The Air France lounge at JFK is open to passengers flying on Japan Airlines, China Eastern, EVA Air, AeroMexico and Cayman Airways. I was flying Aeroflot on this particular day, although not in Business Class nor as a SkyTeam elite. However, Priority Pass members who have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card or an American Express Platinum card are entitled to use it, or the Korean Air Lounge (KAL Lounge) as part of their Priority Pass membership.
Trip Report Series:
- Review: Air France Lounge, New York JFK Terminal 1
- Three Days in Vilnius, Lithuania
- Review: IDW Esperanza Resort Lounge, Vilnius Airport
- Three Days in Riga, Latvia
- Review: Primeclass Business Lounge, Riga International Airport (RIX)
- Review: Air Baltic Economy Class, Riga to Tallinn
- Three Days in Tallinn, Estonia: A Foodie’s Paradise!
- Review: Tallink Megastar, Tallinn to Helsinki
- Review: Aspire Lounge, Helsinki Vantaa Airport
- Review: KLM Business Class, Helsinki to London Heathrow (via Amsterdam)
- Review: Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, London Heathrow
- Review: Delta One Business Class, London Heathrow to Atlanta
Granted, there is a caveat to know about if you’re flying out of JFK at the same time that I was that day, and that is that the KAL lounge will not permit PP members until after 14:00, and the Air France lounge will not permit people after 13:30, presumably due to overcrowding. To be honest, this wasn’t information that was available to people on their websites, so it’s helpful to know this. I wish PP would be more transparent about these things because a lot of people pay expensive annual fees to have this perk and it’s not very fair to them.
Anyways, I was at least able to use the Air France lounge since it was around 12:45 that day. The Air France lounge is also at least located close to the Aeroflot gate so it’s not a very inconvenient walk.
The lounge entrance is very bright and cheery and there are two side rooms which “break out” into a massage/spa area as well as a children’s video game area. There are magazine racks located in the main foyer.
One thing you’ll notice right now is that the lounge is filled with BOUDRO pop art, which I absolutely adore, as it is uniquely New York – the paintings are like stamps that fill the wall with imagery and character that pops out to viewers. I thought this was one of the coolest features of the lounge. Boudro is a Quebec-born artist.
There are two levels in the lounge, both of which feature a full bar and food area. The area is entirely self-serve, and one can help themselves to liquor, wine, beer, and champagne.
The food selections consist of both hot and cold items. At that hour, the lounge had a sesame chicken – Asian dish, couscous, grilled chicken, a salad bar, finger sandwiches, squash and split-pea soup, fresh fruit, yogurt, a selection of cheeses and chocolate cake for dessert.
The high tables on the second floor afford the best views of the tarmac and have individual charging stations for people to use. Elsewhere, there is plenty of room to sit. Downstairs, toilet facilities are available along with two shower rooms for those who want to shower.
I helped myself to some food and just relaxed on the upper level watching the planes. The wifi wasn’t working, for whatever reason, but I was in a mode to disconnect on this trip as much as I could, anyways. Before long, it was time to head to the gate.
The food selection in the lounge didn’t blow my mind by any means, but it was tasty and filling enough to get some fuel before my flight. I appreciated how the lounge wasn’t too crowded at that time and that there was plenty of space to roam, wedge out and appreciate some airplane scenery. The staff was friendly and the cleaning crews were very prompt and efficient.
Overall, the Air France lounge at Terminal 1 – JFK is a great place to relax pre-flight. I would recommend stopping by.
