AA Flagship Lounge JFK: Fine Dining at Its Finest

AA Flagship Lounge Review JFK is part of the TPOL Down Under Trip Report.

The start of this incredible journey began at the AA lounge in Terminal 8.

Alcohol Warning

I have written about this before and it is worth repeating. Don’t go to the lounge in NY early in the morning expecting to drink (see Delta SkyClub JFK: Waiting for First Call). After freezing in the ticketing area, I arrived at the AA Flagship lounge at JFK next to gate 12 in need of a warm meal and a cold beverage. While food was not in short supply, alcohol was. Per NY state law, no alcohol is served before 8AM. My flight was at 9AM which would’ve given me 20 minutes to get going on the day (boarding is at 8:20). However, on Sunday alcohol isn’t served until 10, so there would be no bitching about the quality of the Bloody Mary (see Delta Sky Club MSP: A Bloody Mary Under Construction). Sober boarding has some perks. I assume my photos will be less blurry and that I will have more room for Krug.

Flagship Dining 

AA Flagship dining is legit. It puts AA on par with many international lounges in terms of quality. The small touches weren’t unnoticed. Take the cutlery. It was nice enough to steal.

The service was excellent as well. The menu was diverse. I had an espresso which tasted better than the machine- hit-play experience found at most lounges. I also had a beet orange juice in anticipation of the hangover that may be coming. I ordered the steak and eggs. While it gets an A for presentation, it receives a B- for substance. The steak was a bit overcooked and the eggs were not runny enough. That’s a minor complaint given that everything else was great. From the omelette which beats out many hotels to the salmon bagel, the Flagship Dining did not disappoint. What it lacked in alcohol, it made up with food.

*Flagship dining is only for first class passengers, so spend the extra miles and enjoy it.

As for the rest of the lounge, here are the obligatory pictures for your records.