Remade and remodeled: First look at Lufthansa's shiny new lounge at Newark Liberty

14.08.2024 - 23:38 / thepointsguy.com

It's a whole new concept in lounges from German carrier Lufthansa, and it just made its official debut at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR).

The new and improved lounge features a fancy bar, a bistro-style kitchen and a first-class dining area, as well as clean lines and modern furnishings. This lounge is inspired by Allegris, which is Lufthansa's new name for its revamped passenger experience, including its sleek new first-class and business-class cabins.

Lufthansa said it is spending some $2.7 billion in product enhancements in the next year and a half, including on lounges, new seats on many planes and upgraded catering. The Newark lounge is a good example of what Lufhansa is working on.

"We are so proud that we can now open up a new lounge in a new concept when it comes to design but also when it comes to customer experience," said Victoria Schuster, vice president of the customer experience program at Lufthansa. There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony today at Newark Airport attended by Lufthansa leaders and folks from the New York and New Jersey Port Authority.

Related: Your first look at Lufthansa's Allegris aircraft, with new seating in all cabins and a shock in first class

You'll find Lufthansa's shiny new lounge in Terminal B at Newark Liberty International Airport in the B3 Satellite that holds gates 60-68. The current lounge occupies the same space as the former Lufthansa lounge but now has 25% more space. The entry to the lounge is right around the corner from Gate 68. It's across the concourse from the Scandinavian Airlines lounge — they are the only two lounges in this part of the airport.

The opening hours are 2:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., seven days a week.

The refreshed lounge is inspired by Lufthansa's investments in new aircraft interiors, which are slowly coming into the fleet starting with new Airbus A350 planes. A few of the airline's Munich flights are already featuring the new and improved cabins.

The centerpiece of the improved lounge is what the airline calls the Skyline bar, which has lots of booze options, including a new cocktail Lufthansa debuted today called the Ziegler Avionic Lufthansa Aperitif. This cocktail has liquor as well either (what tastes like) tonic or Champagne added in. It was described to me as an Aperol spritz-type drink.

"The inspiration of that bar is to see how we can get the people together," said Marc Suhr, Lufthansa Group Newark station manager. He said the idea was to get people enjoying a drink together before a flight and to have a central social gathering place.

I'd call it one of the standout features of the space, and it reminded me of the bars that American Airlines and Delta Air Lines have installed at some of their newer lounges.

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