After flying Singapore Suites from Frankfurt to New York (a flight I've reviewed before, though won't be reviewing this time around), I flew Philippine Airlines from New York to Vancouver. I arrived in New York from Frankfurt shortly before noon, went into the city, and then had an 11:55PM flight to Vancouver. I've been fascinated…
Continue reading: Review: Alitalia Lounge New York JFK
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
As Skyteam Elite Plus you're supposed to have access to all 3 Skyteam lounges in the terminal: AF AZ and KE. However, all of them do a weird denial and point you to whatever Skyteam operating carrier you are flying on. All of them are mediocre, but the AF one is alright, if only for the Champagne and French hot food selection of fried rice and instant noodles.
Also Lucky sometimes the load factors for JFK-YVR are hilariously terrible on PR. Like sub-40%. They should reduce service to JFK, honestly.
What you watched was not the State of the Union. It was a joint session to Congress. State of the Union only happens each full year a President is in office.
I had to chuckle and contrast this with your insightful reports about Alitalia recently being thrown a final lifeline. So I laughed when looking at the photos: there is still alcohol there! Check back again in two weeks.
@keitherson: I have no problem accessing all 3 SkyTeam lounges as a SkyTeam Elite Plus flying either international economy or business class at JTK T1 as I've taken Air France, Alitalia, Aeromexico and China Eastern there. And at different times of the day.
Your comment about the State of the Union reminded me that every commenter on this site agrees that Trump is bad.
Eek, do you know the history behind the phrase "separate but equal"? Not so great...
It's a dump for sure, but it sure as hell beats Korean Air's pathetic lounge...
ha ha, I had the same impression. I forgot which flight, but I visited both Air France and Alitalia lounges. It was like night and day.
I was just there yesterday and thought exactly the same thing. I had a 12:55pm flight on Eva. I assumed I'd go to the Air France lounge based on what I've read. So I headed there, gave my lounge card, and he told me to go the Alitalia lounge. Confused I looked at the card and it said Air France or Alitalia and the agent at check in circled Alitalia. Not sure why.
I was the only person in the lounge for a good hour. The agent at the check seemed like she didn't want to be there or didn't care. The food selection was so bad I had to laugh. I did get a sandwich cause I hadn't had breakfast.
Thankfully Eva business class to TPE made up for it.
Yeah, the lounge was so bad I stayed for only 10 minutes. I ended up moving to Air France lounge thanks to my PP!
Alitalia, Korean, Priority Pass Wingtips (which, if I'm not mistaken, paying SQ J customers are sent to)... JFK has a fair share of dismal lounges!
Was there a few years ago and thought it was horrible. Sure it is even worse now. That saw year, I flew a paid J on saudia, and that was the lounge the told us. I promptly explained skyteam rules to our group that we should be able to use the Air France lounge which is great, and we did!
Thanks for the tip, pretty soon Alitalia and their lounges may disappear. BTW the "separate but equal" phrase refers to racial segregation in the 1890's.
"Separate But Equal" is a reference to the Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation in the south. I'm quite sure you didn't mean anything by it, but I would steer clear of that phrase.
Honestly, it doesn't look that bad absent the excessive number of couches. In my opinion, it's only "bad" because N.Y. J.F.K. is such a premium destination. This would be perfectly normal for an out-station of an airline if it wasn't J.F.K.
As for the coffee, I'm guessing the machine can actually make better drinks than some poorly trained, unionized airport concession employee pretending to be a barista.
I'm actually surprised that Sky Team doesn't open its own lounge -- as it has done in Dubai, Hong Kong, etc. -- with Air France and Korean Air retaining a separate lounge for first-class and VIP passengers.
I had the same experience at this Alitalia lounge. I was flying Norwegian Air and sent them a message afterward, with pictures of the dirty upholstery, just so they'd know the condition of their lounge. They never responded. (I guess part of their low-cost policies, aside from not offering online check-in, is not responding to customer service messages.)
Yes, the Italian beverages were nice to have, but the entire lounge is grim and the seats need to be replaced. The snacks are pre-packaged sandwiches (and lousy ones at that). The only saving grace was the Milano cookies, but that was about it. There are also very few outlets so if you're looking for a place to recharge between flights, try to snag a seat near an outlet.