Review: British Airways Lounge New York JFK

I spent the night at the Sheraton JFK Airport, which I’ve reviewed in the past, so won’t be covering again in this trip report.

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My flight from New York to Madrid on Iberia was scheduled to depart at 5:35PM, though I decided to leave the Sheraton a bit early, at around 2PM. The hotel’s shuttle dropped me off at Terminal 7 at JFK. This is primarily British Airways’ terminal, though several of their partner airlines, and also some other random airlines, operate out of the terminal as well.

United used to also operate their Premium Service flights out of Terminal 7, though they’ve now pulled out of JFK altogether.

The terminal is rather outdated, and the architecture is definitely a bit past its prime.

Terminal 7 New York JFK

Premium check-in for oneworld airlines is located on the left side of the terminal, including British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Iberia, and OpenSkies.

Terminal 7 check-in New York JFK

Terminal 7 premium check-in New York JFK

I was way early, so there were no queues at check-in. Within 60 seconds I had my boarding pass, and was directed to the security checkpoint. In the evening there’s a dedicated premium security checkpoint across from this check-in area, though it was too early for that, as the area wasn’t open yet.

British Airways business class check-in New York JFK

So I headed to the standard security checkpoint, located by the economy check-in counters. Security took only about 10 minutes, which is pretty good for Terminal 7. Once through security I took the escalators up a level, turned left, and then took the escalators up one more level to the British Airways Galleries Lounge.

Escalator to British Airways Galleries Lounge New York JFK

Entrance to British Airways Galleries Lounge New York JFK

This lounge has both a first and business class section. It’s worth pointing out that The Concorde Room (for British Airways first class passengers) is on the opposite side of the terminal. So this portion of the “first class lounge” is for oneworld Emerald members, as well as those traveling in first class on airlines other than British Airways.

I actually sort of prefer the business class section of the lounge, so headed there first. From the reception desk that required turning right.

British Airways Lounge New York JFK

As you enter there’s a business center with some PCs, though there’s not much privacy between seats.

British Airways Lounge business center New York

Then if you keep walking you’ll end up in a long hallway with plenty of seating, though there’s no natural light.

British Airways Lounge seating JFK

British Airways Lounge seating JFK

At the far end of that room is the Elemis Spa, where British Airways business & first class passengers can receive a complimentary treatment. That benefit isn’t extended to Iberia customers (which I don’t really get given that the airline is owned by British Airways, and beyond that, operates as part of a transatlantic joint venture).

British Airways Lounge Elemis Spa New York

Across from the spa is a play area for kids.

British Airways Lounge kids area New York

The main area of the lounge can also be accessed from near the entrance. Rather than walking straight ahead you simply turn left.

The lounge is huge, though ironically almost feels sort of private thanks to the low ceilings and square pillars throughout the lounge, which wouldn’t typically seem like a “feature.”

British Airways Lounge seating New York JFK

British Airways Lounge seating New York JFK

British Airways Lounge seating New York JFK

British Airways Lounge seating New York JFK

The lounge has a lot of seating, though given how many flights British Airways (and other airlines) operate out of New York, the lounge can still get really crowded.

British Airways Lounge seating New York JFK

British Airways Lounge New York JFK

British Airways Lounge JFK

British Airways Lounge JFK

As you can see, the furniture in the lounge sure is eclectic. I’m not sure whether to view the different “themed” areas as a feature, or simply a creative way to buy a lot of furniture on wholesale.

British Airways Lounge JFK

British Airways Lounge JFK

Perhaps the below “design” properly sums up just how confusing the lounge’s decor is.

British Airways Lounge water feature JFK

The lounge also has a pre-flight supper facility, which I’ve reviewed in the past. However, it only opens later in the evening, and is available exclusively to British Airways business class passengers as well as Cathay Pacific first class passengers traveling to Vancouver.

British Airways Lounge pre-flight supper JFK

British Airways Lounge pre-flight supper JFK

The food selection in this lounge is somewhat limited, given that:

• British Airways first class passengers have access to the Concorde Room
• Oneworld Emerald members have access to the first class lounge (not that the food there is much better, but…)
• British Airways business class passengers have access to the pre-flight supper facility
• A lot of other airlines use this lounge, so British Airways doesn’t have all that much of an incentive to have great offerings

There are several service stations, some of which have mostly drinks, while others are more heavily focused on snacks.

