One of things that made flying to/from New York on JetBlue so nice was if you had an American Express Platinum card, you had access to an airport lounge regardless of whether you flew out of JFK, LaGuardia or Newark airport. If you had a Priority Pass card from any of the different sources available to get a membership, you could also use a lounge at Newark airport.
Due to a series of unfortunate events, you no longer have easy access to a lounge from JetBlue gates at any of the New York Airports.
Here’s a breakdown of what happened:
LaGuardia Airport
JetBlue flyers from LaGuardia who have an AMEX Platinum card are able to use the Centurion Lounge in Terminal B. That was great until December 2017 when JetBlue moved from Terminal B to Terminal A as part of a major reshuffling of airlines at LaGuardia.
The move to Terminal A, otherwise known as the Marine Air Terminal, was seen as a big win for JetBlue, as the road traffic to that terminal is better than to the other terminals, making it a more favorable place for New Yorkers to depart from. JetBlue, now the terminal’s sole resident, has completed a full remodel of the area and it does look great.
However, the move means that JetBlue flyers no longer have easy access to the Centurion Lounge. It’s still is possible to get there, but involves taking the On Airport Bus and since JetBlue doesn’t have many flights with long connections from LaGuardia, I doubt that would be worth the time.
JFK Airport
JetBlue flies out of JFK’s Terminal 5 building. The whole design of the terminal matches JetBlue’s design aesthetic. Hip, cool and well, blue.
AMEX Platinum cardholders could use the Airspace Lounge up until it abruptly closed in August 2018. Since then, the best JFK passengers could do was to go to the T5 rooftop terrace but that’s not a lounge and not much use in the winter.
Newark Airport
That left Newark Airport as the last New York airport offering easy lounge access to JetBlue passengers, as they were able to access the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge with a Priority Pass membership.
True, the lounge was average at best and only allowed Priority Pass members to be there for limited hours (if at all), but it was a place to sit that was quieter than the gate area if you needed to get some work done.
That was, until March 2019, when Air Canada removed the lounge from the Priority Pass network. There are other Priority Pass lounges in Newark Airport, but they’re both in Terminal B, which means you’d have to change terminals by using the AirTrain. Once again, I doubt that it’s worth your time.
Final Thoughts
No mincing words. It stinks that there were lounges at three New York airports for JetBlue flyers and now there are none. It’s possible to get to a lounge at these airports but besides the Centurion Lounge at LGA, the other ones aren’t worth the effort going between terminals.
Not even the new Centurion Lounge going into JFK Terminal 4 will be able help JetBlue flyers out, but they might have a place to stay before a flight once the TWA hotel opens just outside Terminal 5, later this year.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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