New York John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) is currently undergoing a major redevelopment. As part of this, we’re supposed to see the opening of the new Terminal 6 in early 2026. While we’ve known that the terminal would be occupied by JetBlue, Lufthansa Group, and Aer Lingus, an additional airline has just been announced…
Cathay Pacific will relocate to JFK Terminal 6
Cathay Pacific has announced that it will move to JFK Airport Terminal 6, once the facility opens in early 2026. The terminal will have five gates in the first phase, and Cathay Pacific will be among the first carriers to move there. Eventually the terminal will be expanded to have a total of 10 gates, and it will measure 1.2 million square feet.
In terms of passenger experience, Cathay Pacific has plans to open its own lounge in the terminal. The lounge is expected to be nearly 10,000 square feet. It will be Cathay Pacific’s first-ever dedicated lounge in New York, and only the carrier’s second lounge in the United States, after the one in San Francisco (SFO).
Details about the lounge remain limited as of now, though here’s what Vivian Lo, Cathay Pacific’s General Manager of Customer Experience and Design, had to say about it:
“New York JFK is among the top locations in our global lounge strategy. We are truly excited by this opportunity to bring the signature Cathay Pacific lounge experience to our premium customers at this important port in our network. This new lounge will feature a number of exciting developments that will put it at the forefront of our lounge proposition, and we look forward to sharing more details with our customers at the appropriate time.”
Cathay Pacific is known for its phenomenal lounges, which are among my favorites in the world, so I can’t wait to see what the airline has planned. The lounge won’t be particularly big, but it sounds like it’ll be high quality.
Here’s how Chris van den Hooven, Cathay Pacific’s SVP of the Americas, describes the move to Terminal 6:
“This represents a huge milestone in Cathay Pacific’s 28 years of connecting New York with our home, Hong Kong and from 1 July it will be 20 years since we commenced our regular non-stop service. It has long been our ambition to provide our customers a signature Cathay Pacific airport experience at JFK. We are delighted about our partnership with JFK Millennium Partners, which will make this dream a reality.”
We know that there’s space for at least five lounges in Terminal 6. So we now have confirmation that there will be lounges from Cathay Pacific, Lufthansa, and Aer Lingus, plus an arrivals lounge from an unknown operator. I wouldn’t be surprised if JetBlue also eventually opens a lounge here, given that this has been rumored for a long time, and Terminal 5 and Terminal 6 will be connected airside.
Is Cathay Pacific’s move to JFK Terminal 6 a good thing?
Back in the day, Cathay Pacific operated from JFK Terminal 7. Then in 2017, the airline made the move to JFK Terminal 8, which is also the terminal used primarily by American. So, as customers, should we look forward to the move to JFK Terminal 6?
I have a few thoughts:
- JFK Terminal 8 is probably my favorite of the existing terminals at JFK in terms of it being a modern facility that’s not overcrowded; the Greenwich Lounge and the Soho Lounge that Cathay Pacific currently sends passengers to are both pretty solid
- JFK Terminal 6 should be pretty snazzy, so for those simply originating or terminating in New York, the move will almost certainly be good news, especially with the terminal being much smaller than Terminal 8
- The move isn’t great in terms of connections between American and Cathay Pacific, since getting between Terminal 6 and Terminal 8 will require taking the AirTrain landside
- With several oneworld airlines having relocated to Terminal 8, I can’t help but wonder if this represents a deemphasizing of the importance of partnerships, or if the airline is simply happy to have the opportunity to create a custom experience in such an important market
Bottom line
Cathay Pacific has been announced as the latest airline to move to JFK Terminal 6, when it opens in early 2026. Cathay Pacific will be joining Lufthansa Group and JetBlue. This means that Cathay Pacific will operate from the airport’s nicest terminal, and the airline will even have its own lounge.
However, with Cathay Pacific leaving Terminal 8, that also means that connections to and from American will be a bit more complicated.
What do you make of Cathay Pacific moving to JFK Terminal 6?
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