At first glance, the BA114 from New York’s JFK airport bound for Heathrow on Wednesday, 30 November was just like any other. But the 9.45pm flight was making history in a small way. It was the last-ever British Airways plane to take off from Terminal 7, after being home to the airline for 52 years. BA flew its first Boeing 747 into JFK, back when the airline was called BOAC, and it’s the terminal that Concorde used. But from Thursday, 1 December, all operations moved next door to Terminal 8.
If that doesn’t sound quite newsworthy, here’s why it is. First of all, if you’ve ever changed planes in JFK, getting off British Airways metal and boarding a plane flown by BA’s partner American Airlines, you’ll know that you had to change terminals – American is housed in Terminal 8. Changing planes is stressful enough, but adding a ride on the Skytrain between terminals does not make things easier.
Now, both airlines are in Terminal 8, making for smoother, quicker, less stressful transfers.
This is also the first time BA and American have built shared lounges, and they’re quite something, a sizeable part of the £326m ($400m) that was spent on the new Terminal 8 facilities. The terminal move also means that the luxury lounge loved by the most premium travellers, the Concorde Room, closed as the last flight departed. Some of the staff literally had tears in their eyes as they said goodbye to passengers. There’s now only one Concorde Room, at Terminal 5 in Heathrow, so where are First Class passengers to loll around in luxury now? Think of it not so much as losing a Concorde Room but gaining a Chelsea lounge (about which more later).
It’s the first time BA and American have built shared lounges
(David Phelan)
First, there are the all-new check-in facilities at Terminal 8, with premium check-in placed behind a slatted wall, dividers placed just far enough apart for economy customers to see what they’re missing.
These include lines of desks, all co-branded with understated, monochrome logos for the two airlines. Flying First Class? Then take the anonymous translucent doors to the right (trust me, you’ll be escorted here). As they slide apart, you’ll see what looks like a hotel lobby with nine desks. There’s not a conveyor belt in sight, but when you check in your Goyard, staff will take it away through one of two…
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