Heathrow vs JFK: which is better?
London and New York are two of the world's great aviation cities, with millions of passengers travelling between them every year. But how do their principal international gateways compare? A journey between New York JFK and London Heathrow reveals two enormous airports with very different strengths — particularly when it comes to terminals, immigration and getting into the city after landing.
Few air routes connect two cities as important as London and New York.
The two financial capitals generate an enormous flow of business travellers, tourists and connecting passengers, with several airlines operating frequent transatlantic services between them.
At the centre of that relationship are two famous airports: London Heathrow and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Both are enormous international gateways.
Both handle tens of millions of passengers every year.
Both have multiple terminals built and rebuilt over decades.
And both are airports that passengers can either love or strongly dislike depending on which terminal they happen to use.
But when comparing the complete passenger journey, some significant differences emerge.
Large international airports are no longer simply buildings where passengers board aircraft.
They are transport systems in their own right.
Terminals contain shops, restaurants, hotels, lounges, railway stations, car parks, bus stations, taxi ranks, private hire facilities, and enormous baggage-handling operations.
That means judging an airport purely by the flight itself misses much of the passenger experience.
What happens before departure and after arrival can be just as important.
John F. Kennedy International Airport is New York's principal international gateway.
The airport handled more than 59 million passengers in 2016, making it one of America's busiest airports.
But JFK isn't the only airport serving New York.
The metropolitan area also relies heavily on Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.
Together, the three airports form one of the world's largest aviation markets.
New York therefore has something in common with London: there isn't really one airport serving the city.
There is an entire airport system.
London takes that concept even further.
The capital's aviation market includes Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City and, within the wider London airport market, Southend.
This extraordinary collection of airports makes London one of the most connected cities on Earth.
Heathrow remains the largest and most important of them.
In the first three months of 2018 alone, 17.7 million passengers passed through Heathrow, a record first quarter and 3.1% more than during the same period in 2017.
The airport was handling close to 200,000 passengers every day.
A useful comparison starts with departure from New York.
American Airlines operates from JFK Terminal 8, one of the airport's largest passenger terminals.
For a major international airport, first impressions matter.
Passengers may arrive several hours before departure.
They need to check in.
Drop luggage.
Clear security.
Find somewhere to eat.
Possibly shop.
Charge their phones.
And eventually locate the departure gate.
Terminal 8 provides a large check-in area with self-service facilities designed to reduce pressure on staffed desks during busy periods.
For the journey examined in 2018, check-in and security were relatively painless.
That isn't always guaranteed at a major American airport.
Passengers often remember security queues more clearly than the terminal architecture.
A beautiful airport becomes considerably less impressive if travellers spend an hour standing in a queue.
Likewise, an older terminal can still provide a good experience if passengers move through it efficiently.
JFK Terminal 8 performed reasonably well in this respect.
There was plenty of space and staff available to assist passengers.
Once through security, however, another important part of the modern airport experience begins.
Shopping.
Airport retail is an enormous global business.
Passengers are effectively a captive audience.
They arrive early.
They have time to spare.
Many are travelling internationally and have money available for their holiday or business trip.
Unsurprisingly, airports have invested heavily in retail.
By 2016, worldwide airport retail spending had reached approximately $38 billion, with forecasts at the time suggesting it could reach around $49 billion by 2021.
JFK Terminal 8 offered a mixture of luxury and mainstream brands.
But London Heathrow has taken airport retail to another level.
Heathrow is not simply an airport with some shops.
Retail has become a major part of its commercial model.
Luxury fashion.
Watches.
Jewellery.
Perfume.
Electronics.
British gifts.
Restaurants.
Bars.
Pharmacies.
Passengers can easily spend a considerable portion of their waiting time shopping.
For international visitors, Heathrow also provides a final opportunity to purchase recognisably British products before leaving the country.
Terminal 5 demonstrates this particularly clearly.
The journey from New York to London normally involves an overnight flight.
Passengers leave JFK in the evening and arrive in Britain the following morning.
That means many people reach Heathrow tired.
They may have slept badly.
Their body clock still thinks it is the middle of the night.
At that moment, the efficiency of the arrival process becomes particularly important.
Nobody wants to finish a transatlantic flight and then spend hours navigating an airport.
The arrival in this comparison was at Heathrow Terminal 3.
Terminal 3 dates back to 1961 and doesn't have the architectural impact of the much newer Terminal 5.
But Heathrow does one thing particularly well: signage.
Large airports can be intimidating.
