Newark Airport’s new Terminal A… It’s HUGE!

There are some nice attributes though. 

That place is big enough for its own ZIP code! It might even be bigger than the Vauxhall HD. ;-)

Lots of lessons to be learned but you can still count on Jerseyan automotive behavior to make it miserable. There must have been many many jumbo jet arrivals when I went to pick my friend. That huge pick up zone can still get jammed. If you don’t want to hang out in the cell phone lot, the loop for going around again is separate from the rest of the airport area. That was nice.


I've read the old Terminal A will be demolished.  What are they going to do with that space?  Is the car rental center going to move into that area?


yahooyahoo said:

I've read the old Terminal A will be demolished.  What are they going to do with that space?  Is the car rental center going to move into that area?

All of the terminals are going to be redone. The old Terminal A is next.


Here's a pretty thorough article on it - I had no idea it was getting a makeover - I'm a United guy, so I'm usually in Terminal C.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/newark-airport-terminal-a/


jamie said:

Here's a pretty thorough article on it - I had no idea it was getting a makeover - I'm a United guy, so I'm usually in Terminal C.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/newark-airport-terminal-a/

United might be using terminal A more in the future, as terminal C is now considered outdated. First day hiccups were bad, but it is going to get better. I use terminal A a lot, can’t wait to see its finished product.


jamie said:

Here's a pretty thorough article on it - I had no idea it was getting a makeover - I'm a United guy, so I'm usually in Terminal C.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/newark-airport-terminal-a/

This is not a makeover.  They built a new Terminal A next to the old Terminal A.


Jaytee said:

jamie said:

Here's a pretty thorough article on it - I had no idea it was getting a makeover - I'm a United guy, so I'm usually in Terminal C.

https://thepointsguy.com/news/newark-airport-terminal-a/

United might be using terminal A more in the future, as terminal C is now considered outdated. First day hiccups were bad, but it is going to get better. I use terminal A a lot, can’t wait to see its finished product.

We flew out of the new Terminal A yesterday (day 2) on United and our flight home tomorrow is scheduled back in to A tomorrow, and I saw evidence of quite a few other United flights there.  I know that United had a presence in the old A that was mainly flights on the small regional jets, but our flights are standard Airbus jets (similar in size to a Boeing 737.)  The main glitch we observed was that they had MANY more screening desks (where you show ID and boarding pass) for the "regular" (non-TSA-pre) passengers than for TSA-pre, and there was some kind of problem with the baggage screening equipment that kept starting and stopping.  As a result, it took us much longer than for the "regular" passengers to get through security.  It looked like they could have changed this at any time with the flexible "lane" dividers, but it didn't happen while we were there.  Also, there only were two vendors preparing food in the section where our gate was (Dunkin Donuts and Zaros) and the lines for them were very long.  I'm not sure what that was about, but it was breakfast time and they had plenty of demand.  

I assume and hope that these are temporary glitches.  The terminal is beautiful and our flight was fine!


I remember when Terminal C was built for Continental Was it that long ago? 


The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

I remember when Terminal C was built for Continental Was it that long ago? 

I was involved in its construction on behalf of then-Continental from 1999-2002. Of course 9/11/01 put a damper on air travel for a while there. They never did finish expanding the lower arrivals level or renovating the center core. 

It would pain me to see it demolished.


jimmurphy said:

The_Soulful_Mr_T said:

I remember when Terminal C was built for Continental Was it that long ago? 

I was involved in its construction on behalf of then-Continental from 1999-2002. Of course 9/11/01 put a damper on air travel for a while there. They never did finish expanding the lower arrivals level or renovating the center core. 

It would pain me to see it demolished.

I read that Terminal C was originally completed in 1988 and then renovated and expanded from '98 to 2003.  I started flying out of Newark in the late 90s but don't recall the Terminal C construction.

I also read that the monorail was completed 1996. That's hard to believe, because it looks like it was built in the 1970s.

I miss Continental. The airline was ruined by the United takeover.


We used Terminal A a couple of weeks ago for JetBlue and liked the new terminal. Of course, it may be relative, but we liked it. We'll be using it again next month. 

btw - Our JetBlue flights were great. On time and pleasant flights. 

eta - Next month we're going to a wedding in Tampa and United was a lot more expensive than JetBlue- a lot more. Plus, I use my Amex membership miles for JetBlue and United doesn't accept Amex membership miles. 


yahooyahoo said:

I read that Terminal C was originally completed in 1988 and then renovated and expanded from '98 to 2003.  I started flying out of Newark in the late 90s but don't recall the Terminal C construction.

I also read that the monorail was completed 1996. That's hard to believe, because it looks like it was built in the 1970s.

I miss Continental. The airline was ruined by the United takeover.

Yes, I should have specified renovation, not construction. The original was build for Peoples’ Express - remember them?

We also built a huge new hangar and maintenance facilities in what they call the North Area, as well as two garages. 

It was so close to home that I used to go home for lunch on many days.

Great job…

RFP is out to rebuild the monorail. 

Terminal B is next. Wish I could get on that job.


jimmurphy said:

Yes, I should have specified renovation, not construction. The original was build for Peoples’ Express - remember them?

