How does the only outstation Lufthansa First Class lounge compare to the “real thing” in Frankfurt and Munich? Honestly, it’s not a bad understudy.
New York is such an important market for Lufthansa that it built a special “wining and dining” area for first class passengers and Miles & More HON Circle members in its three-story JFK Lounge.
You can read my full review of the Senator Lounge here, which first class and HON passengers also have access to.
But this lounge within a lounge makes you feel a bit like you are in Frankfurt or Munich. The floor tiles, walls, tables, chairs, and upholstery are all reminiscent of the first class lounges or dedicated first class terminal in Frankfurt.
To access it, head up the “wining and dining” stairs and you’ll see a wooden door at the end of the hallway.
Alternatively, you can take the elevator up to level 4B, which requires an escort with a special key card.
As the sign leading upstairs suggests, the first class area is really about wining and dining. To that end, the lounge features a dining area with several tables, a small buffet and bar, a small sitting area, and a closet.
These are some pre-pandemic shots – nothing has changed.
On the buffet, you’ll find self-service wine, spirits, and soft drinks, as well as some cheese and charcuteries, bread, fruit, pickled vegetables, and chocolate from Neuhaus.
Once again, I like comparing lounges to the way they were before the pandemic and we see not much has changed:
There’s also a small a la carte menu with a respectable range of choices:
This was the pre-pandemic menu, which I slightly preferred:
I wanted to save room for my feast onboard in Lufthansa First Class but decided to give the “prime steak” a try. While it was not the prime part of the steak, it wasn’t bad at all and the broccoli, root vegetables, and mashed potatoes were a fitting accompaniment.
On a previous visit, an associate had watermelon, a sirloin beef steak, and ice cream. He said the beef was disgusting and it was indeed a far cry from the beef tenderloin in the First Class Terminal.
No cell phone usage in the dining room, which everyone seemed to respect.
There’s a small sitting area that also resembles Lufthansa First Class lounges in Frankfurt and Munich plus a closet where you can leave your bags when you check-in.
Before the pandemic (note, the “closet” space once offered newspapers and magazines, but no longer does):
I signed the guest book on the way out…
CONCLUSION
I appreciate Lufthansa’s effort in creating a separate area at JFK for first class and HON passengers. It’s a step above the roped-off area at the Lufthansa Lounge in Washington Dulles. If you want to maximize sleep on your next Lufthansa First Class flight from JFK, consider eating here before.
Have you visited this lounge? What are your thoughts on it?
I was there three weeks ago. The little First Class lounge is still better than all the US airlines business class lounges. I went downstairs to the HON lounge to get brownies and cookies. Look forward to doing it again.
Matthew how would you rate this lounge compared to a United Polaris lounge?
More intimate, but food is not better. On the whole, I like the United experience better (due to the barista-made coffee, I must admit).
Was at Polaris EWR two months ago – both the restaurant food and buffet offer had gone sharply downhill quality-wise. I don’t see it getting better – Kirby at work.
For those of us that can’t see why the beef was ‘disgusting’ could you enlighten us, please?
Matthew,
First off I‘m very much enjoying your blog. But here I believe you’re jumping to a conclusion too quickly / on a too narrow basis of observation.
I had dined there a couple of times over the lasT couple of years (including this week) and I certainly rate them above and beyond a SEN Lounge plus.
Drinks and service are in my humble opinion absolutely up to MUC/FRA/ZRH Standards. And food a la carte (never tried the rib eye though) is in my POV roughly at FRA level (I‘m not a big fan of the buffet) but might fall a tad short of the wonderful ZRH and MUC a la carte options (my subjective view).
It’s certainly good enough for me to keep up with Manhattan to JFK traffic as opposed to the more convenient route to EWR.
Just my two cents…
It’s pretty good for an outstation and it’s miles better than any of the other first class lounges at JFK T1. It can get a little busy but overall it wasn’t too bad each time I visited.
Ah, the epitome of privilege.
Complaining about the “disgusting” steak in a first class lounge…instead being forced to settle for caviar on board.
“I wanted to save room for my feast onboard in Lufthansa First Class but decided to give the “prime steak” a try.”
Lol
Hey, you know me! 😉
So everyone is saying United is launching a codeshare with Emirates?!
Any truth to that? That would be pretty wild.
Meh looks like a priority pass lounge. Amex lounges much more appealing aesthetically for me. Even the American lounges look more modern.
You had me. At Lobster bisque and chicken stroganoff
Nice to know what’s up there beyond the door 😉
Let me guess: No masks at the JFK Lufthansa lounge (good!) but then when you enter the plane then suddenly there is danger and you have to wear a mask?