Newark is currently atop the list of most beleaguered U.S. airports, rife with delays and cancellations due to air traffic control problems and runway repairs.
Imagine my surprise when I had one of the most pleasant experiences in United's Terminal C, pretty much ever, over Memorial Day weekend.
First, I'll address the lead-up to my family's Orlando trip. Not pleasant. United had been chopping Newark flights on routes with high frequency to reduce Newark congestion, and sure enough, United canceled our departure and return flights. I had to make some pretty major changes.
With the FAA implementing a temporary Newark flight cap on May 20, I checked the United app daily to make sure our flights were still scheduled. They were.
Fewer planes means fewer people
Once our Lyft dropped us off at the airport, we practically soared through security. I have TSA PreCheck, but because my group was flying on separate tickets (long story), I braved the regular security line with them. No problem: The wait was two to three minutes. I barely had time to pull out our passports at security check (thanks, Real ID) before entering the scanner area.
Then we were on the concourse, which was blessedly empty. Our flight boarded on time. Taxi-line holdups? Nope. We were airborne shortly after leaving the gate.
Now for the caveats. It was just two flights, and maybe it was just a fluke, a light day. I didn't depart at my usual early morning time, when Newark seems especially busy. And there weren't any weather or radar meltdowns (as far as I know) to derail operations.
But it might not just be perception. On May 29, United CEO Scott Kirby told the Wall Street Journal that the Memorial Day weekend had been "the best weekend in history for reliability at Newark" due to the reduced traffic there. He praised the FAA for capping capacity at Newark.
And, he added, "because we lost a lot of bookings ... there's going to be more seats available. It's going to be the cheapest it's probably ever going to be in history. I don't really like that, but you ought to book, and it's going to be the least crowded."
I'm not saying Newark should stick to a light operation. It's bad for the bottom line of airlines that have had to slash capacity, and it's no good for the concourse concessionaires that depend on busy passenger traffic.
As for the onboard experience, yes, the cabins were packed. On our return from Orlando, the flight was oversold and the United gate agent was trying to entice passengers to switch to a later departure for $700 in flight credits.
We stuck to our original seats, and our flight arrived at Newark early. And when we deplaned in Terminal A around 6:30 p.m., the concourse traffic was light. I retrieved my bag and then peeked upstairs to check the wait for both PreCheck and regular security.
Less than five minutes, according to the signage.
This report was updated with new comments from United CEO Scott Kirby.