While this is fairly specific, I think it’s great news for a vast majority of people.
Cathay Pacific will be relocating from Terminal 7 to Terminal 8 at JFK as of January 15, 2017. For those of you not familiar with JFK, Terminal 7 is dominated by British Airways, while Terminal 8 is dominated by American, and is also significantly nicer.
The fact that Cathay Pacific is moving to Terminal 8 is great for those connecting from American Airlines flights, given that they won’t have to clear security again when connecting. Previously you’d have to exit Terminal 8, take the AirTrain to Terminal 7, and then clear security there again (which can be brutal in the evenings).
In terms of lounges, presently Cathay Pacific uses the British Airways Lounge at JFK, which I don’t find to be especially nice. While there’s a pre-flight dining area, most Cathay Pacific customers aren’t eligible to use it. The lounge is outdated, and food selection limited.
British Airways Lounge JFK
The first class section of the lounge (which Cathay Pacific first class and oneworld Emerald members have access to) is even worse than the rest of the lounge, in my opinion. This is different than the Concorde Room, which only British Airways first class passengers have access to.
British Airways Lounge JFK first class section
In Terminal 8 Cathay Pacific will use the Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge for their passengers. While obviously not great, I’d say the Flagship Lounge is nicer than the British Airways First Lounge, so it’s an improvement for those passengers.
So this move is great news in my opinion, especially for those connecting to or from an American Airlines flight. It’s great to see the oneworld presence at Terminal 8 growing, as airberlin, Finnair, LATAM, Qatar (at least for one of their daily flights), etc., depart from there as well.
Are you happy to see Cathay Pacific move to Terminal 8 at JFK?
(Tip of the hat to Mike)
this a downgrade for CX
just aniother hit for saving money I think
first the Marco Polo change....screwed us
then Online website F**up
no this?
Hope Cathay not even makes the top 10 best airlines this year
Last year I fly them now..just to use up my Asia Miles now
Does the BA galleries lounge outdoor patio allow smoking?
CX 845 departs JFK at 12:45am (1:45am when we're on Daylight Saving Time). Will AA keep their Flagship Lounge open that late for departing CX passengers? Right now the AA lounge on Concourse B at 11pm (Concourse C closes even earlier at 9:30pm). If AA will keep the lounge open for CX 845, then those passengers should have the lounge all to themselves. Now THAT will be a nice plus.
I wonder if it's time to start building the remaining portion of T8 (the low gates to the east) which was halted after the original construction started.
Yes, BA T7 lounge has a patio of sorts! Not a place to linger 'n relax really, but if you wish to top up your lungs with cigarette smoke and or avgas fumes you will like it.
For those unfortunate enough to arrive/depart T8 by Airtrain, it is a much longer trek than from T7. Also, I'm not sure AA is capable or willing to produce a genuinely premium Lounge anywhere, call it whatever...
Yes, BA T7 lounge has a patio of sorts! Not a place to linger 'n relax really, but if you wish to top up your lungs with cigarette smoke and or avgas fumes you will like it.
For those unfortunate enough to arrive/depart T8 by Airtrain, it is a much longer trek than from T7. Also, I'm not sure AA is capable or willing to produce a genuinely premium Lounge anywhere, call it whatever you like.
Then again I'm spoilt rotten with the array of J and F CX lounges at HKG, and QF lounges at SYD and MEL, all of which AA can only dream about!
Don't forget that Pre Check closes at 9pm in Terminal 8...
@RakSiam - unless they've done a lot of work to the terminals at BOS over the last 18 months, expect a lengthy landslide walk/ or (not so long) bus ride followed by a terminal that resembles Port Authority bus terminal. The BA terraces lounge isn't great, its windowless and kinda small.
If you are Pre Check eligible, just buy a refundable ticket on AA and clear security on that ticket. Do it all the time when I am flying a non-Pre Check airline.
@ Jayltx & @Matt
Well, whaddya know? The infamous BA 'water feature’ (Pam-Ann - “Take everything, it’s free! TAKE THE WATER FEATURE, IT’S FREE!!!) lounge has a hidden lunai! Ta for sharing; had never realised or noticed. Obviously the Star Alliance LAX lounge will now be very jelly…not.
@Brandote, @Lucky,
There IS an outdoor patio on the J side of the BA lounge at T7. I was just there last week and it was too cold to be sitting outside during the evening. It's just a glass door on the far right side of the main sitting area (opposite from the pre-flight supper). The patio wasn't lit so it looked like an emergency exit door that might be the reason why you...
@Brandote, @Lucky,
There IS an outdoor patio on the J side of the BA lounge at T7. I was just there last week and it was too cold to be sitting outside during the evening. It's just a glass door on the far right side of the main sitting area (opposite from the pre-flight supper). The patio wasn't lit so it looked like an emergency exit door that might be the reason why you guys never noticed it. There were 2 tables and a few chairs but they weren't setup for sitting, they were stored to a corner of the patio.
Agreed with all regarding the BA lounge. I spent 4 very long hours there in October.
@Doug - Agreed with respect to AA TPA-JFK. I recently did a TPA-JFK on Jet Blue continuing CX 1st JFK HKG BKK. Returning several weeks later. Problem was baggage. Jet Blue interlined outbound but on the return I was flatly told at BKK CX 1st checkin that CX will not interline with any carrier they consider a 'budget'...
Agreed with all regarding the BA lounge. I spent 4 very long hours there in October.
