The JFK Admirals Club (Terminal 8, Concourse B) is a nice place to kill some time while waiting for your flight. It certainly beats waiting in the terminal itself, which is badly in need of a makeover. Note: This review is on the club right after security, not the one in the remote terminal (a review of that club will be coming shortly but it has many of the same attributes as this one). There is also an attached Flagship Lounge, which this review will not cover.
Overview
The club is located right after security, on the left. It’s tough to miss the entrance, as there are signs all over the place and two or three ways to get up to the club, which is a floor above the concourse. The space is not huge, but American does a good job of packing numerous amenities into the lounge.
Service
Generally good. The agent did exactly what I would hope when I arrived. She called me over, checked me in and told me about the amenities of the club. As an added bonus, she also told me about the amenities of the remote club, noting that her club had more showers, but the other one has more space. I thought it was a nice touch that she did a little advertising for Team AA as a whole.
Amenities
AA did a nice job of packing in everything you would need. There’s a conference room, a few showers, a work area and plenty of space for the rest of us. There are also a couple of quieter “nooks” off to the side, where I saw families gathering. For those of you with little people, there is also a small children’s area with a TV, a few computers and, most importantly, a door.
It didn’t have some of the entertainment or business options that other clubs have, but they managed to get most of the necessary, and a few of the unnecessary, amenities in there.
Food
American has definitely fallen behind its peers when it comes to food options. The lounge offered two types of soup, cheese and crackers, the usual desserts and some veggies. Pretty much what you see in the photo is what you get. Since JFK is not exactly known for its fine dining selection, if you want something more substantial, you may end up buying a meal at the bar.
The Bottom Line
The JFK Admirals Club did exactly what I expected it to: It provided a quiet place to get some work done and have a light snack. It is open daily from 4:15 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.
You can order prepared food at the bar, and they will bring it to you…
Seen the place pretty busy,
Thanks Bill, didn’t know that. It was almost empty when I was there (late afternoon on a Wednesday) and the folks at the bar were looking pretty bored.
That’s better than what I saw at the Alaska lounge in Seattle airport for food. The lounge there was fairly nice, but much smaller, no showers, and very limited food options.
I try to eat healthy but all they had were pancakes and pastries. That is, until right when I was leaving, and I noticed hidden at the bottom of a fridge next to the coffee machine, away from all the food, was a huge bowl of hardboiled eggs.
At least they had veggies!