New York John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK) is currently undergoing a major redevelopment. As part of this, in 2026, we’re supposed to see the opening of the new Terminal One and Terminal 6 (I know the inconsistent branding is strange, but it’s called “Terminal One” to differentiate it from the existing Terminal 1, which is undergoing a redevelopment).
Anyway, Qatar Airways has just made what I’d consider to be a pretty exciting announcement for those flying with the airline from New York…
In this post:
Qatar Airways will relocate to JFK Terminal One
Qatar Airways will be moving to JFK Airport Terminal One, once the facility opens in 2026. The terminal will have 13 gates in its first phase, but eventually, it will have 23 gates. Once complete, terminal will have a footprint of 2.4 million square feet, including 300,000 square feet of retail, dining, and lounge space.
In terms of passenger experience, Qatar Airways has plans to open its own lounge in the terminal. The lounge is expected to be around 15,000 square feet, and it will be Qatar Airways’ first-ever dedicated lounge in the United States. Qatar Airways’ outstation lounges are phenomenal, and this one is even expected to offer access to the boarding gate directly from the lounge.
Qatar Airways operates up to three daily flights to New York, on a combination of Airbus A350s and Boeing 777s.
Here’s what Qatar Airways CEO Badr Mohammed Al Meer had to say about the terminal move and new lounge (though I’m not sure what the “dedicated airport transfers” comment is in reference to):
“We, at Qatar Airways, look forward to launching our operations at JFK Airport’s New Terminal One and welcoming Qatar Airways Business Class passengers to our first-ever exclusive lounge in the US. Our new state-of-the-art lounge will provide an enhanced experience at each touchpoint and complement our industry-leading Business Class travel experience. From dedicated airport transfers to VIP check-in to the finest of retail and dining options, premium passengers will be offered the World’s Best service at New Terminal One.”
“Our move demonstrates the evolution of Qatar Airways’ long-standing commitment to connecting global travellers to New York and expanding our services in the destination integral to our network in the US.”
2026 is going to be an absolutely massive year for JFK, as it’s expected that roughly 50 airlines will be moving their terminals, which makes up roughly two-thirds of the airlines flying to the airport.
Is Qatar Airways’ move to JFK Terminal One a good thing?
Qatar Airways currently operates from 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 One? 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 Qatar Airways currently sends passengers to are both pretty solid
- JFK Terminal One should be pretty snazzy, so for those simply originating or terminating in New York, the move will almost certainly be good news, as this really should be a “next generation” experience, similar to what we’ve seen with the transformation at LaGuardia (LGA)
- The move isn’t great in terms of connections between American and Qatar Airways, since getting between Terminal 8 and Terminal One will require taking the AirTrain landside
- For a while it looked like JFK Terminal 8 would really become a consolidated oneworld hub, though with the new terminals opening, it’s understandable that airlines are moving to new terminals where they can offer a better experience, dedicated lounges, and more
Bottom line
Qatar Airways has announced that it plans to move to JFK Terminal One in 2026. Not only that, but the airline will be opening a roughly 15,000 square foot lounge, which should be exceptional. The lounge will even offer direct access to the jet bridge for Qatar Airways flights.
However, with Qatar Airways leaving Terminal 8, that also means that connections to and from American will be a bit more complicated.
What do you make of Qatar Airways moving to JFK Terminal One?
I'm always surprised how little frequency there is between NYC and AUH/DOH/DXB (relatively speaking, given the size/wealth/business of the metro area). Are there limits on the bilaterals? I would have assumed there's quite a bit of India/SE Asia demand to sustain more but I guess it's more of a europe thing.
Without DOH preclearance (or HKG preclearance for CX), the extra 10-15 mins to ride the AirTrain isn't that big of a deal. You're still going to have to clear security again anyway. If there's a more exclusive QR lounge experience at T1, it's probably going to be better than the BA/AA experience at T8.
For me, this is another reason these airline alliances are too complicated compared to the benefits. I would think that as an alliance, you would want the "under one roof" as much as possible to make things easier for customers to interline, yet we have the opposite going on. Now anyone connecting from QR to AA or vice versa will need to transfer between T1 and T8.
This is not just QR. I know AF...
For me, this is another reason these airline alliances are too complicated compared to the benefits. I would think that as an alliance, you would want the "under one roof" as much as possible to make things easier for customers to interline, yet we have the opposite going on. Now anyone connecting from QR to AA or vice versa will need to transfer between T1 and T8.
This is not just QR. I know AF is a part owner in T1, but I really thought they would move to T4 to be with DL. I know...there's a lot behind the scenes as to why these decisions are made. It's just one of those things I will probably never understand.
How long would you leave for a connection between Terminal One and 8? Realistically.
Honestly IMO, I'd give myself 3 hours. Since DOH doesn't have pre-clearance, who know how long those queues will get at CBP.
Speaking of pre-clearance, we still don't know how EY fits in all of this as AUH has pre-clearance and nothing has been mentioned of a non-sterile baggage claim area. (Or what am I missing?)
Move makes total sense for QR and other OW carriers looking to create a more premium experience. Given AA’s paltry operation out of JFK there’s little value for other carrier to remain in T8. Connecting traffic get routed through PHL where there is a route network to support far more connections. JFK remains primarily For O+D.
As T4 clears out here’s hoping DL can acquire more slots and grow operations.
