JFK Terminal 4

A connection in terminal 4 is as straightforward as it gets. Probably even the same (long) concourse.

Thats good to hear. Thank you.

Delta uses both Terminal 4 and 2. Some domestic flights arrive at terminal 2. If your San Diego flight arrives at Terminal 2, you will need to transfer to Terminal 4. There is no way to know for sure until the day of the flight. I recently flew from Minneapolis to Rome via JFK and landed at Terminal 2, even though the same flight had arrived at Terminal 4 the day before.

Delta runs a shuttle between the two terminals which eliminates the need to exit one terminal and go through security at the other. So be sure to take this shuttle if you need to go between the terminals. The shuttle only takes a few minutes.

1.25 hours between flights at JFK is indeed tight. If the first flight is delayed at all, you could have problems. If this makes you too nervous, you could contact Delta about changing to an earlier flight from San Diego or a later flight to Rome. When airlines change your flights, you often have the option of refusing the change and rescheduling something better at no cost. Do some research before you call to see what’s available. If your flight is far in the future, you could wait and see if it gets changed again (for the better).

Have a wonderful trip!

Gesh that is the type of thing I am hoping to avoid. But it is good to know that you cant count on day to day changes for the terminals so at least I can be prepared.

I have had delta make changes to fix the changes that they made on my ticket and I have checked other flight options guess I will recheck. I am leaving in a month.

I dont recall ever having my flights changed by delta so often. Seems it is never to my benefit either, haha.

Thank you for your post. It’s something I’ve never thought about. How do you find out what terminal you arrive at for JFK?

They may show those gates now but I don’t think gates are actually assigned until the day of flight and I think that can change too dependent on how flights are going.
We shall see.

To find out what terminal and gate your flight is scheduled for, go to the Delta website, choose “flight status”, and plug in your flight numbers. It will show the most recent information for the flight (yesterday, today, and tomorrow). Be aware that this can change at any time, including while you are in the air! I am assuming that other airlines have a similar way of checking flight status.

You can also go to the airport website and they usually have a place to check on arrivals and departures for all the airlines that serve that airport. This information is usually for today’s flights only.

It is good to hear that Delta runs a shuttle. American does not, at least as of 2019, which makes switching terminals a major undertaking. Exit terminal, go outside, get Airtrain, get off at new terminal, go back through security. So if you need to switch terminals and there's a shuttle, be sure to take advantage of it!

The history of your flight from San Diego to JFK shows arriving at terminal 4. (It departs from Terminal 2 in San Diego.)

Your flight to Rome also departs from Terminal 4.

Gates are not assigned far in advance.

You are sure it's an actual Delta fight and not a codeshare?

My flights are not codeshare as I avoid those.
I am hoping for both flights in terminal 4.

I'm having a similar issue with Delta switching my flights around.

We're flying to Rome in July, PDX-JFK nonstop & JFK-FCO nonstop. Delta has now changed both flights, resulting in a 1hr, 22m layover at JFK.

In addition to timing, I have extra concerns:
• The two legs were not purchased on the same itinerary because the domestic flight was purchased & the international flight used miles. So I don't think Delta is obligated to see us through to our final destination.

• Because the two flights are not on the same itinerary, I'm unclear about which airport will require us to show our Covid-related extra travel documentation- Portland or JFK?

I did a little research & it seems like the gate agent at your originating airport can combine the two tickets onto a single itinerary, but it makes me nervous to be at the mercy of an individual agent's whims.

Does anybody have recent experience with the Covid rigamarole at JFK & whether we'll need extra time? This might all be moot by July.

Rebecca— There's pretty much no way to manage that comfortably. You could choose to live dangerously only if you're carry-on only, but even that would be high risk.

If you have a lower, or normal tolerance for travel stress you'll want to make changes to that itinerary.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking too. In a queue to chat with Delta right now. :(

Update: I changed the PDX-JFK flight to a day earlier bc none of the JFK-FCO options worked. So now we'll be staying a night at a glorious airport hotel in the borough of my birth. But it's worth it for peace of mind.

Rebecca, Apart from the expensive TWA Hotel, the options around JFK are truly dire. Downtown Brooklyn would be much Moore comfortable and is easily accessible to JFK via LIRR @ Atlantic -> Airtrain @ Jamaica.

Thanks, but there's been an update to the update and now we're back to flying all on the same day, with a 4 hour layover at JFK and a $450 refund from Delta!

JFK terminal 4 is a breeze. The gates are essentially a long easy layout. As long as your flight arrives timely into terminal 4 and the connection departs from the same you should have no problem.

I actually ended up changing my flight to include a longer connection time because I didn’t want to worry about any delays.

I've stayed at about half a dozen of the airport hotels at JFK. (The last time on Wednesday.) They are overpriced and old but convenient as you aren't more than 10 minutes away by shuttle.

If you want suggestions, PM me.

Fortunately, two new Marriotts are scheduled to open sometime this year

It's also the borough of my birth.