Delta’s well-worn B31 Sky Club in New York JFK’s Terminal 4 is packed in the evening and a bit beyond its prime, but it does the job and offers a respectable spread of food and drinks for Delta and SkyTeam passengers.
Delta Sky Club New York B31 Review (JFK – Terminal 4)
I’d use the term venerable to describe this lounge, but I think that is giving it too much credit. While the A8 lounge is beautiful, this lounge is not…but it’s functional and still a better alternative than the crowded concourse below.
Hours + Access + Location
The lounge is located in JFK Terminal 4, near gate B31. It is open daily from 4:30 am to 11:00 pm and tends to get very busy because it is around Delta’s international widebody departure gates. There are belted ropes and stanchions outside the lounge entrance that were thankfully empty during my visit but suggest periods of long lines just to get in the lounge during peak periods.
Access rules…are not faint-hearted. Those with access include:
- Delta Sky Club members (along with same-day boarding pass for Delta or a partner)
- Lifetime members can access the club regardless of the airline they are traveling on
- Two guests or immediate family (including all children under age 21) are permitted for “executive” members while “individual” members must pay $50 for guests (max two).
- Delta One or SkyTeam premium cabin passengers
- Access only when traveling on a branded “Delta One’ (versus first class) domestically
- Access when connecting to/from a same-day international Delta One flight
- No guests permitted
- SkyTeam Elite Plus members traveling on an international ticket in any cabin of service
- Includes Canada, Mexico
- Excludes Caribbean, Guam, Palau, Saipan
- One guest permitted
- There is an exception for SkyTeam Elite Plus passengers via SkyMiles (no access if traveling in economy class)
- Select credit card holders
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve from American Express
- no access on basic economy fares
- limited to 15 visits per year unless $75,000 annual spending on card
- guests are $50 each
- American Express Platinum / Centurion
- no access for Platinum business cards
- limited to 10 visits per year unless $75,000 annual spending on card
- no access on basic economy fares
- Delta SkyMiles Diners Club card
- Three visits per year (guests are included in this count)
- no access on basic economy fares
- two guests permitted
- Delta SkyMiles TRUST CLUB Platinum/Gold Visa card
- Six visits per year (guests are included in this count) for Platinum, three visits for Gold card
- no access on basic economy fares
- two guests permitted
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve from American Express
- WestJet Business Class passengers
- No guests permitted
- WestJet Rewards Gold and Platinum members
- Access only when traveling on a transborder flight
- One guest permitted
From the ground level, proceed up the escalator to the formal lounge entrance where your credentials will be scanned.
Seating
Picture the lounge as a square with an inner square cut out (the escalators) so you essentially have four rectangular sections. There are plenty of seats and there was no problem finding a seat during my visit, though most sections were pleasantly filled (and this was a late afternoon on a Saturday).
My son Augustine and I did very much appreciate the aircraft views from the lounge windows:
Food + Drink
The lounge offered a respectable spread of food (same as in the A8 Sky Club) including:
- braised beef with root vegetables
- lentils + butternut squash stew
- creamy garlic mashed potatoes
- cauliflower and tomatoes
- soup (red lentil, chicken noodle)
- charcuterie board
- salads (kale, beet, green, orzo)
- sandwiches (turkey, cheese)
- hummus with sliced vegetables
- whole fruit (bananas and apples)
- sweets (fudge bars, pumpkin cheesecake, lemon bars)
There was also a Nathan’s Hot Dog stand…
The food is in the central part of the lounge and served cafeteria style with seating around it.
There is also a bar in the same area, with a wide selection of complimentary alcoholic beverages and then many additional “premium” drinks for purchase.
Other beverage selections included lemonade, ice tea, infused water, Coca-Cola soft drinks, coffee, and tea.
Guests entering the lounge were also offered a glass of Champagne (Veuve Du Vernay).
Restrooms + Showers
Restrooms and showers were available. To reserve a shower, you could use a touchscreen kiosk. These restrooms were so crowded I have no pictures.
CONCLUSION
While by no means a bad lounge, I was underwhelmed by this lounge at one of Delta’s busiest hubs. That said, it does cover the basics: wi-fi, plugs, food, drinks, restrooms, and showers. By all means, take advantage of this lounge, but “premium” may be going a bit far.
1) This lounge is much better when the open air SkyDeck is available – critically, the SkyDeck is truly open air rather than the more enclosed decks Delta is building recently (like in the A JFK club)
2) When flying out of the B gates, what I usually do is stop by the Amex Centurion Lounge first. It’s not perfect, but is still probably a “nicer” lounge than the B SkyClub, and the food has been better in recent months. Combined with all free drinks, and I would spend more time there. Then I may g to the B SkyClub and sit at the bar for a drink with the laptop
3) All that said, I have enjoyed the champagne and a Nathan’s hot dog at the B SkyClub, it is a comfy spot for me
It’s a long ass stroll if both of your flights are in the middle of B concourse. Allocate time appropriately.
The upside is that while SC B, Centurion and Sapphire lounges have long lines at peak times, this one stayed relatively uncrowded.