First Look: JetBlue Unveils BlueHouse JFK Lounge

For years, JetBlue Airways flyers have asked the airline for lounges. Starting Dec. 18, 2025, its most loyal customers and premium transatlantic passengers will finally get their wish with a well-designed space with delightful surprises.

The first location of JetBlue’s lounges, called BlueHouse, will be a two-story space in Terminal 5 of New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. Access will be limited to JetBlue’s top-tier Mosaic 4 elites, Mint business class passengers on transatlantic flights and holders of the airline’s most premium credit card.

It’s a part of JetBlue’s push to expand its premium offerings for customers, who are increasingly willing to pay more for better experiences. In 2026, the airline is expected to roll out a domestic first class product and a second lounge in Boston.

Marty St. George, JetBlue’s president, told reporters at a preview event that the airline didn’t want to call the space a lounge and opted for BlueHouse instead.

“It really should be a space that is welcoming, playful, not pretentious, kind of like your house — at least my house is like that,” he said. “That’s where it came from. The concept is for this to be your home away from home in the JetBlue terminal.”

At 9,000 square feet, the lounge makes the most of its footprint, offering guests a variety of seating options, grab-and-go food, two bar areas and a photo booth. I previewed BlueHouse before it opened to the public. Here’s what it’s like inside.

BlueHouse is located in Terminal 5 of JFK Airport, near gates 24 and 25, and will be open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. To get there, passengers should turn left after clearing security and head down a long corridor. The entrance to the lounge is on the left.

The lounge has a capacity of 140 people, and access will be limited to the following passengers:

• Mosaic 4 members: One complimentary guest; additional guests $39 each.

• JetBlue Premier Card holders: One complimentary guest; additional guests $39 each.

• Transatlantic Mint passengers: $39 per guest.

Starting February 2026, BlueHouse will also sell limited-access passes, but only if space permits. Those will be available to the following guests:

Another group eligible to purchase passes: annual BlueHouse members. The airline declined to say more about the membership program but promised additional details in the coming months.

To address overcrowding issues often seen at other lounges, eligible BlueHouse guests can access the lounge for only up to three hours prior to departure, even if they have a long layover.

“If customers have the expectation of the BlueHouse experience, we want to make sure we can deliver it all the time,” St. George said.

As one might expect from a JetBlue lounge called BlueHouse, it’s very blue and feels homey.

When you enter BlueHouse, it feels like stepping into a New York City apartment building, and the Art Deco design throughout the lounge reflects that, with curved arches and concentric circles as common motifs.

The first thing you’ll encounter is a small lobby area, where you can take the elevator with brass finishings or the stairs to the second level.

On your right, you’ll find the “Just Ask” desk with a mailbox behind it — a feature commonly found in New York high rises.

Passengers can request the crewmember at the desk to open one of the mailboxes, which will contain fun JetBlue goodies like playing cards and luggage tags.

If it’s your first time at BlueHouse, though, you’ll probably want to head left through the very blue tunnel that leads to the main lounge space on the first floor.

There’s a ton of seating options in this social hub area, as well as grab-and-go food and snacks. The full-service bar is the highlight of the space, with both alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks and barista-made coffee.

Here, you’ll also find what I think is the most striking feature of the lounge: the painted ceiling of constellations inspired by the iconic one at Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.

Instead of zodiac symbols, you’ll find nods to important JetBlue destinations, from the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles and the Paul Revere statue in Boston to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Puerto Rico’s beloved coqui frog.

By the tunnel entrance, there’s a game room where travelers can play board games or use the giant screen. I could see this becoming a popular space — although it’s fairly small, so people might need to wait around for a seat.

Tucked away in a back corner on the first floor, BlueHouse has a photo booth if you’re looking to pick up another travel memento. You can choose whether you want black-and-white or color photos.

In a few months, JetBlue plans to add a backdrop featuring Airbus A320 jump seats.

Overall, the lounge felt like a love letter to New York, where JetBlue is headquartered, and the airline itself. You can see that especially in the New York-inspired artwork throughout the lounge, with three of the pieces created by JetBlue crewmembers.

Some of my favorite pieces were along the stairwell, including a piece commissioned for the lounge from a New Yorker cartoonist and a JetBlue art piece made from subway cards (which are being phased out by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority after 2025).

Heading upstairs, you’ll find grab-and-go foods and snacks, a bar for wine and beer, and more seating for groups and solo travelers.

If you’ve got some work to do, you might prefer the second level with its more private options, although both floors have ample power outlets. While there aren’t phone booths per se, there are phone booth-style alcoves — albeit without doors — as well as a row of seats for those traveling alone.

My favorite spot in the lounge is the circular seating area on the second floor. It’s got some fun design elements, including ambient lighting that changes throughout the day (similar to JetBlue’s in-cabin mood lighting).

Like other New York City airport lounges, JetBlue leaned heavily into local partnerships to create its food and beverage menus, working with brands like Joe Coffee, The Greats of Craft and speakeasy cocktail bar Please Don’t Tell.

For food offerings, BlueHouse uses a grab-and-go model, allowing guests to choose from individually packaged hot and cold items.

During the morning, you might chow down on a breakfast burrito or a bacon, egg and cheese croissant sandwich. Later in the day, options include pastrami on rye and chicken Caesar wraps.

There are also snacks you can grab, including chips, popcorn and chocolates. Other foods include sandwiches, salads, pastries, parfaits, soup and fruit. If you’re a dessert person, don’t skip the lemon pie parfait.

Those with dietary restrictions can request special meals from a crewmember in the lounge. Food options may expand in the future, as the lounge is expected to get its own kitchen in the second half of 2026.

Both floors have bar areas, although only the first floor has a full bar, where you can get handcrafted cocktails, mocktails and coffee drinks.

The lounge’s signature BlueHouse Special is a pear, yuzu and lime concoction with your choice of gin, vodka or rum. Other drinks are dedicated to well-known New York spots like Cornelia Street, Cobble Hill and Prospect Park.

There’s also a self-serve coffee and water station on the first floor.

I love a well-designed airport restroom, and I’d be remiss not to mention the ones at BlueHouse.

There are four all-gender single-stall restrooms on the first floor, each complete with a neon sign of a cheeky lavatory pun. Two of the four have changing tables. (There are no showers in this lounge.)

Most lounges I visit with single-stall restrooms often have long lines of people waiting to use them. But in this case, since there are additional men’s and women’s restrooms upstairs, that might not be an issue.

For many, JetBlue’s long-awaited lounge will likely have been worth the wait. BlueHouse offers a well-designed space with fresh food options and fun amenities that will appeal to a younger crowd, like the game room and photo booth.

If you already have access through holding Mosaic 4 elite status, the JetBlue Premier Card or a transatlantic Mint ticket, this lounge is a must-visit. Of course, it helps that there aren’t any other lounge options in Terminal 5 outside of a public outdoor space. Most popular credit card lounges at JFK, such as the American Express Centurion Lounge and the Capital One Lounge, are in Terminal 4, which is not connected post-security.

While JetBlue executives are hopeful that the measures they’ve taken to combat overcrowding will result in no lines, it remains to be seen how well they will work.