Exclusive review of the brand new American Airlines and British Airways lounge at Terminal 8 of John F. Kennedy International Airport with Tom Otley, Editor, Business Traveller magazine UK. December 2022.
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British Airways and American Airlines have unveiled their new home at Terminal 8 at JFK New York.
There are two new lounges – Chelsea and Soho – which have been designed by Gensler, and which have Sodexo Magic providing the food and drink.
The Greenwich Lounge is for business class passengers and is the rebranded Flagship Lounge.
The Soho lounge is for BA Executive Club Gold and AAdvantage Executive Platinum and AAdvantage Platinum Pro and Conciergekey.
The Chelsea lounge is for British Airways First class passengers and American Airlines Flagship First and Business Plus passengers and Conciergekey. It is also available for Gold Guest List members.
- Well hello, my name's Tom Otley from "Business Traveler" Welcome, we're here at Terminal Eight, John F. Kennedy Airport, to see the new home of British Airways. So this is the check-in area for the new home of American Airlines and British Airways at Terminal Eight. This is an external view of Terminal Eight from the air train. And it shows an American Airlines plane on the left, and then a BA plane just coming in on the right. It's just parked there, well, waiting there on the right. So if we go to the left, there's the Club World check in, and to the right is where first class check in is. So let's go that way. So this is not yet open, so that's why it looks empty.
- [Staff Member] And so this will be staffed jointly by British Airways and American team members, kind of interspersed with each other. And really provides a very, very private, exclusive check-in space.
- [Tom] Nine in total, where it was four before.
- [Staff Member] Yes, correct.
- [Tom] Thank you.
- [Staff Member] And there are some positions where, you know, someone wants to check in quickly. And maybe they're not checking a bag, they can just go to one of these positions over here. If they have a lot of bags and wanna take their time, there are positions where they can sit down.
- Okay, so this is the next lounge.
- [Staff Member] There's an opportunity to see it your way through,
- [Tom] we're just waiting to go in.
- [Staff Member] It's a massive commitment to what is the most key ambassadors. As for those of you that were at the press conference, this is a key route for us, and this partnership that we have with American on the Joint Business Agreement, and through our one World co-chair partners. It's really important that we get this right. So we're trying to mirror a wonderful premium experience. So as you walk through the premium check in, direct access to the priority security lanes. You exit straight here, you come up here and then as Kim explained, that takes you through to the Chelsea Lounge. And for those eligible, you can come straight through to the Soho Lounge and this will be staffed by both American and British Airways colleagues here as well. So it really will feel like a joint experience. As Kim mentioned, you're here 48 hours before it opens. So forgive us, there's a few little snags. I'm not gonna lie, there's one or two rooms that still need a bit of lighting and things like that. So bear with us, but we'll take you through the main features as we go through. The first things that you'll notice is the floor to ceiling windows and the feature bar. Which was something that was very key for our customers. Now please come on through. So immediately, when you're greeted with the feature bar, and Rafael will take us through a number of the local suppliers that we've worked with, including the bar that worked with us in order to design the drinks menu and the bespoke cocktail menu. And also some of the suppliers that are bringing a local part of food.
- [Tom] How long you been planning this, then?
- [Staff Member] This has been a two and a half year labor of love for a lot of people. Actually a four year project, in total, from brief. Yeah.
- [Tom] What was there before in this space?
- Offices?
- [Staff Member] This was a pilots' briefing room, I believe.
- [Tom] Oh, right, okay.
- [Staff Member] I believe it was the pilots' briefing room which has been expanded along with the expanded terminal. You'll see again some of the furniture and the features which have all been specifically designed for the space. We wanted that kind of relaxed but elegant feel in the space. You have the signature lighting element here. Clouds is one of the ways it's been described. Petals is another. Again, it's designed by the same company from the Czech Republic who did the feature above the champagne bar in our Chelsea lounge. Again, one of the things that's been really key is every seat that is near a flat surface, other th
