John F. Kennedy International Airport is the main airport serving New York City. Terminal 7 at JFK is operated by British Airways. The Concorde Room at JFK is the best lounge in this terminal, but there’s an excellent Priority Pass lounge to try if you haven’t booked Business or First Class. These are among the best airport lounges at JFK.
Over ninety airlines operate out of JFK. It is a major hub for American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. JFK has 6 operating airline terminals; 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8, plus 4 runways and 128 aircraft gates. We review the best airport lounges in these Terminals.
We have already reviewed the best executive or club lounges in New York hotels.
Free Airport Lounge Access
If you have not paid for Business Class or First Class, you can still access lounges at this airport for a fee or for free if you have a Priority Pass. Get an unlimited Priority Pass with the Amex Platinum card, or you can also access most Priority Pass lounges for free using the free American Express Gold with its two free Lounge Club passes. To get extra referral points and advice on these free-lounge-access cards and more, have a read of our best credit cards for luxury travel.
1. The Concorde Room, JFK Terminal 7
The Concorde Room at JFK is reserved for British Airways First Class customers and was recently refreshed. Customers flying in First and Club World out of JFK Terminal 7 can now also enjoy an enhanced check-in experience at the exclusive new Premium Zone, with direct access to Fast Track security. The new First Wing and First check-in are also open to ensure a smooth start to the journey.
The most exclusive and best lounge in JFK Terminal 7 is the Concorde Room, which is only open to passengers flying First Class on British Airways or those holding a Concorde Room Card when flying any Oneworld carriers. This is by far the best British Airways lounge in JFK. The First lounge is a good lounge, but nothing special and the Business lounge is not that good at all. The decor is nice, but it lacks views or decent food. It is not a great Business Class lounge.
The Concorde Room definitely feels more luxurious than the First lounge with a grey color scheme. It looks similar to the Heathrow Concorde room. Food is delivered in the dining room, which has private booths, and you can use the waiter service anywhere in the lounge.
Starters on the a la carte menu are cured salmon (much like smoked salmon), coconut curry soup. Mains are steak and chips, cod in broth, and a burger with salad on an English muffin. To be honest, the choice is fairly limited if you don’t want some form of beef, so vegetarians or partial vegetarians have a rather limited choice. Dessert is cheese or cheesecake.
To go with your meal, there’s just about every alcoholic drink you can wish for, including Pommery Champers, but you can ask for the upgraded Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle if you prefer (at no extra cost).
There are no showers in the Concorde Room. You’ll need to go to the Business Class lounge for both the spa and the showers.
2. British Airways First Class Airport Lounge, JFK Terminal 7
British Airways has a newish and luxurious First lounge at New York’s JFK Terminal 7 which is pictured above. You can get access to this lounge if you are a gold cardholder or a customer traveling in the airline’s First Cabin. You can’t access this lounge if you are traveling in Business Class unless you have a coveted British Airways gold card.
The lounge is up the escalator from the main terminal area after clearing security. The First Class area of the lounge is at the left of the entrance, while the Business Class area is on the right. As a First Class lounge, the lounge is unmemorable. Passengers flying First Class on British Airways should definitely opt to go to the Concorde Room instead.
The First Class lounge is smaller than the Business Class one, as it expects to serve fewer passengers. Upon walking in, there is a food area on the right side. The food choices are quite similar to the Business Class one, but the drinks selection is slightly better, with the addition of champagne, usually Laurent Perrier. You can see our thoughts about the food offered at the First Class BA lounge in London Gatwick to give you an idea of what to expect. Passengers flying First and Business Class on British Airways will receive a complimentary 15-minute treatment at the Spa.
This lounge is 60 percent larger than its predecessor and covers more than 5,480 ft² split into tailored zones. A new wine room forms the centerpiece, and the lounge is divided into lots of smaller areas. Customers will also be able to enjoy “Flights of Wine”, a selection of different wines linked to a theme like “Chardonnays of the World”.
Other features include an opulent First bar with a wide range of premium beverages and a quiet work area. It is all very nice, but this lounge lacks natural light, and it can get crowded, so it isn’t perfect.
