How do I get to New York?

Three airports serve New York, and which one you land at shapes your first hour in the city more than you might expect. JFK (John F. Kennedy International), 26 km southeast of Midtown in Queens, handles the bulk of international long-haul traffic - Delta and JetBlue run their biggest East Coast operations here. Newark Liberty (EWR), 26 km southwest in New Jersey, is United's primary hub and tends to be $30-80 cheaper on transatlantic fares for the same routing. LaGuardia (LGA), just 13 km east of Midtown in northern Queens, is almost entirely domestic - American, Delta, Southwest, and JetBlue shuttle flights from every major US city. LGA's terminal rebuild has made it far less grim than the old reputation suggests, though the taxi queue at 5 PM on a Friday still feels like slow-motion purgatory, horns blaring from the Grand Central Parkway overhead.

From London, direct flights run 7-8 hours on BA, Virgin Atlantic, or JetBlue (which flies Gatwick to JFK) at £400-750 round-trip. From Western Europe, expect €450-800 on Lufthansa, Air France, or Aer Lingus, with Dublin offering US preclearance so you walk off the plane as a domestic arrival at JFK. That alone is worth the routing if you've ever stood in the JFK immigration hall at 4 PM when six widebodies land within twenty minutes - the stale recycled air, the shuffling queue snaking past those blue rope dividers, the fluorescent hum overhead. From the US West Coast, nonstop is 5-6 hours on Delta, JetBlue, United, or Alaska at $250-500 round-trip. The LAX red-eye lands around 5:30 AM, which sounds rough but works well: you're in Manhattan by 7, the sidewalks smell like fresh bagels and warm pretzel carts, and most hotels will let you drop bags early.

From Asia-Pacific, expect 14-16 hours nonstop on ANA, JAL, Korean Air, Cathay Pacific, or Singapore Airlines at $800-1,400 round-trip. Tokyo-Narita and Seoul-Incheon have the most nonstop frequency to JFK. Transpacific fares tend to bottom out in February and March, then climb through June. Worth noting: if you're coming from Southeast Asia or Australia, a one-stop via Tokyo or Seoul is usually $200 cheaper than routing through the Gulf hubs and shaves 3-4 hours off total travel time. Emirates and Etihad run 13-14 hour nonstops from Dubai and Abu Dhabi at $700-1,100, which work well as premium-cabin splurges but cost more in economy than the Asian carrier alternatives.

New York is also one of the few American cities where flying is not your only real option. Amtrak's Northeast Corridor connects Boston (3.5 hours, $49-150), Philadelphia (1.5 hours, $29-90), and Washington DC (3 hours, $49-150) directly into Penn Station at 34th Street and 7th Avenue, right under Madison Square Garden. You step off the platform and you're already in Midtown. No shuttle, no transfer. The Acela costs more but runs 20-30 minutes faster. If you're already on the East Coast, the train beats flying once you add airport security, boarding delays, the taxi ride in, and the general indignity of sitting in a departure lounge. Best time to book flights: January through early March, when cold keeps leisure demand low and fares drop 30-40% below summer peaks. The worst window is mid-December through New Year's - fares spike, terminals pack tight as the 6 train at rush hour, and hotels double their rates.