Building an airport while maintaining the old one is a tricky proposition. With the first of two new concourses at LaGuardia Airport’s (LGA) Terminal B now open, existing facilities will soon be demolished as new spaces are built. This means there will be a lounge shuffle in the coming days, months, and years. Here’s what we know now.
The Current Lounges At LGA Terminal B
There are currently four lounges at Terminal B:
- The American Express Centurion lounge is located pre-security on the third floor between concourses B and C.
- The United Club is also located pre-security near concourse C.
- American Airline’s Admirals Club is located past security in Concourse D between gates 1 and 2.
- Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Lounge is located past security in between Concourse C and the new gates 40-59.
Of these four lounges, the Centurion Lounge provides a decent space to spend some time before or after a flight. The other three mostly consist(ed) of drab, dated interiors and sad towers of snack mix.
The Future of Lounges At LGA Terminal B
There will be two B concourses in addition to the main headhouse terminal that will hold the arrivals and departures hall and a commercial hub of restaurants and retail.
First, Air Canada’s new Maple Leaf Lounge is scheduled to open Tuesday, December 4th in the newly launched east concourse. I took a peek at inside Saturday while construction workers were completing finishing touches.
Set to open on December 4th.
Putting the final touches on the new Maple Leaf lounge.
It will be a bright, airy space with views of the concourse below, albeit no direct planespotting views. The space looks like a vast improvement to the old Maple Leaf Lounge. Unfortunately, a LGA Terminal B official confirmed that the new Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge will not accept Priority Pass. That means in the near future, there will still be no Priority Pass accessible lounge at LGA.
A new United Club is scheduled to open in late 2019 in the new eastern concourse of Terminal B, directly across from the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge. This will coincide with the commencement of United operating flights out of this concourse once the current Concourse A is demolished to make room for aircraft.
A new American Admirals Club will open in the west concourse in late 2020, once that concourse is open to the public.
The terminal is also “reviewing other potential lounge partnerships” which I assume to mean negotiations with American Express’s Centurion Lounge. There is a strong rumor that AMEX will relocate their lounge to the headhouse arrivals and departures hall. This makes a lot of sense, as the lounge could be easily accessed by passengers that are departing or arriving from either concourse, east and west. We don’t know whether any other lounge additions are in the works, but it seems there would be space for at least one additional tenant in the Terminal B west concourse. A Priority Pass lounge would make a lot of sense.
Want Access To These Lounges?
American Express’s Centurion lounges are well-appointed spaces with full buffets, an extensive bar, and at some airports (DFW and MIA), complimentary spa and shower facilities. The Platinum Card from American Express grants unlimited entry, and there’s a 100,000 Membership Rewards points offer after spending $6,000 within the first three months of card opening. You can also see if you’ve been targeted for a special 150,000 or 125,000 Membership Rewards offer via the CardMatch tool. The tool presents custom sign-up offers and there’s no hard credit pull.
AMEX’s swanky Centurion Lounges
The Citi / AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard gets you access to the entire American Admirals Club network. There’s a $450 annual fee but the Admirals Club membership costs at least $475 to begin with, so if you are looking to get an airline club membership, you must as well grab this card instead. The biggest perk is that authorized users on the card (up to 10) also get Admirals Club access.
The Upshot
We’re still at least a couple of years away from the completion of Terminal B (and Delta’s portion of the airport), but things are already looking a lot better, including the imminent opening of Air Canada’s lounge. All facilities, including lounges, will get a massive upgrade once the new LaGuardia Airport is fully completed. Lounge or not, I’m just thankful for a new airport terminal.
What new lounge are you most looking forward to?
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2 comments
As a * Gold, I can access the Air Canada lounge while flying United, no?
Yes, as a non-United * Gold, you should have access!