American Airlines Flagship Lounge - JFK International Airport

Hours

4:30am to 11:15pm daily.

Airlines Serviced

American Airlines
OneWorld Airlines

Access Rules

First class or business class ticket on an OneWorld Airline (First Class ticket for Flagship First dining)
Emerald or sapphire status in OneWorld
One guest of the above

The Lounge

A delightful lounge in JFK that I have been able to visit since 2010. It has moved around in the same area above gates 1-4 in JFK Terminal 8 for over a decade.

Now an exclusive area to the left of the check-in desk

A large space, which at times is completely full! There are a lot of people in New York headed overseas and a lot of airlines sharing the lounge.

There is no bar out here, but self-service drinks, allowing you to get yourself into big trouble if you're so disposed. Top shelf gin and vodka, but medium tier scotch and whiskey. Also there are many workspaces, sitting areas, a large dining space area, and various side drink service areas, plus a big bathroom and showers.

Why not just start relaxing, walking into the lounge with a drink from the lovely people serving you champagne?

Wine and Champagne, more than anyone could drink

Even soup, they serve this to you on request

Even the regular food service and wine is pretty good here

Flagship First Dining

For those lucky enough to be flying real first class out of JFK (mainly on a big plane to somewhere interesting in the world, or the 3-class plane to San Fran and LAX), you get access to the Flagship First dining experience.

A full-service area separate and closed off from the main lounge where food, drinks and luxury are in abundance and service is impeccable.

The initial pictures are of the service I received back in 2017 before my twenty hour first-class flight on Cathay to Hong Kong (one of the airlines that shares the lounge).

Different style and food stuffs back then

Desserts somewhat along the same thread as today

The duck was good. Cold isn't always my choice though

The short ribs were astounding. I wish I had more of them

Great sundae, so American and I loved it

Then, my most recent experience on a first-class flight to London on American.

For dining these days, the game has been elevated significantly

The desserts are like high-end restaurant desserts

Now we're talking top end drinks! Full service bar too

Now the signature flagship cornbread. It's ok, not really to my Southern bred tastes but others I know like it

The seabass was so great. I had two of them!

On the flight back, the beef! Yes, it was tasty

Now what did I even order? I can't remember, it was a very long day flying home

Tables and more intimate booths. I chose the table being solo and I could look out on the airport and NYC

Summary

The regular area of the lounge (if you can call it just "regular") is nice, a great place to gorge on the buffet and drinks while waiting for your flight. It can be so incredibly busy in here though, and that equates to noise levels and challenges for seating. But, the Flagship First Dining? That is a world leading setup. Astounding service and distance from the rest of the world.

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