Howard Beach – JFK Airport, A train – IND Rockaway Line

We took the A train from Manhattan to get to JFK.11−21−15, due to subway construction, we had to board a bus for part of the way. .very crowded. But other than that, getting to jfk was great. .Air Train is fantastic. .I highly recommend the A train to JFK.

This is an easy and inexpensive way to use the subway to get to and from JFK and Manhattan.
The AirTrain, connected with JFK will take your directly to this station. From here, you can take the A train to the Jay Street-​Metrotech station and change subway lines, depending on your final destination.

usually i would take the Long Island railroad to the Airport, But i had time to kill and also on a budget for my trip. My mother and i decided to take the A train which wasn’t such a bad idea. I would recommend trying to be the crowded. We meet the afternoon rush but lucky wasn’t standing over people with our big suitcases. Took the train all the way to Howard beach to transfer to the Airport Train. Tip make sure you have over $ 5 dollars on your train. You have to pay $ 5 dollars to get on and $ 5 to get off.

Nothing scenic here, just a necessary connection between A train & JFK AirTrain. Area surrounding is unsightly especially the cesspool with heavy construction waste floating in it for years. At least the station does its job, is fairly spacious. Escalators are 1-​wide but flow is generally good even when a train lets off. Platforms often have strange folk but expected in sigh an iffy area.

This is one of the best subway stations in the city. It connects the A line to the Airtrain. Very clean and well lit. There are clean bathrooms here. There is a pavilion area where you can buy metro cards and wait indoors for the A train which is great in terrible weather. You can actually see the trains coming from the pavillion plus there is a buzzer that let’s you know a train is coming. There is a small newstand on the Airtrain side of the station. There is also a small area outside of the station (across the street) with a Pizzaria, Taxi Stand, Chinese Take Out, Deli, Conveinance Store, Dry Cleaners, Liquor Store, Bar, Beauty Salon, and a few more stores. I would like this might be a good area to come during a long layover if you want to get away from airport and don’t have enough time to go to Manhatten.

Another place to check-​in on Unilocal for Dukedoms and Baron domination! It’s an MTA station, how can I rhapsodize about that?
Hmmm…it’s above ground, you use escalators to access the platforms and the JFK Air Train, you don’t have to go to JFK, you probably are coming from or going to JFK, it’s an express train, there’s lots of international tourists at this station, it’s not nasty like Jamaica Station, it’s less than an hour to Fulton St. Station, you can get to Penn Station for Amtrak, or NYU, or Columbia, or the Brooklyn Bridge, or wherever your dreams take you. It’s a very convenient train line. Oh, if you’re here that means you didn’t take the A-​Train to Lefferts Blvd., congratulations.

Great way to get to the airport. I usually park in howard beach thanks to the tip from my good friend. 5 $ one way isn’t bad. Better then paying for parking at the airport and I never had an issue with parking or air tran. Very reliable.

It legitimately costs to travel on their AirTran in and out of the terminals. I’ve never encountered that in any airport I’ve been to before, until JFK.
Howard beach is a handy station for onward travel into the city via the A train I think. Staff seemed pleasant, despite having to put up with some incredibly rude patrons. Pretty decent station all and all!

If you are going to the air-​train from this direction this is the place. Pretty quick from downtown, just make sure you take the right A train.

I’ve never missed a flight because of the the AirTrain, and I’m pretty sure that:
1. That makes it the most consistent form of public transportation in the city.
2. Now that I’ve said that I am guaranteed to miss the next one.
Either way, I’m lucky enough to live right next to the A Train, and combined with the AirTrain, this has probably saved me hundreds of dollars in the past couple years. Yes, the elevator and the first escalator are both always out of service at Howard Beach, but it’s so much cheaper than taking a cab (especially since the recent fare hike/​my growing up and realizing cab drivers should be tipped as well as other folks), and that matters when you’re broke.

So easy to get to JFK Airport thanks to the A line and MTA’s air tran! No complaints here! Very nice station and easy transfer. $ 5 to take the air tran once you get off the subway which is a steal considering buses from mid-​town are never reliable and cost upwards of $ 20 each way. Also air trans come every 5 minutes all night long. Very convenient.
Beware there are two ends for the A train — you’re going to want to take the Howard Beach/​Far Rockaway train to get to this stop.

Elevators were out of service, so was one of the two escalators. Other than that it was a smooth process to the AirTrain and Terminal 8. This $ 5 ride beats a $ 40 cab ride from Brooklyn.

This is one of the nicest small stations and transfer points. The subway/​air train combination will cost you 7.50. Great price considering that the price of a taxi to the airport is 25 – 40 dollars.
At the station there is a ton of natural light. The station is surrounded by glass letting light in. There is a small snack concession on site. A male and female restroom. There are also numerous red coats selling metrocards and giving directions.
Currently this is the terminal for the A train, since the Hurricane knocked out service on the tracks to the Rockaways. This station also took a hit. The elevator and escalator from the A line to the Airtrain transfer area still does not work. Be warned you may have to carry your stuff up the stairs.

Anytime I can save upwards of $ 50 for a ride to the airport, I’m a fan.
Being that I don’t live far from the Canal St. ACE station and I find myself at JFK roughly once every six weeks or so… it’s not the worst commute getting out to Jamaica. Using an unlimited Metro card via the A to the air train here at Howard Beach ($ 5) means I’m paying maybe $ 7.50 to get to the airport. It might take a little over an hour to get there… but the other option is taking a cab (black or yellow) and forking over upwards of $ 50 — $ 70 before you’ve even had a chance to purchase an overpriced, mediocre hoagie from a terminal stop once through security. If you’re cut from the «time is money» cloth, you must be making more than $ 60/​hour if you choose the latter option.
As for the air train, it’s a breeze during the day. If you’re flying back into NYC any time after 10:00pm, though… it’s a whole other story. At that point, I’d advise you to take a cab. You never know when there are going to be service interruptions, causing you to get home two hours after your flight has landed. Never fun.

This Station is ok… took it one time to Jamaica Station… A Pretty nice station…

The Howard Beach station located in Queens, NY is a one of two ways that you can connect with the AirTrain (which takes you directly to JFK International Airport). The other being the Jamaica Station.
You can get to this station by taking the Far Rockaway bound A train. For the time being, this train may be labeled as the Howard Beach A train because the bridge that takes the Far Rockaway noun A train deeper into the peninsula was wiped out by Hurricane Sandy. So for now Howard Beach is the last stop (shuttle bus finishes the remaining route).
The fare to enter/​exit the station is $ 2.25 (as of 2012). If you plan to also take the AirTrain (which you need to in order to get to JFK Airport), then add $ 5 to that.
Wait times are not long. So of you miss an AirTrain at the station, it’s okay. Wait times (barring maintenance) is 5 – 6 minutes on weekdays, 10 – 15 minutes on weekends.
Wait times for the A train itself is usually about 25 minutes. More or less depending on how low you missed the last one, or whether or not it’s rush hour.