In the last installment I reviewed British Airways’ First Lounge JFK, which is open to oneworld Emerald members. In this installment I wanted to review British Airways’ pre-flight dining, which is open to all British Airways business class passengers departing JFK.
The restaurant is located inside the lounge, and can be accessed either from the first or business class side. As I said in the last installment, note that this isn’t actually the dining area that first class passengers would use, since those flying British Airways first class can use The Concorde Room.
British Airways’ JFK pre-flight dining opens at 4:30PM, which is plenty early for any of the redeye departures to London.
I accessed the dining area directly from the First Lounge, where my boarding pass was verified.
British Airways pre-flight dining JFK
The dining area doesn’t have a la carte dining, but rather has a buffet that’s spread across two rooms. The first room probably has a bit more seating, with a bunch of tables that mostly seat two people.
British Airways pre-flight dining JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining JFK
Then there was a second room with more seating, and with another buffet. I used this facility years ago, and I feel like British Airways has made it significantly bigger, which is nice.
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
The buffet in the first room had several types of salads, soup, vegetables, dumplings (which were served by one of the lounge attendants), and desserts.
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
British Airways pre-flight dining buffet New York
I appreciated that they had signs that clearly indicated what everything was.
British Airways pre-flight dining menu description New York
British Airways pre-flight dining menu description New York
British Airways pre-flight dining menu description New York
The second room had a Middle Eastern section, a salad bar, chicken and vegetables, and more dessert.
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
I’ve gotta say, all the dessert options looked really good.
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
British Airways pre-flight dining New York JFK
The dining area also had a self serve drink selection, including soft drinks, water, and wine.
British Airways pre-flight dining drink selection New York JFK
I had some dumplings for dinner, which were quite good.
Dinner in the British Airways Lounge
While the lounge doesn’t really have table service, the people working in the dining area were really nice (like the lady who prepared my dumplings, those clearing plates, etc.).
Different people will have different preferences when it comes to what kind of pre-flight dining they prefer. In general I far prefer a la carte dining to a buffet.
However, I do think there’s some merit to a buffet in the case of British Airways, given just how many passengers they’re serving. Many people may only have 15 minutes to spare but want a full meal before they board, so they can sleep onboard, and realistically it’s hard to serve an a la carte meal that quickly.
I’ve seen a lot of people angrily storm off in lounges with pre-flight dining when their meals weren’t served punctually.
British Airways pre-flight dining bottom line
Is this the most spectacular pre-flight dining facility in the world? No. But it’s a significant improvement over the last time I used it several years ago. I thought the buffet had a big selection, and everything tasted pretty good. On top of that, the people working in the lounge were generally friendly.
So all things considered I’d say British Airways now offers a decent ground experience at JFK, between the new First Lounge, the Elemis Spa, and the pre-flight dining. With the old first lounge and old pre-flight dining experience I would have said it was a sub-par experience. Collectively, this doesn’t make my list as one of the best airport lounges in the world, but I definitely appreciate the ability to enjoy pre-flight dining.
Personally I still prefer the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse JFK, which is one of my favorite business class lounges in the US. This also doesn’t compare to American’s Flagship First Dining JFK, but that’s only open to first class passengers.
If you’ve experienced British Airways’ pre-flight dining JFK, what was your experience like?
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