Review of the BA/AA Greenwich Lounge at JFK T8

This is my review of the BA/AA Greenwich Lounge at JFK T8, which offers a rehash of the old AA Flagship First Lounge at New York JFK airport.

I am a BA Executive Club (BAEC) Gold Guest List (GGL) member and I enjoy spending time in great lounges at big airports. JFK is one of those big airports that I have spent a fair amount of time at over the past 10 years or so, flying with BA (and to a lesser extent AA). Bear in mind that my reviews are likely to have a BA bias to them. That’s why I refer to these new lounges as “BA/AA lounges”, rather than the more generally accepted reference of “AA/BA lounges”.

Apologies for all of the acronyms. I have done my best at explaining what they mean when they are first mentioned.

Location

Quick reminder, the Greenwich Lounge is located just after T8 Security.

From Security, looking straight ahead, there are two lifts to the newly rebranded AA Flagship Lounge, just on the left-hand side of the concourse. This is now called the Greenwich Lounge.

Entry Criteria

When I was there last week, I took a photo of the official guidelines available to the attendants.

This should be fairly straightforward. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria to gain access to the Chelsea or Soho Lounges and you are either travelling in a minimum of Business Class with any Oneworld airline, or you are the equivalent of Oneworld Saphire status (e.g. a BAEC Silver Card Holder) you will be able to access this lounge.

Registration Area

After heading up in the lift (you can take the stairs just to the left of the lifts if you prefer), you enter the main registration area for the Greenwich Lounge.

For those that remember how the old AA lounges used to work that were located here, to the left was the Flagship Lounge and to the right was the Business Class Lounge. Now they hold the same “status”. You can use either side of the registration area. The area to the right is a lot smaller and is a lot quieter. Some of this area is currently closed off. The area to the left is a very large lounge with plenty of seating, but it will always be busy.

First Impressions

AA hasn’t done anything much to this lounge since it was rebranded a few weeks ago, so it’s a great lounge – I used to love spending time in this lounge.

It’s got floor to ceiling windows with great views of the apron.

The Bar

There are a number of areas offering self-service drinks in the left-hand side of the Greenwich Lounge. These offer a good selection of beers, wines and spirits.

In the right-hand side of the Greenwich Lounge there’s a full bar.

Food and Drink

The buffet was always good in the old Flagship Lounge and the current offering in the Greenwich Lounge is no different. Good quality food can be enjoyed in this lounge.

Other Lounge Facilities

All of the normal facilities are available including good quality restrooms and showers. I have used both in the past and they are a load better than the equivalent BA facilities at Heathrow T5. As you might expect, the newer Chelsea and Soho facilities are tad nicer.

My Summary

Overall, my thoughts on the Greenwich Lounge:

• It’s a great lounge. After all, it’s basically the old AA Flagship Lounge which was always something to look forward to.
• It’s got floor to ceiling windows so it has the aircraft action that I think is always a good thing.
• It’s got good shower and restroom facilities.
• The buffet was always really good and there’s plenty of seats to chill out on.

Bottom line: considering this is for the lowest of the three tiered lounges at JFK T8, this is a great lounge. I’d still be happy visiting.

Related Reviews

You can see the related reviews of JFK T8 lounges below:

• Review of the new JFK T8 BA/AA Lounges
• Review of the new BA/AA Chelsea Lounge at JFK T8
• Review of the BA/AA Soho Lounge at JFK T8.

Follow the whole story here: New York JFK T8 Lounge Reviews in Dec 2022