Returning home: NYC layover, JetBlue 1295, and Austin

We picked up our bags at the Etihad baggage claim after a worryingly-long wait at the carousel. JT’s bag was one of the last to come out and most of the other passengers had cleared out of the area before his finally came out. This could have been due to the “Fragile” sticker attached to the bag.

We had plenty of time before our JetBlue flight, but decided to head straight over to Terminal 5 (JetBlue’s terminal) to check our bags and find a place to hang out.

JetBlue Terminal 5 check-in / bag drop

After checking our bags and going through Pre-level security (thanks to our Global Entry passes), we headed to the end of the terminal to an empty gate that had a good view of runway being used for landings. It seems another runway was being utilized for takeoffs, as we only saw landing and taxiing aircraft. At one point, we could see three British Airways 747’s! Ends up two of them were both departing for London within 30 minutes of each other. There must be some really strong demand for transAtlantic flights at this time!

Two British Airways 747’s twins on the tarmac at JFK
JT was tired from his lack of sleep on our transAtlantic flight and his body’s clock being in the middle of the night. So, he went to get some coffee. He was sad to pay more for his drip coffee than he did for delicious mochas back in South Africa.
As our departure neared, we headed to the food court to get dinner. JT had a decadent pizza slice, Katie had fries, and we split 10 garlic knots. At ~$2.50, the garlic knots were probably the best value in the food court. JT’s ordering of them prompted many people waiting for their pizza to add garlic knots to their order!
JetBlue Flight 1295 – NYC to Austin

John F Kennedy International (JFK): Terminal 5, Gate: 14; Scheduled: 9:06p; Push-back: 9:00p; Takeoff: 9:25p
Austin–Bergstrom International (AUS): Gate 19; Scheduled: 12:26a; Landing: 11:46p; Arrival: 11:54p
Flight Time: 3h 21m; Actual miles: 2,125
Seats: 8D-aisle (JT) & 8F-window (Katie), coach

Not much to report from this flight. JT fell asleep before we even pushed back and woke up shortly before landing.
It’s 12:02 am and Katie’s flight the next morning is already on the board for 7:45 am!
Here is all that we took with us – less the cat in the foreground

Leftover rand and dirham coins

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