JetBlue’s anti-Delta lounge: ‘The best JetBlue we can be’
Of the many changes underway at JetBlue Airways, one has grabbed the public’s attention more than others: The airline is launching its first-ever premium lounges. The first lounge is scheduled to open by the end of the year in JetBlue’s home at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Terminal 5 near gates …
Of the many changes underway at JetBlue Airways, one has grabbed the public’s attention more than others: The airline is launching its first-ever premium lounges.
The first lounge is scheduled to open by the end of the year in JetBlue’s home at New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Terminal 5 near gates 24 and 25 — which includes space previously used by the Airspace Lounge that closed in 2018. The second lounge will debut at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) in 2026.
Despite the excitement, the carrier is mum on details of the new spaces, but it did reveal one tidbit: The lounges will not be anything like Delta Air Lines’ Delta Sky Club or the carrier’s posh new Delta One lounge in Terminal 4 at JFK.
“We’re not going to be successful by imitating Delta,” JetBlue president Marty St. George said on the sidelines of an event Thursday unveiling a $100 million refresh to Terminal 5. “We just need to be the best JetBlue we can be.”
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That, in itself, is saying something. Delta is the de facto premium airline in the U.S., and many competitors, notably United Airlines, actively seek to emulate the Atlanta-based carrier’s success.
Even JetBlue, in its turn toward a more premium offering, is copying aspects of Delta’s success at the top of the market. There’s the new domestic first-class product in the works and the new credit card deal that aims to close some of the gap to Delta in monetizing loyalty.
Still, when it comes to lounges, St. George is clear: “We don’t want to do anything Delta does.”
If you ask him anything else about the coming lounges, though, he remains quiet.
‘Time for change’ in Terminal 5
Terminal 5 at JFK was the height of traveler convenience when it opened nearly two decades ago.
Its large security checkpoint was designed specifically for post-9/11 security requirements. The 22 concessions paid homage to New York, and some were even outposts of popular local joints. In a technology-forward move, travelers could even order food and have it delivered to their gate. The future had arrived.
Compared to most other terminals at JFK at the time — not to mention those at LaGuardia Airport (LGA) — the shiny new facility reinforced JetBlue’s image as the young, hip, customer-friendly airline in the New York area.
Fast forward to today and JetBlue (as well as the market as a whole) is very different. The airline celebrated its quarter centenary last month, and it ranks as the seventh largest U.S. carrier by seats, according to schedule data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. It is no longer a hip, young airline, and it faces many of the same challenges as other larger legacy carriers, from high costs to more agile, younger competitors.
At the same time, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has spearheaded a major glam-up of New York’s airports over the past 20 years. LaGuardia’s terminals B and C are entirely new. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) has a new Terminal A. JFK is getting two new international terminals on top of the expansion and updates to Terminal 4 that occurred over the past decade.
Terminal 5, once the epitome of the modern terminal, is — while not necessarily dated — showing its age compared to its contemporaries. Hence the concession-focused refresh unveiled Thursday to much fanfare next to gates 14 and 15.
“It’s a 15-year-old building and, frankly, you look at other buildings in the Port Authority ecosystem and it’s time for change,” St. George said.
By the end of 2026, Terminal 5 will add around 40 new concessionaires, including outposts of Eataly and Shake Shack. The central atrium — or “grandstand” area, as St. George described it — will gain a new New York-inspired parklet.
The new concessions are for Gen Z
St. George is clear: The existing concessions in Terminal 5 are not the problem. He likes them even if some (such as the lone outposts of Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks) tend to be overcrowded during the morning when JetBlue has a large number of departures.
The food and beverage additions are really about meeting the traveler of tomorrow, he explained.
“We do customer research and, one thing we hear from customers — especially from Gen Z customers — is a lack of change is actually a bad thing,” St. George said. “Even if [the concessions are] in the greatest condition in the world, if it’s something you see for 10 years, it’s like ‘OK, what’s next.’”
“I think the world has changed a little bit. People my age might not feel the same way but the future of JetBlue’s customer base really appreciates that,” he continued.
Sabine Trenk — CEO of Fraport USA, which operates Terminal 5 for JetBlue and the Port Authority — said local concessions are “really well received” by travelers. That translates to high satisfaction scores and, importantly for Fraport and the airport, higher revenue and sales figures.
“We look for these little sparkles we can put in that create that excitement, that uniqueness,” she said.
Other local names coming to Terminal 5 include Birch Coffee, The Halal Guys, Jacob’s Pickles and Leon’s Bagels.
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Food and beverage space in Terminal 5 will double
When Terminal 5 opened in 2008, it had 22 food and beverage concessions, JetBlue’s release at the time stated.
The latest update is adding more than 40 on top of what’s already there (some of those original 22 have closed or changed hands). Even the often overcrowded Dunkin and Starbucks outposts are getting expansions.
The numbers are impressive, especially considering that the work does not involve any major expansion of Terminal 5. The 53,000 square feet of commercial space in the building today will, by the end of next year, grow to 100,000 square feet, Trenk said.
What is St. George excited for? Jacob’s Pickles.
Improvements on a budget
“We’re not going to make a $2 billion investment like airlines that have high fares do,” St. George said. “We’re still fundamentally a low-fare airline — we always want to be a low-fare airline — we’re not changing the footprint of the entire building drastically but we are using the space much, much better and with a better customer experience.”
JetBlue and its partners, Fraport and the Port Authority, are investing around $100 million in the updates to Terminal 5. That compares to the billions of dollars spent on the new terminals at LaGuardia and Newark. The new terminals 1 and 6 at JFK are expected to cost more than $19 billion.
St. George emphasized that Terminal 5 is — and will remain — an “economically efficient building” for JetBlue.
That’s why, aside from the concessions, the other additions to Terminal 5 are mostly cosmetic. Renderings show the new parklet with trees and greenery in planters dotted with blue lamposts similar to ones seen around New York City. It looks pleasant but is hardly a dramatic addition like the green wall at Singapore Changi Airport (SIN).
The plans also call for the addition of some 30 new pieces of art from local artists.
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