Who cares about what a bunch of snack bars do at a rat-infested hellhole located in the worst city on Earth, whose inhabitants should be Hamased for the sake of humanity and the gene pool?
Dude what?
And going by the carriers at JFKs Terminal 4, apparently Terminal 4 will be a ghost down apart from DL with everyone moving into One or 6. And they can certainly use an extensive spruce-up.
I think DL would be happy about that? They keep wanting to grow at JFK, more room for them.
The QR lounge at JFK will probably be the best lounge in the Americas by far.
CX next door might have something to say about that heh ;)
Similar to Heathrow , they prefer to be in T4 where they have enough room for their own facilities vs T5 or T3 with BA or other oneworld partners
Speaking of Terminal One, when the time is right, here are two questions? Will there be any change/refresh to the Air France lounge? Will there be any change/refresh to the current TSA checkpoint?
It'll be a brand new terminal so everything will be new. The current terminal will be demolished and the remaining portion of the new terminal will be built on top of the current terminal's footprint.
I doubt there are that many JFK connections to DOH. People are not flying XXX-JFK-DOH-YYY. It's almost all JFK originating passengers flying JFK-DOH-XXX. Transfer pax are probably routed via AA's PHL-DOH route.
That being said, JFK's OW lounges were largely sufficient, was QR not happy with the experience it provided? I don't see very much other reason to move.
So many potential reasons, which they'd have little reason to reveal to the public.
First (and probably most importantly) they may have wanted to take an equity stake in that terminal. That's the main reason Air France, Lufthansa, and Korean are there. AA/terminal 8 may not have been as willing to play ball.
Second, each terminal (sometimes down to the concourse level) are contractually locked into internal servicing/servicer contracts for terms of years, some exclusive,...
So many potential reasons, which they'd have little reason to reveal to the public.
First (and probably most importantly) they may have wanted to take an equity stake in that terminal. That's the main reason Air France, Lufthansa, and Korean are there. AA/terminal 8 may not have been as willing to play ball.
Second, each terminal (sometimes down to the concourse level) are contractually locked into internal servicing/servicer contracts for terms of years, some exclusive, some concurrent. Qatar may not have been happy with the offerings and/or costs there.
Access + Exclusivity. The only other cases I know of airlines having dedicated gates exclusive to their own premium passengers at JFK, are Air France and British Airways' Concorde lounges (the real ones) which expressed their passengers straight from the lounge to the Concorde. But that hasn't been a thing for more than 20 years, since that aircraft retired. Doubtful that Qatar could've gotten that at terminal 8.
Not true at all. Especially when coming off of 703 and 701 (less so for 705), you will always see almost a 3rd the the bags at baggage claim have tags for an additional flight past jfk. The AA (and b6) connections at JFK for QR are a pretty big deal.
So at 1 point there will be Terminal 1 along side Terminal One?
1 should deceide which 1 should passenger be dropped off?
This one rebranding is just how a generation of snowflake has impacted.
Down the hall and to the left
I love Home Alone too ;)
A couple of observations:
1) Terminal One (which, bafflingly, is also branded as "JFK1" in that picture) manages to look outdated and ghetto in that rendering. On brand for JFK and NYC more broadly.
2) Serious question. You do realize that Qatar Airways is basically Air Hamas, right? Just in case, since I'm sure you'll soon write another piece lamenting the state of the Middle East.
“You do realize that Qatar Airways is basically Air Hamas”
Dumbest comment yet from you.
Were you going for max stupidity, with both of these comments? If so, mission accomplished.
First, no, that doesn't mean they'll be leaving oneworld just because they'll be transferring terminals; I've heard that a lot in regards to CX ;)
I'm guessing the move is that Terminal One's floor area is best suited for them. Just like CX, they want their own space along with facilities, so they feel it'd be more worthwhile investment despite the minor inconvenience of transferring terminals. Besides, I think Terminal 6 is full already with...
First, no, that doesn't mean they'll be leaving oneworld just because they'll be transferring terminals; I've heard that a lot in regards to CX ;)
I'm guessing the move is that Terminal One's floor area is best suited for them. Just like CX, they want their own space along with facilities, so they feel it'd be more worthwhile investment despite the minor inconvenience of transferring terminals. Besides, I think Terminal 6 is full already with all these anticipated carriers moving in. It's just impossible to have your own lounge facilities at 8 unless you finish construction of the terminal that was supposed to be done decades ago.
I wonder what the numbers are on those who have connections with American at JFK. Won't it be more convenient to put them on flights from DOH directly; they have a more extensive network in the US from DOH.
Wonder if "dedicated airport transfers" is T1-T8 tarmac transfers (or similar)
It sounds more like an Emirates Chauffeur Drive-type product to me (maybe the plan is to introduce this on expensive business class tickets?). Let's hope they also do a better job with the 'VIP Check-in' than they have with the "Premium" Check-In area at LHR, which is now often total chaos at the times of day when multiple flights are leaving in short periods because they've prioritized being able to sit down and pretend it's...
It sounds more like an Emirates Chauffeur Drive-type product to me (maybe the plan is to introduce this on expensive business class tickets?). Let's hope they also do a better job with the 'VIP Check-in' than they have with the "Premium" Check-In area at LHR, which is now often total chaos at the times of day when multiple flights are leaving in short periods because they've prioritized being able to sit down and pretend it's a hotel lobby over actually getting the passengers checked in quickly. It's almost everything that's wrong with Qatar Airways in a nutshell, to be honest.