We left the Hyatt Centric around 8am, jammed into a Mercedes S-Class (booked using a Blacklane credit from Citi Strata Elite) with our nine bags (five suitcases, three backpacks and a tote bag). The ride to the airport was quick on a Saturday morning and we were at the JAL First Class check in counter by 8:30.
We were headed to JFK. My wife was flying First Class and I was flying in Business Class with our daughter. The First Class ticket was booked with 135k and the Business Class tickets were booked with 89k Cathay Pacific Asia Miles transferred from Amex and Capital One. Since I booked these flights, JAL became a direct transfer partner with Bilt, Capital One and now Citi as well so it’s likely you’ll find a better deal and more availability booking directly with JAL Miles.
As my wife could bring one guest to the JAL First Class Lounge, I headed there with her and our daughter went to the Business Lounge. I had meant to review that lounge too, but my wife got stuck on a work call and we left the lounge a bit later than planned.
The JAL First Class Lounge is very large and has several different areas. There’s the main lounge, a sushi restaurant and the Salon, which is basically a fancy bar. We found a spot in the main lounge and I checked out what was on offer. There’s a QR Code menu and a buffet. The QR code menu has a daily sushi selection, curry and a few other options. Drinks are self-service, but you can also order them from servers that are walking around.
I ordered the sushi and later tried the Japanese curry along with a steamed pork bun.
I checked out the sushi restaurant and while it looked nice, I was disappointed to learn that the sushi available is the same as in the main part of the lounge.
The Salon was interesting, but also empty at 9am. There’s some interesting memorabilia in there.
Beyond that, there’s standard restrooms and showers in the lounge and no spa facilities. There are some nice views of the apron from the lounge.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed with this lounge. Nothing really stood out. It was nice and quiet and the food I had was good, but wasn’t nearly as good as the Middle Eastern airlines or even the Delta One Lounges at JFK and LAX.
We met up with our daughter outside the Business Lounge, which she said was fine and had decent food. She stopped to buy a limited edition pilot Pokemon at the vending machine near our gate.
Now it was time to check out JAL A350-1000 Business Class and see how it compared to First Class.
Up Next: Japan Airlines A350-1000 Business Class HND-JFK Review
If you have questions about this post, let me know in the comments or send me an email at emptynestermiles@gmail.com. If you are thinking about opening a new credit card, please contact me via email and I will be happy to recommend the best new card for your situation. I also recommend using CardPointers to track your credit card spending discount offers.
