Even though I was flying in Club Suites (Business Class) on BA, I had access to the Soho Lounge, which is the OneWorld international First Class lounge at JFK. My access came through my OneWorld Emerald status from my BA Gold status match, that I was hoping to extend as a result of booking this trip. The other lounges at Terminal 8 for international flights are the Greenwich Lounge, which I reviewed last year, which is for OneWorld Business Class travelers, and the Chelsea Lounge, which is for BA and AA First Class travelers (and the highest status levels). It’s a bit confusing as the Soho Lounge is considered a First Class lounge as well, but that’s basically just a semantic thing because it includes access for non-BA/AA international First Class passengers (Cathay Pacific maybe?). We can really consider it the One World Emerald Lounge for the purposes of an AA or BA flyer from JFK.

Anyway, I went through Pre-Check at Terminal 8 and walked down toward the lounges. The Greenwich Lounge is on the left and the other two lounges are on the right.

There’s an elevator or stairs up to the shared lobby between the Soho and Chelsea Lounges. I showed my boarding pass which confirmed my BA Gold status and entered the lounge. The Soho Lounge was fairly large and quite busy at that hour (just before 6pm) as there are many international flights headed to Europe between 7pm and midnight. I found a table in the dining area and grabbed pictures of the QR-code food and beverage menu.

Note that you can see my time remaining to takeoff from my Flighty app at the top of my phone screen. Having made to order food is a step up from the Greenwich Lounge. I ordered the burger and fries along with The 25, a special cocktail. It turns out the special cocktail was not available so I switched to an old-fashioned. My food took a while. In the meantime, I checked out the buffet.

I had some soup while I waited for my burger. When it finally arrived, it was delicious.

I tried some desserts from the buffet and ordered another drink.

The nice thing about this lounge is that you have options. If you only have a few minutes, you can grab some food from the buffet and a drink from the staffed bar. If you have time, you can sit and order freshly made food. It’s probably easier to grab soft drinks yourself than through the wait staff.

Another nice thing about this lounge, is that unlike the Chelsea Lounge, it has windows with views of the gates and taxiways. The lounge got a bit less crowded as my stay went on. The staff in the lounge were super friendly and helpful and the quality of the food and drinks was elevated compared to the Greenwich Lounge. My flight was at 7:45pm so I left the lounge around 7pm and headed to my nearby gate.

Up Next: BA Club Suites JFK-LHR Review

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