I had a pretty cool opportunity this week to take pictures of American Airlines new Flagship Lounge at JFK as a member of the media (meaning I could set up my tripod and bring out the heavy duty lenses). I also got to sample the new Flagship First Dining service, which was absolutely wonderful.
If you want to see the full stories click below:
Anyway, I thought I’d share my five favorite pictures from the entire day, as I figure it might be easier to tell the story with five pictures than with 71 🙂
1. Champagne and Wine Bar
I love the self-serve champagne and wine bar for a couple of reasons: 1) it hearkens me back to The Wing at HKG (and who doesn’t love a good old fashioned hearkening) and 2) it’s decorated beautifully with the orb-shaped decorations above.
Walkway
I like this shot because I got to use my tilt shift lens to shift and make a perfect perspective. It shows the size and scale of the new lounge, although initial reports indicate some overcrowding during busy times.
Pisco Sour
I was pleasantly surprised to see a Pisco Sour on the menu as one of the featured cocktails in the Flagship First Dining area! This is one of my favorite drinks in the world. It’s native to either Peru or Chile (depending on whose origin story you believe, I advise believing it’s Chilean when in Chile and Peruvian when in Peru, when in Rome and all that) and is a combination of egg whites, pisco, simple syrup, and a touch of bitters on top.
Make-Your-Own Bloody Mary/Old Manhattan Bar
I love this idea in the Flagship Lounge. People will tend to congregate around the buffet area (where there is a wide variety of alcohol) but this area is on the other side of the lounge, which should help crowd flow. People love getting to act like mixologists and coming back to their table with a fancy bloody mary, so I think it’s cool that American took AAdvantage (haha) of that in their new lounge.
The Flagship Burger
This is simply one of the best burgers I’ve ever tasted. Probably one of the most visually impressive burgers as well. The red-onion and bacon marmalade was a perfect match to the sirloin burger, adding texture and just a bit of saltiness without it being too much. The burger was so good I didn’t even notice I had eaten a tomato (I hate tomatoes with the fiery passion of ten thousand burning suns)!
I hope you enjoyed the pics and my coverage of the new lounge and dining service!
Which picture is your favorite? When will you be trying out the new lounge and dining service for yourself? Tell me in the comments below!
Great photos and great techniques, Andy. Well done. Tough to pick a favorite. I know that some “travel only” people don’t like that you talk photography, but that’s one of the things that separates you from the crowd and why I enjoy the blog so much. Love your gear talk and hope it would not be too much to put your camera, lens, mm, ISO, shutter, aperture, info in perhaps a smaller font for each shot, like the photo books do.