Why AA Premium Lounges with British Airways at JFK Are American’s Best Lounges in the Portfolio

View from the SoHo Lounge at JFK, one of three partner lounges with American Airlines and British Airways

When we flew to London for Spring Break, we decided to “reposition”, meaning that we booked our roundtrip flights to London from JFK and found alternative options from Nashville to get to New York. 

We did this for Thanksgiving to Italy and have seen significant cost savings as a result.

For this flight to London, since I have American Airlines status, we wanted to make sure that we used One World carriers. JFK offers 10+ flights a day on One World carriers. From American Airlines as well as British Airways.

Twins get some early breakfast before a day flight across the pond to London.

As a result of repositioning to New York, we were able to get round trip flights, direct from JFK for less than $350 a person. We flew British Airways over and American on the way back in coach. JFK offers so many options which is why we have noticed the costs being low. Not to mention Newark being a United hub and also having a number of international carriers flying to it. 

SoHo Lounge at JFK offers plenty of seating and private areas for calls.

Since I am a One World Emerald member through my American Airlines status, this gave us access to lounges to and from London, even when on a coach ticket. Since I also hold the American Airlines Advantage Executive Mastercard with lounge access, this also gave the twins entry (Emerald only gets you into the lounge with one guest). 

On the way over, that meant using the relatively new, American Airlines and British Airways joint premium lounges. There are three lounges to choose from, each dependent on the type of ticket you have or status. 

I was able to gain access to the Soho lounge. There is also the Chelsea (for first class passengers) and Greenwich for those with lesser One World status. Each named for a neighborhood in both New York and London. 

We flew a day time flight over to London on British Airways, leaving around 8am. That meant the Soho lounge was largely empty since most European flights from JFK leave in the evening. There was a hearty breakfast spread, self serve drinks including beer and wine and a great view of the tarmac. 

The twins were able to get some breakfast before heading across the pond and we were able to relax. 

I’ve been back since and accessed the bar and unlike most Admirals Clubs, this lounge offers complementary cocktails and liquor of all types. A nice perk compared to additional costs for those items typically in Admirals Club lounges. 

This lounge feels almost like a European lounge. Given it offers more choices for food, drinks and space. 

In addition to the cost savings of flying out of New York, getting access to this lounge is another reason I look to JFK first when traveling to Europe.