American Airlines Flagship Lounge, New-York JFK Terminal 8 : Impressed !

After a very unpleasant immigration procedure upon arrival at JFK, I join Kristof at terminal 8, from where American Airlines operates on the platform.

As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed:

#	Type	Review
1	Diary	A one day return trip to the US ?
2	Lounge	British Airways Galleries First, London Heathrow Terminal 5
3	Flight	British Airways Club World Suite, London Heathrow to New-York JFK, Boeing 777
4	Lounge	American Airlines Flagship Lounge, New-York JFK Terminal 8
5	Flight	American Airlines Domestic First, New-York JFK to Miami Internarional, Boeing 737
6	Lounge	American Airlines Flagship Lounge, Miami International
7	Flight	British Airways World Traveller, Miami international to London Heathrow, Airbus A380-800
8	Lounge	British Airways Arrivals Lounge, London Heathrow Terminal 5

Today’s itinerary

Location

The lounge is located just after the security checkpoint, on the mezzanine of the terminal.

Thanks to the priority queue and the low traffic in this early afternoon, these checks are passed in less than 3 minutes, and we use the nearby elevators to get to the Flagship lounge.

The reception is extremely charming and we are directed to the lounge without any effort.

My BA Gold card gives us automatic access to this lounge.

Lounge design

The lounge is very elegant, and shows the enormous progress made by the American airlines on the subject, long decried as providing the worst lounges in the world.

Admittedly, I did not visit the Admiral’s Club, which is the “standard” lounge, but I think it is in the same vein and in the same state of renovation. Many types of areas are available: work, lounging, dining, well separated from each other.

We will settle down with Kristof in one of the armchairs with a view on the runways.

If the lounge was almost empty when we arrived, it gradually filled up to become completely full when we left.

Catering offer

The restaurant offer is very good.

A Piper-Hiedsick podium is present at the entrance and a glass of champagne (real!) is offered to each passenger.

In the lounge itself, there is a main station with good hot and cold food, a full self-serve bar, and several coffee and liquor stations set up around the lounge.