American Airlines & British Airways Chelsea Lounge, New-York JFK T8: Excellent soft product and good service, but no natural light

After a disappointing first flight from Boston, we had a rather long connection at New-York JFK before our flight to London.

Eligibility

The lounge is only accessible to passengers flying in International or Transcontinental First on British Airways or American Airlines (4-cabin aircraft), or to BAEC Gold Guest List or AA ConciergeKey passengers travelling on a BA or AA International or Transcontinental flight regardless of cabin, with a guest.

Pure domestic itineraries, for example, are not eligible.

Location and welcome

The lounge is located in the main boarding concourse after security. As we were arriving from a flight operated with a regional module, we had to use the underground passage linking the second boarding area with the main terminal.

The Chelsea lounge is co-located with the Soho lounge, already reported here, and with simpler access conditions.

The welcome was decent, but not very cordial, BA-style.

Lounge design

I have to say that the salon is magnificent: the decor is nice, very much up-to-date, and the central fireplace makes the space cosy. The only problem no natural light, unlike the Soho, which offers a magnificent view of the tarmac. A big miss for the avgeek in me.

Numerous relaxation and work areas are available. There’s also a rest area with sofa beds separated by nets.

A large area is set aside for sit-down dining, but the entire menu can be ordered from any part of the lounge.

Catering

The catering offer is probably the best on the New York platform.

A full menu was available, served at the table or in your chair.

As an aperitif, I had a glass of Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle promptly brought to me.

For dinner, we settled in at the table.

I had a glass of the excellent Bordeaux, a Chateau Chapelle d’Alienor 2018.

As a starter, the cold pea soup was a delight. And the risotto was quite good as a main course, even if I was not able to finish it.

For dessert, my wife had a chocolate mousse, which she found good.

Bottom line

A pleasant stay. The waiters were friendly but not very proactive, and we often had to ask them for refills or to order. Not very Premium, and very different from the Concorde Room experience previously offered at T7.

Itinerary

As a reminder, here is the itinerary followed:

#	Type	Post
1	Diary	Personal trip to the UK
2	Lounge	American Airlines Admirals Club, Boston Logan
3	Flight	American Airlines Domestic First, Boston Logan – New-York JFK, Embraer 175
4	Lounge	American Airlines & British Airways Chelsea Lounge, New-York JFK T8
5	Flight	British Airways Club World Suite, New-York JFK – London Heathrow, Boeing 777-300ER
6	Lounge	British Airways Arrivals Concorde Dining Room, London Heathrow T5
7	Hotel	JW Marriott London Grosvenor House
8	Restaurant	L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, London Mayfair
9	Hotel	DoubleTree by Hilton, Brighton Metropole
10	Hotel	Sofitel London Heathrow, Terminal 5
11	Lounge	British Airways Concorde Room, London Heathrow
12	Flight	British Airways Club World Suite, London Heathrow – New-York JFK, Boeing 777-200
13	Lounge	American Airlines & British Airways Chelsea Lounge, New-York JFK T8
14	Flight	American Airlines Domestic First, New-York JFK – Boston Logan, Embraer 175