number of miles required had not dropped. So I thought I would wait.

It didn't dawn on me that a lot people who would pay with cash, and could take advantage of the promo code, would book. So now the flight is mostly full now.

Current price for the nonstop flight, one way, from SYR to MCO that I wanted: "from $699." That's 53,000 points. Plus the cost of checking a bag, plus the cost of the seat. It had been $164 or about 11,000 points.

AND the nonstop flight from MCO to SYR that I wanted for flying home is gone.

So now I have to either find less convenient flights, or change my dates. But of course if I want to change my dates, the DVC nights I would want are sold out. So I have to wait to see if someone cancels their DVC resie and the coordinating nonstop flights are available at a normal price.

Sometimes planning a Disney trip feels like having a part-time job as a travel agent.

I hope that $699 price is for more than one ticket. I have never paid anywhere near that much . . . nor have I ever seen a discount for cash. I'd better pay more attention.

 

[Best Aunt]

I hope that $699 price is for more than one ticket. I have never paid anywhere near that much . . . nor have I ever seen a discount for cash. I'd better pay more attention.

One ticket.

 

[Miffy]

One ticket.

Is this flight leaving tomorrow? I have never paid that much for SYR-MCO or MCO-SYR, and I've booked flights the day of. Is this a holiday? Although, come to think of it, when they have a sale, flights sell out fast and then the only tickets that are left are expensive. I've just never seen them that expensive . . . so I'd better stay alert!