@Doug - Agreed with respect to AA TPA-JFK. I recently did a TPA-JFK on Jet Blue continuing CX 1st JFK HKG BKK. Returning several weeks later. Problem was baggage. Jet Blue interlined outbound but on the return I was flatly told at BKK CX 1st checkin that CX will not interline with any carrier they consider a 'budget' airline. This included Jet Blue. It took 30 minutes of 'discussions' with CX supervisors until they relented. One suspects that my flying on a full 1st fare code had a lot to do with it. So next trip, I guess I'm stuck with Delta for TPA-JFK adding a day to the journey.
having done the 10 miles hike from the tip of T-8 to the train to T-7 more times than I want to remember, this does seem like a great change. But with AA severely limiting their DCA-JFK flights it may not matter much for me. Also given AA's devaluation I'm not sure how many more CX flights are in my future.
The trip I have coming up in a couple of months was supposed...
having done the 10 miles hike from the tip of T-8 to the train to T-7 more times than I want to remember, this does seem like a great change. But with AA severely limiting their DCA-JFK flights it may not matter much for me. Also given AA's devaluation I'm not sure how many more CX flights are in my future.
The trip I have coming up in a couple of months was supposed to be DCA-JFK-HKG-BKK. But I discovered when I randomly checked my itinerary a week or so ago that the DCA-JFK morning flight had been canceled and I was rebooked on a flight at noon that would have made for a sub-60 minute connection. So I had to change it. In the end it looks like a much better trip (DCA-BOS-HKG-BKK) that includes the AA shuttle A319 in first, then the 1:30AM CX flight from BOS in business and then CX's A350 flight to BKK. We'll see how much fun the BOS connection ends up being.
What a dump most American airports are.
"I hate Heathrow" - Lucky
Yet he doesnt hate JFK with its 8 terminals which are all shabbily connected and whose security staff make prison guards look like compassionate angels.
This is the outdoor patio of the British Airways Lounge at JFK. It's small and has no view of anything, but it exists.
http://www.the2milmoon.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/IMG_2423-e1471361306750.jpg
This is not good news. Without Pre-Check, the security lines at T8 can easily approach 90 minutes. At least T7 had a dedicated premium lane by the first class BA check-in. Never had to wait more than 20-25 min even at the most peak times.
JFK is a terrific airport with good shops, dining options, layout, design, and nice environment...
...if you're flying out of Terminal 5.
Terminal 8 isn't bad in the way some of the others are/were (lookin' at you, T2), but it's almost oppressively boring, with mediocre food / shopping options.
Qantas will move to T8 as well. Even though only one flight a day from JFK.
I love T7 and miss going there for UA PS flights...I like the intimacy of T7 (curb to gate in 5 minutes). Just not happening with T8.
Plus the T8 F&B choices IMO are pretty terrible, especially since they revamped all the T7 offerings a few years ago.
Terminal 8 is quite a nice looking and spacious terminal, but the dining options are very limited. Especially if you have to go to the satellite part of the terminal. Which AA seems to send most domestic flights out of, even the transcons. I visited the Galleries lounge a few years ago in terminal 7, and yes the first lounge is nothing worth mentioning, but the business side was large and definitely had more options than an Admirals club.
Meh, JFK in general is just such an embarrassing airport. Well, all the NYC-area airports. Actually, almost every "major" airport in the U.S. Arriving from airports like HKG, ICN and even PEK or PVG is like going back in time two centuries.
I am not familiar with JFK, but am flying out of there tomorrow morning, flying Cathay Pacific business. Would be appreciative of any thoughts regarding the lounge and whether we should plan on breakfast somewhere else? Thanks!
Will CX F pax be able to use flagship check in? Even on flights to YVR?
Qatar is using both T7 and T8.
They have two daily flights, one to T7 and one to T8, so they also use the BA Lounge and the Admirals Club respectively. Since they switched one flight to T8 already, I guess we will see them moving over to T8 completely sooner rather than later.
The BA lounge in Terminal 7 is not even worth the visit. Id rather just shop or look at planes. Terminal 7 itself is a DUMP compared to Terminal 8. Big upgrade. I agree with the YAYs.
Qatar was using T7 and not T8 3 weeks ago...
@Jackie this is an improvement for ppl connecting TO cx flights. Also, the cx flight from YVR is NOT precleared.
Lets not forget BA only weeks ago announced big spend on upgrading lounges in the US with bulk of money going to JFK.
I am sure the refreshed facilities will be great, and likely beat anything AA has done.
Where's this outdoor patio in T7?!
Under the new FL rules, I assume it will be the lounge for both J and F pax on CX. Weird they wouldn't differentiate for F.
@Chas - AA FL is being opened up to J passengers in 2017 so when that happens it should net out to an improvement for CX J passengers
Once the new Flagship lounge is rebranded this Spring from the "International First Class Lounge" to the "Flagship" lounge once again, I see this as an upgrade for CX J flyers and Oneworld Emeralds. Completely agree on the state of the BA lounge at JFK.
The lounge situation is a significant downgrade for CX J pax- the galleries lounge is far superior to both admirals clubs in T8 (bigger, more open, better food, better and self service drinks, and has an outdoor patio) and I'm not sure the AA FL is really that much of an upgrade from the BA F lounge for the F pax...this is really only a benefit for connecting pax, which doesn't mean much if you are originating in JFK.
@ Chas -- Have we been using the same BA lounge at T8? Have I been missing a secret outdoor patio all along?!
You have to clear security again when arriving from an international flight
So unless you are flying on CX from Vancouver which you clear security in Canada, you have to clear security again. You do save sometime by avoiding the air train...
I think this is great news. The new Flagship Lounge (International First Class Lounge) is gorgeous, and the Admirals Club will be much better once renovations are complete.
Great news for many people, however not for me. Since AA abandoned the TPA-JFK market, I am stuck flying JetBlue whenever I fly CX out of JFK, so this still means a terminal change.