At first glance, the BA114 from New York’s JFK airport bound for Heathrow on Wednesday, 30 November was just like any other. But the 9.45pm flight was making history in a small way. It was the last-ever British Airways plane to take off from Terminal 7, after being home to the airline for 52 years. BA flew its first Boeing 747 into JFK, back when the airline was called BOAC, and it’s the terminal that Concorde used. But from Thursday, 1 December, all operations moved next door to Terminal 8.
If that doesn’t sound quite newsworthy, here’s why it is. First of all, if you’ve ever changed planes in JFK, getting off British Airways metal and boarding a plane flown by BA’s partner American Airlines, you’ll know that you had to change terminals – American is housed in Terminal 8. Changing planes is stressful enough, but adding a ride on the Skytrain between terminals does not make things easier.
Now, both airlines are in Terminal 8, making for smoother, quicker, less stressful transfers.
This is also the first time BA and American have built shared lounges, and they’re quite something, a sizeable part of the £326m ($400m) that was spent on the new Terminal 8 facilities. The terminal move also means that the luxury lounge loved by the most premium travellers, the Concorde Room, closed as the last flight departed. Some of the staff literally had tears in their eyes as they said goodbye to passengers. There’s now only one Concorde Room, at Terminal 5 in Heathrow, so where are First Class passengers to loll around in luxury now? Think of it not so much as losing a Concorde Room but gaining a Chelsea lounge (about which more later).
First, there are the all-new check-in facilities at Terminal 8, with premium check-in placed behind a slatted wall, dividers placed just far enough apart for economy customers to see what they’re missing.
These include lines of desks, all co-branded with understated, monochrome logos for the two airlines. Flying First Class? Then take the anonymous translucent doors to the right (trust me, you’ll be escorted here). As they slide apart, you’ll see what looks like a hotel lobby with nine desks. There’s not a conveyor belt in sight, but when you check in your Goyard, staff will take it away through one of two discreet doors in the bronze-clad walls.
Security is not controlled by the airlines, of course, but it’s still better than at Terminal 7. A Rapiscan luggage scanner sits tantalisingly to the left. That’s one of the can’t-come-soon-enough machines where you don’t need to remove anything from your luggage, but it’s only being tested for domestic flights right now.
But those with Global Entry membership will be glad that there are proper TSA Pre-check facilities at the new terminal, so the nuisance of fetching liquids, laptops, iPads and Kindles out of your carry-on is a thing of the past for those passengers.
Creating a space that is true to two different companies must have been challenging, but the result is much classier than anything I’ve seen from American before
After that, three lounges await for premium flyers or those with status on OneWorld airlines such as BA, American, Iberia and JAL, which relocates to Terminal 8 next May. The first is the existing Admirals Club facility, which is re-branded as the Greenwich lounge. The name, like with the other lounges, is taken from a neighbourhood that’s common to both London and New York. Cute, huh? Greenwich is open to travellers in Club World on BA or Flagship Business on American, plus BA silver card holders.
Next up is Soho, which is for BA gold card holders or those with OneWorld Emerald status; it’s the equivalent of the First Class BA lounge at Heathrow’s Terminal 5. This 1,200sqm space has floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the runways. You’re greeted by a long bar and dining area, all dressed in neutral colours – note that there’s just no airline branding in the lounge beyond the departures board video screen, a deliberate move to create a relaxed and elegant atmosphere. Creating a space that is true to two different companies must have been challenging, but the result is much classier than anything I’ve seen from American before.
The lounge stretches on and on, including a quiet area called the Library (though please bring your own books) and an even quieter area where five booths sit away from everything else, looking down on the planes docking below. Whisper it, but I’d say this is the best of the three lounges.
That’s not to say that the super-premium Chelsea lounge isn’t great; it is. It has an opulence that makes it perhaps the most premium lounge ever from BA, T5’s glorious Concorde Room notwithstanding. But there’s something about those big windows that makes Soho special.
The exclusive Chelsea lounge is just for BA passengers flying First Class, American Airlines Flagship First and Business Plus passengers and holders of the Conciergekey, plus is available for Gold Guest List members.
The lounge has no natural light – though it does have living wallpaper made up of a vertical video wall that changes with great subtlety as you watch it. Soon, a floating firepit will feature at its centre. Even now, it has a gorgeous circular bar as you arrive, stocked with 17 different champagnes, including Krug – a significantly better range than any lounge I’ve been to before. First class tickets aren’t cheap, but you can at least dent the cost with bubbles, it seems (though please drink responsibly, won’t you?). Where Soho feels like a super-comfortable hotel lobby, Chelsea is the upmarket members’ club you’d like to join.
The co-branding here is done through the lounge equivalent of soft power: the cuisine is designed to satisfy both sides of the Atlantic. There’s a full English breakfast alongside a US staple, the Reuben sandwich. And, best of all, there’s a super-delicious shepherd’s pie, which may be a first for many of the American contingent. All dishes are created by celebrated New York chef, Ayesha Nurdjaja.
Of course, these lounges are mostly for a small number of travellers. But the move to Terminal 8 brings newer, more modern facilities for all, with easier transfers between airlines. All in a terminal that’s small enough to be manageable, but large enough to have something for everyone.