There’s one station with a few types of juice, beer, and all kinds of packaged chips.

British Airways Lounge buffet JFK

British Airways Lounge buffet JFK

Then there’s a bar of sorts, which has self serve liquor and wine.

British Airways Lounge bar JFK

British Airways Lounge liquor JFK

British Airways Lounge wine selection JFK

British Airways Lounge wine selection JFK

Also on that bar are several types of snacks, including trail mix, pretzels, M&Ms, etc.

British Airways Lounge snack selection JFK

Then there’s a table with fresh fruit.

British Airways Lounge fresh fruit JFK

There’s also a station with instant noodles and more packaged chips.

British Airways Lounge snack selection JFK

British Airways Lounge instant noodles JFK

There are packaged cheese and crackers, finger sandwiches, etc.

British Airways Lounge cheese & crackers JFK

British Airways Lounge finger sandwiches JFK

There’s a station with cookies, biscuits, etc.

British Airways Lounge cookies & biscuits JFK

All-in-all it’s a pretty underwhelming spread, and not even to the level of a Delta Sky Club®, for example. But I’m guessing that’s by design, since British Airways has other facilities for their more “premium” customers.

As a oneworld Emerald member I could also use the first class section of the lounge, which is on the opposite side of the reception desk as you enter (on the left).

The lounge is rather sad, and isn’t significantly differentiated from the business class lounge.

The lounge is fairly small, and has virtually no natural light, so it’s just not a nice place to spend a lot of time.

British Airways First Class Lounge New York

The snack selection in this lounge is ever-so-slightly enhanced, in the sense that they have slightly better finger sandwiches. But that’s about it.

British Airways First Class Lounge snack selection New York

British Airways First Class Lounge snack selection New York

British Airways First Class Lounge snack selection New York

British Airways First Class Lounge snack selection New York

British Airways First Class Lounge snack selection JFK

Even the liquor selection is mostly the same. The good news is that they serve Laurent Perrier, which is a fairly good champagne.

British Airways First Class Lounge drink selection JFK

I was quite hungry at this point, so had some finger sandwiches and blue corn chips.

British Airways First Class Lounge snacks JFK

While I was in the lounge most of the other guests were Japanese passengers on the ANA flight to Tokyo. While I love Japanese culture, the noodle slurping and snoring really got to me. The ANA passengers were just going to town on those instant noodles, and I felt like I was in the middle of a surround sound slurping competition. On top of that, several of them fell asleep after their noodle soiree, and snored in unison.

I got some work done on my laptop, and at around 4:45PM headed to the gate for my flight to Madrid. The departures board at Terminal 7 had some cool traffic, and I was especially intrigued by the Ukraine International Airlines flight to Kiev.

JFK Terminal 7 departures board

My flight on Iberia was departing from gate 6, which is located at the other end of the (small) concourse.

Terminal 7 JFK

I could see the Iberia plane as I approached, and noticed it was in the old paint scheme.

Iberia A340 JFK

While I find Iberia’s old livery to be hideous, at the same time there’s something I love about how “classic” it is.

Iberia A340 JFK

Though my favorite plane at JFK Terminal 7 is the British Airways A318, which operates their all business class service to London City Airport.

British Airways A318 JFK

As I approached the departure gate I noticed the two pilots still in the gate area, and the rest of the crew slowly strolling up to the gate as well.

Iberia departure gate JFK

At around 4:50PM they began lining up passengers, where there were different sections for each group, which is a smart system.

Finally at 5PM boarding was called, starting with business class.

Iberia boarding JFK

British Airways Lounge New York bottom line

For a contract business class lounge this is perfectly fine. The lounge does get really busy, though, given the volume of passengers flying out of Terminal 7 on a daily basis. Still, this lounge pales in comparison to the likes of the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse New York, which in theory should be similarly nice (both are business class lounges of British carriers).

So yeah, this won’t win an award for best airline lounge and I wouldn’t make a point of arriving at the airport early to visit this lounge, though it’s also not the worst lounge out there.

If you’ve been to the British Airways Lounge New York JFK, what was your experience like?