Customers can dine in the airline’s upgraded dining room before they fly to maximize rest on their flight. A boutique menu has been created by Executive chefs Gavin Mackenzie and Waylon Walker and includes dishes influenced by the season, as well as a new ‘bowl food’ concept designed to offer customers a chance for a lighter option before they fly.
The seating area for the first class lounge consists mostly of dining tables and lounge chairs. In general, I find this area to be a bit dark. There is also a small business center here with a row of computers. Those needing to shower and use the spa will have to head to the Business Class lounge.
3. British Airways Galleries Lounge, JFK Terminal 7
The British Airways Galleries Lounge at JFK is open to British Airways silver elite members and above who are flying any Oneworld airlines, or Oneworld sapphire and emerald members who are also flying Oneworld airlines.
The lounge’s Business Class area is quite huge, as it serves quite a few airlines, including the Japanese airline ANA. Upon entering, there is a large business center on the right side. There is also a long walkway with plenty of seating spaces. At the end of the walkway are the Elemis Spa and a small children’s play area. Passengers flying First and Business Class on British Airways will receive a complimentary 15-minute treatment at the Spa. Passengers wanting to shower can also use the shower rooms here by the spa. Needless to say, the toiletries are provided by Elemis.
The lounge’s main area has a small fountain in the middle with some natural light shining in. There’s a long row of food and drinks at a section called “Coffee House”. The lounge’s food selection is normally just some finger food, sandwiches, fruits, biscuits, packet chips. Not a great selection. The sandwiches are cheese and egg on white bread. Not overly appealing. The pastries also include muffins and danish pastries, and the snacks are things like pretzels and dried fruit. Honestly, you would do as well bringing your own packet of chocolate digestive as even the snacks here aren’t very appealing. You are meant to combine your business class lounge experience with the BA preflight dining here, hence the lack of food, but I like having a decent buffet to pick at. There’s also a coffee machine and tea, as well as cold drinks in the fridge below.
While the lounge has a small variety of food, this lack of a full dining service is compensated with a large variety of alcoholic drinks. On the left side of the main area is a small station called the Pub. As the name suggests, this area offers 2 draft beer choices and some bottled beers in the fridge below. There are also some fruit juice options here.
On the right side of the main area, there’s a long winding bar in front of another bar setup. This area normally has 4 varieties of red and white wines each, a good selection of spirits, as well as water and some bar snacks.
The bad things about this lounge are the lack of natural light and views. There are floor-to-ceiling windows, but they don’t have a view, so this lounge is not good for the aviation geeks among us.
The bottom line is that this is not a great lounge for aviation geeks or for those looking for a decent snack before their flight. If you have a Priority Pass, I would suggest trying out the rather good Alaska Airlines lounge, which is reviewed below and offers better bits to eat, a lovely view, and a stylish ambiance.
4. Alaska Airlines Lounge New York JFK Airport, Terminal 7
While this is not a British Airways lounge, if you are flying British Airways Business Class and have a Priority Pass, you should definitely consider this alternative JFK airport lounge before your BA flight.
The Alaska Airlines lounge JFK is superb and stylish with lots of dark, natural rustic woods and varied seats with loads of power outlets. It’s one of the nicest looking lounges in JFK, and it can be found in Terminal 7, which is the British Airways terminal.
You can access this lounge for free if you have premium American Express cards, such as The Platinum or the Business Platinum Card® from American Express which come with a free unlimited Priority Pass.
This JFK lounge is a Priority Pass Lounge, like other Alaska lounges. This means that if you’re flying out of JFK Terminal 7 on an Economy or Premium Economy ticket, you can access this lounge. This lounge is the best Priority Pass lounge in the terminal. I can’t think of a more stylish domestic airport lounge, plus it has windows with great views onto the planes.
The food in the lounge is good but limited in choice. There are two food sittings, morning and afternoon. In the morning, you have pastry style food; bagels, English muffins, greek yogurt, scones as well as pancakes. Later on, there are seasonal salads, soups, a hummus bar, and cookies. Enough to temporarily keep hunger at bay, but not enough to fill you up long term. Instead, if you are ravenous, there are six larger a la carte “paid for” meals.
There are free soft drinks, good free coffees, and basic beer and wine in this lounge too, but premium beer and cocktails cost $8 USD each.
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