Passengers need to know where to find immigration, baggage reclaim, connecting flights, trains, Underground services, buses, taxis, and meeting points.
Clear signage makes an enormous difference.
At Heathrow, directions are difficult to miss.
For international passengers, immigration is often the biggest uncertainty after landing.
A 20-minute queue may feel perfectly reasonable.
A two-hour queue after an overnight flight can destroy an otherwise good airport experience.
In 2018, eligible passengers with biometric passports could use automated ePassport gates at Heathrow.
The passenger places the passport into the reader.
The system reads the electronic chip.
A camera compares the traveller with the biometric information.
If everything is accepted, the gate opens.
For eligible travellers, this can significantly accelerate the immigration process.
Even the fastest passport control doesn't guarantee a quick exit.
Passengers with checked luggage still need to wait at the baggage carousel.
This is one reason airport pickup times are difficult to predict.
Two passengers on exactly the same flight may leave Heathrow at very different times.
One travels with hand luggage and uses an electronic passport gate.
The other needs conventional immigration processing and has two checked suitcases.
The difference could easily be substantial.
For professional airport transport, the aircraft's landing time is therefore only part of the equation.
Once passengers have collected their luggage and entered the public arrivals area, the difference between Heathrow and JFK becomes particularly interesting.
Heathrow offers an unusually wide selection of ways to continue the journey.
Passengers can choose between Heathrow Express, TfL Rail, London Underground, local buses, long-distance coaches, London black cabs, pre-booked private hire, hotel transport and car hire.
That level of choice is one of Heathrow's greatest strengths.
For passengers whose destination suits it, Heathrow Express is the fastest public transport option into central London.
Trains travel between Heathrow and London Paddington in approximately 15 minutes.
That is exceptionally quick for an airport of Heathrow's size and distance from central London.
The disadvantage is price.
Buying a ticket on the day can make Heathrow Express considerably more expensive than the Underground.
Passengers are therefore effectively choosing between speed and cost.
At the other end of the price scale is the London Underground.
The Piccadilly line connects Heathrow directly with large parts of central London.
It is slower than Heathrow Express.
But it is substantially cheaper.
And because it serves numerous central London stations, it may actually provide a more convenient journey for passengers whose final destination isn't near Paddington.
Someone travelling towards areas such as South Kensington, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly Circus, Leicester Square or King's Cross may find the Underground particularly useful.
Rail has one obvious limitation.
The railway station is rarely the passenger's final destination.
Someone staying at a hotel may still need another Underground journey, bus, taxi or walk after reaching central London.
Passengers carrying several suitcases may not want to do that.
A London black cab or pre-booked private hire vehicle offers something fundamentally different: a direct journey from Heathrow to the final address.
That convenience comes at a higher cost than the Underground, but for families, groups and passengers with substantial luggage it can be considerably easier.
This is one of JFK's most significant disadvantages.
JFK has AirTrain, which connects the airport terminals with New York's wider public transport system.
But passengers cannot simply board a train at JFK and travel directly into central Manhattan in the same way Heathrow Express reaches Paddington.
Instead, travellers normally use AirTrain to connect with subway or Long Island Rail Road services.
The system works.
But it involves an interchange.
For a tired international passenger with luggage, every additional interchange matters.
Of course, JFK has another transport option recognised around the world.
The New York yellow cab.
Just as London's black taxis are part of the capital's identity, yellow taxis have become visual shorthand for New York.
For passengers wanting direct transportation into Manhattan, a taxi avoids the complications of changing between AirTrain and rail or subway services.
Again, the trade-off is cost versus convenience.
This is a theme common to almost every major airport.
The return journey provides a very different Heathrow experience.
Instead of Terminal 3, departure is from Terminal 5.
Opened in 2008, Terminal 5 was one of Britain's largest construction projects and remains Heathrow's flagship passenger terminal.
It was designed primarily around British Airways operations.
The difference compared with older airport terminals is immediately obvious.
Large areas of glass create an open, bright environment.
There is extensive retail.
Numerous restaurants and bars are available.
And the building was designed around the needs of a modern hub airline.
Terminal 5 was an enormous investment.
Its construction cost several billion pounds and included not only the main terminal but satellite buildings, baggage systems and transport infrastructure.
The terminal's opening in March 2008 was notoriously difficult, with baggage problems and cancelled flights attracting worldwide attention.
A decade later, however, Terminal 5 has become an important part of Heathrow's identity.
For many British Airways passengers, it is the Heathrow they know best.
The scale becomes obvious after security.
