American Airlines has recently hugely invested in its lounges at JFK Terminal 8, coinciding with British Airways moving to the terminal. I’ve reviewed the Greenwich Lounge, Soho Lounge, and Chelsea Lounge, which are the three premium lounges in the terminal. All three lounges are fantastic.
Continue reading: Review: American Admirals Club New York (JFK)
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
During the pandemic when they had Greenwich available as an Admirals Club they had an opportunity to renovate this one. Then they wouldn't have needed to eliminate Admirals Club access entirely to do it. And they kept doing capital spend on other things, like retrofitting planes! They should have done work on this lounge when they had a much better chance. Sadly they did not. And sadly JFK Admirals Club members no longer have club access at all on the main concourse, either.
Ultimately, this is a major reason why I continue to fly Delta (for the most part) out of JFK despite currently being on an American Airlines status fast pass / challenge. Originating out of JFK, I would generally either have access to the lowest of Greenwich (or whichever is the business one) or this sad club. Or if I am flying a JetBlue flight, I have no club in that terminal. As a Delta flyer, I have access to the SkyClub and Centurion lounge now, and will soon have access to another SkyClub and a Delta One lounge.
If you turn left when you come up the stairs, there is an entire other area to this lounge. Maybe an additional 3/4 of the side that you reviewed. Seems to stay much more quiet and when I was there, the lights stayed dimmed. Didn't seem like many knew it existed. Nothing there except water/tea setup and seats, but helped to get out of the hustle of the other side.
Delta Club at JFK is what a club SHOULD BE! Staff is so nice - they are constantly cleaning - the food offerings are amazing -- they even have a Nathans Hotdog stand -- with pretzels and hot dogs! Other clubs can learn from this.
From my understanding, as an EXP flying from JFK to LAX in economy in May, I don’t have access to any of the main lounges unless my upgrade clears in advance (unlikely to clear at all, even though I’m using a systemwide). I do have the cc to access this club, but this looks quite sad. I’m depressed
Now that AA is down to a single AC I've found this one much more crowded. The big problem I see is that many of AA's ACs are too small to try to somewhat replicate the new DC AC or maybe even the expanded LGA AC. The JFK location is no exception. The current ACs were never made to be at near full capacity nearly 100% of the time. I write this as I sit in the DFW A club. Almost every seat taken and the poor staff trying to keep up with the pace of refreshing food offerings and cleaning.
Too bad about the crowding. I like the view from the far left corner. DCA flts usually had me walk by on way to TWA Hotel or some fancier lounge at another terminal. So I’d have a moment, enjoy the view & a beverage, then move on.
Food looked like DCA middle pier AC last month. I can make a bacon egg cheese salsa taco
Will enjoy new DCA AC again Friday morning
I bet American will close the Admirals Club in Concourse C eventually, and go back to having one adjacent to Greenwich (Flagship) as it was originally, but smaller. That way, they will have a renovated space and just need to put better furniture and keep the costs lower rather than overhauling the Admirals Club in the C concourse. The Brooklyn Bar concept is a nice to have, but doesn't really dramatically enhance the experience all that much.
The argument for 2 Admirals Clubs because of perceived distances to gates is a bit thin. It doesn't take that long to get from B to C.
There's a whole other room off of the check-in area to the right as you come off of the elevator. This area is designated as the "quiet area" and has some day-beds as well as another small drink/snack station. This area is typically less crowded than the main lounge area.
Wouldn’t you be better off joining a non-US oneworld FF programme — any of them — and crediting your AA flights to that account? Then, having a non-US OW status, you’d get better lounge access than having OW status through AA.
I found the lounge to be super crowded with very few seats left. The selection of food was very limited specially for people that are Celiac. No gluten free options for bread, crackers, desserts. Even the main course was breaded!!! The Tea selection was also limited, just black tea or green tea! No herbal teas.
Had to use this lounge as a daily pay option because I was traveling on another airline. Agree with this review - very basic, overpriced for what it is ($79 for daily fee) but at least basic drinks are included and food (I was there for breakfast) was acceptable enough. No crowding when I was there (6 am-8 am on a weekday), fortunately.