TRIP REPORT INDEX
SUMMARY
The Aer Lingus Lounge at New York City's JFK Airport has everything you might want except good food. That last part was disappointing because they advertise the option to “dine before you fly” and “Eat your fill before you fly, and then all you have to do is to sleep the night away in your comfy bed.” I was looking forward to doing exactly that before boarding because the flight to Dublin is only 5.5 hours and I needed to drive on the wrong side of the road in the morning.
Unfortunately, the food in the lounge was a big miss. Luckily, on the plane they offered an “express option” where they serve one dish that is prepared and served faster than the other options so you can get to sleep faster.
All other aspects of the lounge were very good – it was clean, plenty of space, drinks, newspapers, and working wifi. I loved the cool hanging bulbs!
THE FOOD
This is what I saw when I wanted to get some dinner. Yukon Potato Wedges (the empty dish), green beans, vegetable frittata, and braised (aka dried out) pork loin. Not very appetizing.
This pork loin was either overcooked, sitting out for hours, or both.
I asked if there were any more potato wedges and about 10-15 minutes later, they brought out a fresh batch. Then I figured out why they the dish was empty — it was the only reasonable option. Not much of a dinner… guess I'll be having dinner on the plane instead of sleeping more.
There was also a soup (Pasta Fagioli) as well as cookies and chips.
I grabbed a couple chocolate chip cookies for the flight – pretty good! Tasted fresh baked – not from package!
They did offer a white table clothing dining area so you can ‘feel' like you're at a restaurant.
THE VIEW
A nice view from the dining area:
DRINKS
A small but sufficient selection of beers (Guinness required of course!), sodas, and…
Jameson Irish Whiskey, Bailey's Irish Cream, plus a few non-irish liquors, and some cheap wines.
BATHROOM
The bathrooms were SPOTLESS clean! These were more like a nice hotel's bathroom that'll make you forget you are at an airport.
I thought I might see some Irish Spring soap, but instead they had Voya soap, an expensive Irish Organic soap. 13 Eur for a bar of soap!
THE SHOWER
The showers were locked but available without a wait. Again- spotlessly clean! They clearly don't get used much!
The Aer Lingus lounge is certainly a good place to grab a snack and catch up on emails but I wouldn't recommend anyone plan their dinner here. Been here? What did you think?
My Cameras: These photos were taken using my Canon S110 Digital Camera (which has been replaced by the S120) as well as my larger Nikon D50. I love the S110 – it’s tiny, fits in my pocket, and takes amazing pictures/videos.
I agree the food there sucks
What a miserable experience. Made reservations the day before so I could catch some sleep and be comfortable duuring a ten hour layover. Was told it opened at 9:00. Hung around till 9:00 and airport staff told me opened at 11:00. Hung around till 11:00. Went up the elevator to be told by a really rude young women that they were not open till 12:45. I surrender and hope I can get a refund. The Dublin lounge is everything you could want, almost. jFK….not so much
Hard to get a straight answer sometimes! I understand the hours of the NYC lounge are closely aligned with their flights, so it would open maybe 2 hours before the first flight. I wouldn’t want to spend a 10 hour layover there…for that I would wish to be in the Turkish Air lounge.
Small and basic as ✈️ Lounges go these days , expected much more as opened to much fanfare
Spent a 5 hour Layover in here after arriving from Dublin! While it is basic in its amenities and food, it was an oasis of calm from the bustle of the Terminal.
I managed to put my time in snacking on sandwiches and drinking some excellent Californian craft beer, which was an unexpected treat