Some departure gates are located a considerable distance from the main terminal building.
An automated transit system carries passengers to satellite areas.
This is useful, but it also creates an important lesson: allow enough time to reach your gate.
At a large hub airport, clearing security doesn't necessarily mean the journey through the terminal is almost finished.
Your aircraft could still be some distance away.
Airport food once had a terrible reputation.
A sandwich wrapped in plastic and a cup of mediocre coffee were often the best passengers could expect.
That has changed.
Airports increasingly compete to attract recognised restaurant brands and celebrity chefs.
Heathrow Terminal 5 includes restaurants and bars intended to make the terminal itself part of the travel experience.
For passengers arriving several hours before a long-haul flight, a proper meal can make a substantial difference.
After another transatlantic flight, the passenger returns to New York.
This time the arrival is at JFK Terminal 7.
And this is where the comparison becomes less flattering for New York.
The terminal feels older.
More importantly, immigration is slow.
Queues build rapidly.
There are limited numbers of officers processing arriving passengers.
After a long overnight journey, standing in an immigration queue is precisely the kind of experience passengers remember.
This highlights one of the difficulties of comparing large airports.
The terminal can matter almost as much as the airport.
Someone departing JFK Terminal 8 may have a very different impression from someone arriving at Terminal 7.
Likewise, Heathrow Terminal 5 feels very different from parts of the older terminals.
Saying “JFK is better” or “Heathrow is better” can therefore oversimplify the experience.
The airline and terminal combination matters.
New York authorities are well aware of the problem.
Plans have been developed for a major transformation of JFK.
In 2017, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo outlined a vision for a $10 billion redevelopment of the airport.
The ambition is to modernise terminals, improve road access and create a more unified airport experience.
That investment is partly driven by international competition.
Passengers increasingly compare airports globally.
New York isn't only competing with other American cities.
It is competing with London, Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong and other international hubs.
Why should a city care whether its airport is pleasant?
Because for millions of visitors, the airport is their first impression.
A business traveller arriving in London may encounter Heathrow before seeing anything else in Britain.
A tourist arriving in New York experiences JFK before Manhattan.
Long immigration queues, confusing signs and poor transport create an immediate impression.
Efficient processing and easy onward connections do the opposite.
Airports therefore function partly as gateways representing their cities.
Heathrow's strength becomes even more significant when viewed as part of London's wider airport network.
London isn't dependent on a single airport.
Heathrow dominates long-haul and connecting traffic.
Gatwick combines long-haul and short-haul services.
Stansted is particularly important for European low-cost travel.
Luton serves another large short-haul market.
London City specialises in convenient access to the capital's financial districts.
Southend provides additional capacity to the east.
Collectively, these airports give London extraordinary connectivity.
That success creates its own problem.
Heathrow's two runways operate extremely intensively.
There is little spare capacity during much of the day.
When everything works correctly, the airport handles extraordinary numbers of aircraft.
When something goes wrong, disruption can spread quickly.
A delayed aircraft can lose its slot.
Weather can reduce runway capacity.
Air traffic restrictions can cause queues of arriving aircraft.
The debate about whether Heathrow needs a third runway is therefore partly a consequence of the airport's own success.
Gatwick has its own remarkable distinction.
It operates primarily with a single runway yet handles tens of millions of passengers each year.
That makes London's airport system unusual.
The city handles an enormous number of passengers despite significant runway constraints at its two largest airports.
The question of future airport capacity will therefore remain one of Britain's major infrastructure debates.
For passengers, the wider comparison is more complicated than one airport against another.
New York has JFK, Newark and LaGuardia.
London has an even larger collection.
A passenger's experience therefore depends partly on which airport their airline uses.
Someone flying from London City has a completely different journey from someone using Stansted.
Likewise, LaGuardia and JFK serve different markets.
The airport closest to the city centre isn't always the airport offering the required flight.
This leads to an important point.
An airport's geographical distance from the city centre doesn't tell the whole story.
What matters is door-to-door journey time.
An airport 25 miles away with an excellent railway can sometimes be easier to reach than an airport 10 miles away with poor transport.
Heathrow benefits enormously from having several public transport alternatives.
That advantage becomes particularly clear when comparing it with JFK.
A direct airport train sounds ideal until you add real passengers.
A family of five.
Four large suitcases.
Two children.
A pushchair.
A hotel that isn't near the arrival station.
Suddenly the calculation changes.
The Underground may be cheaper.
The train may be faster.
But direct road transport may be easier.
