View from the EWR SkyClub

We started our journey to the Emerald Isle fairly early on a Friday morning. We took an Uber to Atlanta airport a little early as my wife was concerned about recent reports of long security lines. As it turned out, our flight was actually leaving from the international terminal for some reason (the plane arrived from Toronto), so we had the driver take us directly there. While we lose the ability to use CLEAR at that terminal, pre-check was open during the time we arrived and there was no wait to get through.

Being at the international terminal (Concourse F) also allowed us to easily access the SkyClub there which is a step up from most of the domestic SkyClubs in the other concourses. When we arrived, it was not too crowded and we were able to find comfortable seats. I’m at the point where I may just purposely depart from the international terminal when I have a morning flight as it never seems to be crowded at that time of day and the traffic approaching the terminal is much lighter than the domestic side.

We enjoyed breakfast at the lounge, including a special offering.

As we had some time to kill, I went out to the SkyDeck for some morning jet-fueled air. It had rained, but the weather was clearing.

We even had time to look over the lunch offerings when they were set out around 11am. We got to our gate about 35 minutes before the scheduled takeoff and they were already boarding all rows. We were in First Class so we did find space for our carry-ons, but it was a close call. I had upgraded us both for about $79 each a few weeks before the trip when I saw that price offered in the Delta app.

Our flight was on a sort-of updated 737-800. These are some of the older planes in Delta’s fleet and many of them still have tiny old screens and the old Gogo Wi-Fi. This one had newer screens and free fast ViaSat Wi-Fi. The seats were still showing their age though.

We had a pre-departure beverage service – never a sure thing on Delta these days. During the flight, we were offered snacks and another beverage. We had some nice views on approach.

As we arrived at Newark Terminal A around 2pm and we weren’t meeting our daughter until 3:30pm at Terminal B, we decided to check out the new SkyClub in this brand new terminal and grab some lunch.

The new club is really nice. It has plenty of locally-themed art, a nice buffet, a staffed bar plus views of the terminal and its large windows beyond. It’s an upper interior location so there aren’t really any apron views, but the space is really nice compared to the old club in the soon to be demolished section of Terminal B where Delta used to reside.

The food offerings were quite good and the club was not very full. I always enjoy the nicer outstation lounges as they are much less busy than places like ATL, LGA, JFK, etc.

After about an hour, it was time to head over to Terminal B to meet our daughter at British Airways check-in. It used to be a simple AirTrain ride between terminals, but in the wisdom that is the Newark airport redesign, they built a brand new terminal that is a long way from the AirTrain. There is a bus for United/Star Alliance flyers, but I wasn’t sure they would accept Delta/British Airways passengers.

Instead, we walked to the parking deck, took a right turn and walked down a long path, both inside and outside, before we got to the P3 stop for the AirTrain. From there, we took the train two stops to Terminal B. Newark’s AirTrain cars are tiny and get very crowded. We found British Airways check-in, all the way in the basement of the terminal, and directed our daughter to meet us there as she had just arrived on the train herself.

Next Up: A Review of the Newark BA Lounge

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