3 big lounge updates for Newark airport, including plans for an all-new Air France lounge

Waiting for your flight in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) isn't exactly too inspiring.

The terminal's low ceilings and crowded gate areas aren't necessarily the most welcoming, and the concession options aren't all that much better than what'll likely be served on board, especially if you're seated in business class.

While a long-term replacement for Terminal B is in the works, the good news is that there's an exciting short-term fix for travelers: the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the airport, plans to award three new leases for lounge updates.

Here's the latest.

Air France plans new Newark lounge

Perhaps the most exciting news is that Air France, one of the newest airlines to serve Newark, wants to open its own lounge at the airport.

The Paris-based carrier submitted a proposal (PDF) for a seven-year lease of a 6,129-square-foot lounge in Newark's Terminal B. If approved at the upcoming Port Authority board meeting on Thursday, the lease would go into effect around Jan. 1, 2025. (The Port Authority board has recommended that the executive director move forward with this proposal.)

While details are scant, Air France will pay rent equal to approximately $13.4 million during the initial term of the lease. It will also invest at least $3 million to refurbish the lounge space.

There's no telling where exactly the Air France lounge would be located, and the carrier declined to comment on its pending lease proposal.

That said, Air France just readded flights to Newark in December 2022 after pulling out of the market in 2012.

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Since the airline is looking to invest so much money into a permanent lounge space, the newly resumed route from Newark to Paris seems to be doing well enough to support such a long-term investment.

British Airways plans overhauled Newark lounge

In addition to the new Air France lounge, British Airways is planning to invest at least $8.5 million to "fully rehabilitate and refurbish the lounge space" that it uses at Newark's Terminal B.

The airline's existing lounge at Newark is just about average. It features sweeping apron views from floor-to-ceiling windows, as well as a variety of seating areas, but it could definitely use some more modern touches.

The Port Authority didn't share any more details about the proposed upgrades, but it did say that the carrier would receive another seven-year lease valued at around $13.2 million if approved by the agency's executive director.

La Compagnie keeps its Newark lounge

Finally, La Compagnie, the all-business-class, leisure-focused French carrier, currently operates a lounge at Newark dubbed Lounge&Co.

This outpost occupies the space that previously held the airport's Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse, which mysteriously closed in mid-2023 without notice. The space lay vacant for some time before it emerged as a La Compagnie lounge earlier this year.

The carrier didn't put much work into the lounge — it still maintains much of the decor from the Virgin Atlantic days — but it does plan to renew its lease for the space.

The nearly 5,000-square-foot lounge will cost La Compagnie nearly $8 million in rent for the next seven years. In addition to the lease payments, the airline would need to also invest at least $1.9 million "to refurbish the lounge," the Port Authority says in its board agenda.

We'll be following along closely because these improvements to the passenger experience at Newark's most dreaded terminal can't come soon enough.

Of course, all these lounge upgrades come as the airport also expects to debut a new American Express Centurion Lounge at some point in 2026.

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