Originally Posted by
Yellowbelly
I travelled from JFK to LHR last week, unfortunately in the WT+ cabin so could not experience the CW enhancements. This is the first time I have been through the BA JFK terminal (T7) for several years and I was shocked at what I saw. The terminal is old and looks awful, not helped I guess by the ongoing upgrades.
As a GC holder I used the new First check-in but this is a poor relation compared to the Heathrow First Wing.
The First lounge was also a big disappointment, dark and very crowded with a poor buffet selection (some sandwiches and snacks plus one choice of soup and constantly running out of champagne). I realise that anyone travelling in the First and Club World cabins is invited to dine in the restaurant attached to the CW lounge but still not a great lounge experience.
I look forward to seeing how the improvements are going as I am booked through JFK next July (treating my mother for her 80th to a weekend in NY travelling First) but as the BA premium route JFK really needs to up its game.
I agree with you T7 looks very tired, and indeed, GF is one of the saddest F lounges around (in fairness, largely due to its physical limitations, notably its windowless design).
However, in addition to improvements in CW service, BA has a big plan to redevelop T7 and its lounges, which should also lead to some (genuine) improvements at least for departure passengers.
The main issue with the arrivals circuit (to me anyway) is the lack of standard/ESTA kiosks (there are GE kiosks for eligible travellers) which can make arrivals immigration very slow at times although in fairness, the move of CX to T8 has significantly improved things on that front already.