10) Know your terminal: JFK is a vast airport with 8 operational terminals. Knowing your airline is usually not enough… many airlines occupy multiple terminals, and your departure terminal will depend upon your destination. It’s best to call the airline in advance and ask about the JFK departure terminal that is specific to your destination. You can also look this information up at: http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/airports/html/ken_airlines.html

9) Opt for AirTrain: If you’re someone who likes to trim transportation costs, then the AirTrain is an option worth considering. The AirTrain is free for travel between the terminals, and just $5 (payable upon exit by a special Metrocard) for transportation to the Jamaica or Far Rockaway subway stations. This is a particularly good option on weekends and during the summer, when traffic to the airport can cause taxi fare to escalate to $50. More information about the AirTrain can be found here:
http://www.panynj.gov/airtrain/

8) Make change: If you need to change currency before or between flights, just visit any terminal’s departure hall, where you can find a currency exchange. ATMs are also available in every terminal.

7) Info on the go: To sign up for alerts about weather-related flight delays, traffic conditions around the airport, and service interruptions on the AirTrain, visit http://www.airportinfoalerts.com/AlertSignupJFK.aspx. Information will automatically be sent to your cell phone or PDA.

6) Mobility Assistance: JFK’s not a particularly disability-friendly airport, what with long, sprinting passages between security and gates and gates and baggage claim. If you or a traveling companion require assistance, check with your airline in advance to request an aide.

5) Consider CLEAR: JFK is one of the handful of airports in the U.S. that now offers the fast-pass security clearance programs known as CLEAR. Only valuable if you’re a frequent traveler who will pass through JFK and the other 12 U.S. airports where CLEAR is already operational, an annual membership costs $99.95 for the first year and ensures that you’re already sitting at the gate cooling your heels while the guy ahead of you at the counter is just taking off his shoes and sending them through the x-ray. Read more about the program to find out if it’s right for you at www.flyclear.com.

4) Taxi, please! If you do decide to splurge on a taxi, rider beware. First, do not accept rides from men circulating in the baggage claim saying “taxi, taxi.” These are drivers with private cars who are not authorized to provide taxi service. They typically charge more, too. Choose the NYC yellow cabs and be sure to get a receipt from the dispatcher… this has your taxi’s ID number on it, making it easy to track a lost item if you happen to leave something behind. If that is, in fact the case, or if you want to compliment or complain about the taxi service, call 311, New York City’s all-purpose phone number that will redirect you to any city department.

3) Time it right. JFK is 15 miles from midtown Manhattan. Traffic to and from the airport is always heavy on Friday afternoon, most evenings, and is the very worst during the summer, as New Yorkers escape to the beach. Make sure you budget plenty of time to get to and from the airport… and plenty of money, too, if you plan to go by cab.

2)Recharge: To recharge, plug your laptop, cell phone, or camera into many of the recharge stations that are scattered throughout the airport (Delta has its own Recharge stations; Samsung also has a number of recharge stations throughout the entire airport—with lots of different plug types).

1)Relax: To relax, check out the spa services at Oasis in the Jet Blue terminal and XpresSpas in terminals 1, 4, and 7.

BONUS: As of January, 2008, a new passport service is operating IN the airport. According to an article published in The New York Times on January 27, "an emergency passport help service is now available at Kennedy. Located at the hotel desk on the ground floor of Terminal 4, the service is an annex of Itseasy.com, a New York based passport and foreign visa expeditor that's open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The company provides same-day service for morning customers and next-day service for afternoon customers. Last-minute passports for first-timers cost $457 and renewals cost $427."