EWR

Newark Liberty behaves as much like a Northeast weather amplifier as an NYC airport. Its geographic position — closer to the storm tracks that come off the Delaware Valley — means a summer thunderstorm hits EWR before it hits LGA or JFK, and the FAA ground-delay programs at EWR ripple through United's entire eastern network within an hour. If you're connecting through EWR and there's any convective weather in the forecast, book early flights and expect the day to deteriorate.

Terminal C is essentially United's private terminal, with a security experience that (especially with PreCheck) is one of the smoothest at any NYC-area airport. Terminal A serves everyone else and feels older, more crowded, and slower. If you're United and have flexibility, the Terminal C experience is meaningfully better than what JFK or LGA offer for domestic departures.

The AirTrain from Newark Penn Station is under-used relative to how well it works. NJ Transit + AirTrain from Manhattan runs about 30-40 minutes in normal conditions, and unlike car service through the Lincoln or Holland tunnels, it's not subject to the notorious NYC-outbound gridlock. If you're departing between 3 PM and 7 PM on a weekday, transit is faster than a taxi more often than not.

EWR's late-evening international push (7-10 PM) is dominated by United's transatlantic operation, and while it's not as extreme as JFK's, it still creates real congestion in Terminal C. Domestic departures scheduled in that window catch spillover — book an earlier or later domestic flight if you can.