QF4 JFK New York - priority security?

[theoracle30]

Hey, not overly familiar with QF's setup at JFK T8, so I wanted to check if anyone has experience.

We are flying QF4 JFK-AKL on a Sunday in the coming months. Is there a priority security line? If so, can Qantas Platinum/Oneworld Emerald use it with a guest no matter the cabin class, or is it Business/First only? I know BA/AA check-in has priority security, but not sure if it applies to QF.

For context, I am WP and flying with a +1 in Premium Economy with a seat request release (but hoping to get Business rewards released down the track). We are thinking of seeing a show at 1pm, which finishes 3:45pm, then we will probably get to T8 by 5:15pm via AirTrain if all goes well.

QF4 departure is at 7:20pm, so boarding probably starts around 6:40pm? Hoping to spend more time in the Soho Lounge than in the TSA queue! Thanks.

 

[Human]

My memory is sketchy but I flew JAL First Class from T8 last year and I don’t remember there being a priority security line for me (or maybe I just missed it). But I don’t remember the queue being overly long either.

The SoHo Lounge is definitely a step up from a normal Business Class lounge, but it’s not quite up to the standard of a First Class lounge either. If you just slightly lower your expectations you’ll be fine.

 

[justinbrett]

There is a priority line but last time I went to use it I was told it was for AA/BA only.

I’ve since got GE / TSAPRE which does work. The queues are pretty manageable.

The lounge is basically a AA flagship lounge with à la carte dining and a manned bar. In some ways I’d prefer a regular flagship lounge.

 

[patrickw]

Back in Feb, I was escorted by staff from the AA premium check-in area exit to the front of the queue, right where the TSA officer is. There was still a 10m wait afterwards.
It didn’t seem like there was a priority security queue, but at the time only one security lane had the new CT scanners, and all the premium check in pax were told to join that queue.

This was on a Y+ AA flight from JFK-LAX out of T8, at around 7am. Normal security wait might be 30m+?

 

[_TheTraveller_]

This information might be outdated, but evening departures out of T8 are always a zoo with all the LHR departures. There is a "priority" queue but it merges with the general queue once you pass the initial ID/BP check. I would say prepare for 30 min wait if not longer between 5-7pm.

I'm not sure if QF usually escort people to the front of the priority queue like AA/BA do but it's only ever up to the ID/BP check

 

[chitown_boy]

Hey, not overly familiar with QF's setup at JFK T8, so I wanted to check if anyone has experience.

We are flying QF4 JFK-AKL on a Sunday in the coming months. Is there a priority security line? If so, can Qantas Platinum/Oneworld Emerald use it with a guest no matter the cabin class, or is it Business/First only? I know BA/AA check-in has priority security, but not sure if it applies to QF.

For context, I am WP and flying with a +1 in Premium Economy with a seat request release (but hoping to get Business rewards released down the track). We are thinking of seeing a show at 1pm, which finishes 3:45pm, then we will probably get to T8 by 5:15pm via AirTrain if all goes well.

QF4 departure is at 7:20pm, so boarding probably starts around 6:40pm? Hoping to spend more time in the Soho Lounge than in the TSA queue! Thanks.

I’ve gone through T8 security around 5-6 times past 12 months (3 times in the past month). There are 3 queues, standard, priority (included all oneworld status holders - I think it goes down to ruby too) and a tsa-PRE. I was WP using the priority lane flying IB in Y most of the time. The most recent time I had tsa-PRE through my recent global entry. The standard line (around that time) can be quite long - around 30-40min (it’s a very busy time for T8 with all the overnight OW transatlantic departures). Priority is shorter but has fewer TSA agents. TSA pre varies quite a bit from completely empty to similar length to priority. Turn right for soho lounge a few shops out from security.

Note: although the priority queue says OW status holders, IB check-in person also stamped my boarding pass with a red priority stamp by hand.

IME JFK tsa (and cbp for that matter) varies WILDLY in terms of queue length. I once queued behind 200-300 ppl in T1 security, which took well over an hour - no idea what was happening that day.