We also built a huge new hangar and maintenance facilities in what they call the North Area, as well as two garages. 

It was so close to home that I used to go home for lunch on many days.

Great job…

RFP is out to rebuild the monorail. 

Terminal B is next. Wish I could get on that job.

I thought I heard that the "redo" of old Terminal A was next. I've wondered whether they might do something to eventually connect old Terminal A and Terminal B into a new B on the scale of the new A?  If not, then what will they call the redone Terminal A in between B and new A? 


sac said:

I thought I heard that the "redo" of old Terminal A was next. I've wondered whether they might do something to eventually connect old Terminal A and Terminal B into a new B on the scale of the new A?  If not, then what will they call the redone Terminal A in between B and new A? 

You may be right. A coworker of mine is leaving on Friday for a new job and was promised that the new firm has a good shot on Terminal B. He’s former Port Authority, so I trust his sources.

ETA: You got me curious, so I just read an article that said old A is to be demolished. I’m sure that area will be incorporated into new B.

PPS: the coworker also mentioned that the hotel may go away, with that area repurposed for a terminal, so I guess anything goes.


jimmurphy said:

sac said:

I thought I heard that the "redo" of old Terminal A was next. I've wondered whether they might do something to eventually connect old Terminal A and Terminal B into a new B on the scale of the new A?  If not, then what will they call the redone Terminal A in between B and new A? 

You may be right. A coworker of mine is leaving on Friday for a new job and was promised that the new firm has a good shot on Terminal B. He’s former Port Authority, so I trust his sources.

ETA: You got me curious, so I just read an article that said old A is to be demolished. I’m sure that area will be incorporated into new B.

PPS: the coworker also mentioned that the hotel may go away, with that area repurposed for a terminal, so I guess anything goes.

Yes, old Terminal A will be torn down.  I assumed part of that area will be used for the new/renovated Terminal B.


Back in the day there was an excellent restaurant at Newark Airport called the Newarker, where people came just for the restuarant. It was elegant. 90% of the the customers who ate there weren't travelers. I rememeber eating there in the 1960's. Joe Baum, who later became famous for creating the Four Seasons, the Brasserie and Windows on the World, is credited for the success of the restaurant. 


cramer said:

Back in the day there was an excellent restaurant at Newark Airport called the Newarker, where people came just for the restuarant. It was elegant. 90% of the the customers who ate there weren't travelers. I rememeber eating there in the 1960's. Joe Baum, who later became famous for creating the Four Seasons, the Brasserie and Windows on the World, is credited for the success of the restaurant. 

My mother is in her 90s, and it was their family tradition to dine at The Newarker on Mother’s Day with her mother!


cramer said:

Back in the day there was an excellent restaurant at Newark Airport called the Newarker, where people came just for the restuarant. It was elegant. 90% of the the customers who ate there weren't travelers. I rememeber eating there in the 1960's. Joe Baum, who later became famous for creating the Four Seasons, the Brasserie and Windows on the World, is credited for the success of the restaurant. 

Was this at the old Art Deco terminal?


jimmurphy said:

https://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Newarker-Restaurant-Donald-Boudreau-ebook/dp/B0765S6PL9/ref=nodl_?dplnkId=af6c5730-c15b-48b2-a353-7d4839f14a08

https://www.njspotlightnews.org/2012/05/the-newarker-an-airport-restaurant-that-became-a-destination-unto-itself/

You might not know it today, but once there was a time when it was stylish to travel – especially by air. It was the real deal. Folks dressed up – women wore stockings and heels and men put on jackets. In flight, there were gourmet meals served up on china and with linens.

In fact, there was a time when a trip to an airport itself was a special occasion –- even to those not going away. They went there for fun and a sense of adventure.

Locally, Newark Airport was once one of those places. Part of what made the airport special was a very unique restaurant for its time — The Newarker.

The late Joe Baum, who later became famous for creating the Four Seasons, the Brasserie and Windows on the World restaurants in New York, is largely credited for the success and the enduring legacy of The Newarker.


I went to the Newarker in the 60's with my in-laws, probably on a Sunday. I wore a suit and tie. That was the attire back then. 


yahooyahoo said:

You might not know it today, but once there was a time when it was stylish to travel – especially by air. It was the real deal. Folks dressed up – women wore stockings and heels and men put on jackets. In flight, there were gourmet meals served up on china and with linens.


That went by the wayside when airlines started compressing legroom and seat width to squeeze in more passengers and generally made it much less comfortable to fly. So, comfortable clothing at least helps a little bit. Meals also deteriorated and eventually disappeared except in first class or very long-haul flights. And first-class meals these days are poorer quality then economy meals were just a few years ago.


I recall my parents making us dress up when we flew places on vacation.  These days, it's anything goes.


yahooyahoo said:

Yes, old Terminal A will be torn down.  I assumed part of that area will be used for the new/renovated Terminal B.

That makes sense! It will be interesting to see how they stage the project. I wonder what the target dates are for ground-breaking and completion of that project.  (Maybe I will live that long ...)


yahooyahoo said:

I miss Continental. The airline was ruined by the United takeover.

I miss Laker. Now THAT was a fun airline.



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