Air France Lounge

I don't know what else one can expect from an airport lounge at JFK except for something  disgustingly decadent beyond the realm of the airport lounge.

There are two levels of spacious clean, comfortable seating with dining areas offering free beverages, snacks and sandwiches (which are wayyy better than any sandwich you are going to waste 10 dollars at the gate). Bathrooms are clean and private and there is a wide assortment of French (a few in English) newspapers and magazines available for the taking.

Lots of outlets and private areas abound for your hermiting needs too.

Be aware though, that while the front desk tries their best to keep you up to date on flight numbers/boarding it should be up to you. Our otherwise impeccable front deskman missed our boarding call and we had to run to the other end of the terminal to make it when we realized that the time was nigh.

If you paid for a premium ticket, definitely take advantage of the lounge.

Screaming children. Fighting adults. Loud illegible public address announcements. These are a few of my pet peeves about airport waiting areas. Enter the Air France Lounge, the antidote to all that is irritating, agitating and mass market about air travel.

As you leave behind the hoi polloi and pass through the doorway to the Lounge, the senses have time to recover: harsh airport lighting is replaced by a dimmer easier on the eyes tone, the collective cries of children and obnoxious adults are muted and a reflective internal monologue may proceed. Bathrooms that smell of either too much cleaning supplies (or too little), that feature the unending coming and going of footsteps, the pushing and prodding of loosely secured stalls as you huddle in the corner to do your business, feeling fearful and ashamed is a thing of the past: real private stalls, wood paneling, serenity.

This is Paradise and the admission fee is a business class ticket (or above) or membership (and enough points) in flyer loyalty programs.

In the Lounge people are trusted to exercise restraint and dignity by not gorging themselves on free and unfettered access to tasty treats. Plastic boxes and utensils aren't found here as you are assumed to be an adult who can handle ceramic. I enjoyed every bite of the roast beef sandwich and why, what's this, a friendly staff member has stopped by to remove my refuse for me.

Comfortable chairs, a TV, magazines and open bottles of alcohol. This is how I imagine air travel was in the 1950's, a luxury experience of comfort and pampering. I wouldn't have been surprised if somehow the anti-smoking noose was lifted and the Lounge allowed for smoking. (It doesn't)

As I exited the Lounge and returned to the harsh industrial lighting of reality, I did have one complaint: the lounge staff failed to announce that my flight was boarding!

We came to the airport 3 hours before our flight to fully experience the air france lounge at JFK

The staff are very friendly and there is a good selection of wines, finger foods, cereal and fruit. Lots of seating upstairs and downstairs. The decor is a little bit outdated but it was cozy enough.

There were also a lot of magazines and newspapers available. But at that time everyone was busy watching the summer olympics on TV.

I wish they would renovate this, because compared to the london heathrow lounge, this is a B+ if anything.