Beaches and Mountains: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse New York, Swiss Business Lounge New York

Hey I think you have a typo: one of your dishes is labelled "pandoori chicken."

Fixed, thanks!

Lucky,

You said, "After that we had boarding passes in hand and decided to head to the Swiss lounge to see if they had faster wifi. Unfortunately we were only admitted to the business class lounge, though at least the wifi was faster, which is all we wanted."

Was there a Swiss first class lounge that you were denied access to? If yes, how would that be possible since you were traveling *A F?

I'm a little concerned about Virgin's "B" letter grade by the NYC Health Department.

If you're curious, here's a copy of the report from the 3/2011 surprise inspection ...

Violation points: 18

Sanitary Violations
1) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
2) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
3) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.
4) Other general violation.

Administrative Violations
1) Current valid permit, registration or other authorization to operate establishment not available.

My colleagues have told me I'm quite the expert at the process (having been sitting at a restaurant while it was being shut down one afternoon).

Do you know if VS gives a "fast track" type of pass to breeze through security? Or, do biz passengers not have to worry since they can use the biz class line?

@Jim S - yes, there is an LX F side of the lounge. SQ must just have their agreement for F pax with the VS lounge only.

@Lucky - gotta change your post about SQ C pax being allowed in the Clubhouse! Just doesn't happen.

You say: "My friend and I both hadn’t eaten a whole lot that day". From reading this blog, I find that hard to believe.

Couldn't you have gotten into the Luftansa FC lounge? Or was it too far/in a different terminal?

Eventually the JFK T4 lounges will be post-security. Sometime in the next year, they're supposed to move the security check points closer to the check-in desks.

"[...] I placed it on the scale intentionally made it so only half of the bag was on the scale while the other half was hanging over. The agent didn’t bat an eyelash."
Of course she didn't bat an eyelash, the scale will show the exact same number.

I mean, it's not like half of the weight is going to disappear or anything. It's simple physics -- the downforce of the bag is equal to it's weight in kilograms multiplied by 9,81m/s^2 (sorry, I'm used to SI units), and the force transferred to the scale is the same, even if it's placed upside down, with 50% hanging outside et cetera. It has the same self-weight.

The scale works by registering the force (don't ask me how it registers it though), and divides it by 9,81 m/s^2 to find the weight.

Now, if you were to place your knee or foot under the part sticking out, it would be another story -- that would potentially reduce the force acting on the scale significantly.

@Andy - LH is in a different terminal (T1), and is airside, unlike the landside lounges of T4 where SQ/LX are

@henrik,
Was thinking the exact same thing!

I think AI and EK lounges are airside in terminal 4.

@ David -- There is a business/first class security line, though when I was there it was longer than the coach line.

@ Andy -- Lufthansa restricts access to their first class lounges only to their own first class passengers and not passengers booked on other Star Alliance flights, unfortunately. It's also in a different terminal.

@ Henrik -- Sorry, I wasn't clear. At JFK the scale is in a casing of sorts. So if you place luggage on the edge of the scale, the weight is split between the outer casing (which isn't weighed) and the scale. Make sense?

@ Lucky - Makes perfect sense!

The emirates lounge, air India lounge, have always been airside. They are building a new clubhouse also airside