British Airways to Reveal JFK T7 Upgrades Wednesday

Crain's New York Business:

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British Airways targets jet set with JFK upgrades

New upscale amenities to be introduced by British Airways at JFK Terminal 7 include posh stores and a Todd English bistro. Premium lounges coming in 2009.
May 20. 2008 2:43PMBy: Hilary Potkewitz

British Airways plans to unveil an upscale shopping mall and high-profile restaurant in Terminal 7 at John F. Kennedy International Airport Wednesday. It is also expected to announce a new multimillion renovation and construction project at the terminal, which will add amenities for its premium-class passengers.

The airline spent $30 million on the retail complex, which occupies nearly 10,000 square feet within the terminal. The designer shops include a Ferragamo store, an Hermés location and a Cartier shop, as well as Bonfire, a chic outpost of top restaurateur Todd English’s Boston restaurant.

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In addition to the retail complex, British Airways is expected to announce a multi-million dollar, 18-month construction project at Terminal 7, targeting premium passengers, a nod to the airline’s new cabin-class dubbed Premium Economy, which is a tier above coach class.

The 22,500-square-foot project will include a swooping, 100-foot glass and steel canopy, and a 3,000-square-foot addition to the terminal. It will include two new lounges and a café check-in area. [Full Article]

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Maybe the guys at T4 should do the same, its pretty small for an international terminal

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Originally Posted by Informant

Maybe the guys at T4 should do the same, its pretty small for an international terminal

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T4 is actually huge compared to T7 and the choices of shopping and food in T4 blow away the current offerings at T7, I'm sure others on here will agree. The last time I flew out of T7 I was hungry and all I remember was a McDonalds. However the time before that my wife and I where flying BA and where invited to the BA Terrace Lounge, and where we enjoyed a full buffet dinner and champagne prior to boarding, now that was sweet !

Cheers

LGA777

In my opinion both Terminal 1 and Terminal 4 are better and nicer terminals compared to Terminal 7. Terminal 4 takes the prize for the best with the plentiful amount of amenities, even if they are before entering security.

Terminal 7 is extremely crowded and rather small compared to the two other international terminals. I've only flown out of Terminal 7 once and that was on Iberia two summers ago. My flight left at a peak time in the evening hour along with British Airways flights, a delayed Cathay Pacific flight, Icelandair, Qantas, US Airways, and United flights and it was a complete zoo in a very small area.

Now I'm not saying Terminal 7 is the worst at JFK, it is nice besides the space issue but it does also lack many amenities.

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Originally Posted by Iberia A340-600

Now I'm not saying Terminal 7 is the worst at JFK...

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I'd say it is! :)

Delta's T2/3 is a close second. T1 is the only one I haven't used,

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Originally Posted by GothamSpotter

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Originally Posted by Iberia A340-600

Now I'm not saying Terminal 7 is the worst at JFK...

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I'd say it is! :)

Delta's T2/3 is a close second. T1 is the only one I haven't used,

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I agree. It's cramped, the food options are poor and there are too many flights out of there. Also I've experienced some of the longest wait times for luggage following US Airways flights from Phoenix and Charlotte at off-peak hours (midnight and noon, respectively)...

I agree with Gotham in that T2/T3 are a VERY close second. I'd put T6 after that, followed by T8 (due to distance between gates and arrivals areas and the wait for the alleyway to clear, T1, then T4...

That sounds nice; too bad visitors to T7 without boarding passes are denied entry into the building. I have been turned-away several times and the same at T3(Delta). Why they refuse admittance to customers who are willing to undergo security searches seems silly since the merchants inside are losing business.

I wonder if BA learned anything from their recent mess at LHR...

Probably not. It sounds like they're installing a new baggage system at T7, probably something similar to the one at T5.

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Originally Posted by Speedbird1

That sounds nice; too bad visitors to T7 without boarding passes are denied entry into the building. I have been turned-away several times and the same at T3(Delta). Why they refuse admittance to customers who are willing to undergo security searches seems silly since the merchants inside are losing business.

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That's entirely not true....T7 DOES not deny entry to nonpassengers. I've flown out of T7 plenty of times and have been meet by my driver inside the terminal. I've also walked in on my own to have tickets reissued. When was the last time you were there?

As for T7 being worse then T2/T3....that's totally off. T2 and T3 are rat traps. T6 gets the nod for the worst however. Then T2 and T3 and then I'd say its a big gap between them and T7. T8 IMO is the best at JFK simply for having a wide range of shops and places to eat beyond security. Once you go through security at T4 its a ghost town.