Airport transport is therefore not simply a competition to identify one universally superior option.
Different passengers value different things.
A business passenger travelling with one small suitcase may prioritise speed.
They may happily pay more for Heathrow Express because 15 minutes to Paddington is valuable.
A family on holiday may prioritise convenience.
A backpacker may prioritise price.
Someone arriving after an overnight flight may simply want the easiest journey possible.
The best-connected airports provide all of those choices.
Professional airport transport also involves more planning than an ordinary city journey.
Flights can land early.
They can be delayed.
Immigration queues vary.
Baggage reclaim is unpredictable.
This means the scheduled arrival time is not necessarily the passenger pickup time.
A driver collecting an international arrival needs to account for all of those variables.
That is one reason flight monitoring is useful for pre-booked airport transfers.
Although Heathrow currently operates four passenger terminals — Terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 — its numbering reflects the former Terminal 1, which closed in 2015.
Passengers unfamiliar with the airport may understandably find this confusing.
Knowing the correct terminal before travelling is essential.
Going to Terminal 5 when the flight actually departs from Terminal 3 isn't a small mistake.
The terminals are separated by enough distance that correcting it can consume valuable time.
London's multiple-airport system creates another journey that New York passengers will recognise: airport transfers between different airports.
A traveller may arrive at Heathrow and have an onward flight from Gatwick.
Or Stansted.
Or Luton.
These are not neighbouring terminals.
They are separate airports located many miles apart.
Passengers should therefore allow substantial time when booking flights involving a change of London airport.
Traffic conditions can significantly affect the journey.
This is particularly important for international travellers.
A ticket itinerary may make Heathrow and Gatwick look as though they are simply two London terminals.
They aren't.
Passengers normally need to enter the UK, collect their baggage, leave Heathrow, travel across the road network to Gatwick, check in again, clear security, and reach the new departure gate.
That process can take hours.
The same principle applies to transfers involving Stansted or Luton.
On the particular journey examined in May 2018, Heathrow provides the stronger overall experience.
Terminal 5 is more modern than JFK Terminal 7.
Heathrow immigration for eligible ePassport passengers can be efficient.
And London's airport has a particularly strong range of onward transport options.
But that doesn't mean every Heathrow journey is superior to every JFK journey.
Terminal choice matters.
Time of day matters.
Immigration queues matter.
The airline matters.
And the passenger's final destination matters.
The comparison is best understood as a snapshot of two enormous airports rather than a permanent rule.
JFK's weaknesses are hardly a secret.
The proposed multi-billion-dollar redevelopment demonstrates that New York understands the importance of improving its international gateway.
New terminals and better ground transportation could significantly alter the comparison over the coming decade.
Heathrow won't stand still either.
Britain continues debating airport expansion while passenger numbers keep increasing.
The competition between global aviation hubs is therefore far from over.
London and New York share many characteristics.
Both are global financial centres.
Both attract enormous numbers of international visitors.
Both have extensive public transport systems.
Both rely on multiple airports.
And both face the challenge of modernising aviation infrastructure while passenger demand continues to grow.
The flight between them may take only around seven hours.
But the complete journey begins long before take-off and ends long after landing.
That is why airports matter so much.
For the passenger, the best airport isn't necessarily the one with the biggest terminal or most expensive shops.
It is the one that makes the entire journey easier.
And in May 2018, Heathrow demonstrates just how important good onward transport can be.
London's position as one of the world's leading aviation cities gives passengers an extraordinary choice of airports, but it can also make ground transportation more complicated.
London Airport Transfer provides pre-booked private hire journeys to and from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City Airport, including transfers to Central London, hotels, residential addresses and between London's airports.
Heathrow passengers have an especially wide range of transport choices.
The Underground can provide an economical journey.
Heathrow Express offers a fast rail connection to Paddington.
London taxis are available from official ranks.
And pre-booked private hire provides a direct journey from the airport to the passenger's destination.
For passengers carrying substantial luggage, families and groups, a door-to-door transfer can avoid the need to change between trains or carry suitcases through stations.
Pre-booking can also be particularly useful for airport-to-airport transfers.
Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton are located in very different parts of the London region, so passengers changing airports should plan their journey carefully and allow sufficient time for traffic and check-in at the onward airport.
Heathrow's public transport connections are one of the reasons it performs strongly when compared with JFK.
But the best airport journey ultimately depends on something much more personal: where the passenger actually needs to go after walking through arrivals.
Written by London Airport Transfer for passengers travelling to and from London airports.