Image courtesy of MCR and Morse Development
It’ll cost you a pretty penny—$340 per person, to be exact—but you can now take a private helicopter to brunch at JFK’s buzzy new TWA Hotel. Helicopter service Blade and the Gerber Group have partnered on the limited-edition offering, which is open for reservations on Sundays only through November 3rd.
Illustrative rendering of the developed northwest corner of the site courtesy of PANYNJ.
As part of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s planned $13 billion transformation of JFK into a modern international airport, it was announced Tuesday that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is issuing a Request for Information for the design and development of JFK Central, a 14-acre mixed-use space at the airport’s core at the Ground Transportation Center. The site offers designers and developers a blank canvas for creating a unique centrally located public space for travelers, employees and the community, offering commercial and recreational services.
Looking down on the terminal from the London Club; Photo courtesy of TWA Hotel/David Mitchell
The much-anticipated rebirth of Eero Saarinen’s historic TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport is complete. The TWA Hotel officially opened on Wednesday, more than two years after the project broke ground in Queens and over 18 years since the iconic 1962 terminal shuttered. The project was developed by MCR and MORSE Development and designed by architecture firm LUBRANO CIAVARRA. Beyer Blinder Belle Architects handled the restoration of the original Flight Center to prepare for the hotel. The two six-story crescent-shaped buildings contain 512 rooms, a rooftop infinity pool and observation deck, event space, food hall, luxury fitness center, and retro cocktail bar.
Image courtesy of MCR and Morse Development
Guests of the TWA Flight Center Hotel—set to open on May 15—will be able to experience the Jet Age through exhibitions of Trans World Airlines artifacts curated by the New-York Historical Society. Flight attendant’s logs, vintage furniture from TWA headquarters, in-flight amenities—like gilded playing cards and custom matchbooks—are some of the types of objects that will be on view in a rotating series of exhibitions dedicated to the former TWA terminal, a historic landmark designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen and opened in 1962.
Image of Sunken Lounge pre-construction in 2017, courtesy of MCR and Morse Development; Photo: Max Touhey
When its retro cocktail bar opens this May, TWA Hotel guests will be able to sip Sixties-style beverages in an expertly designed space. The Sunken Lounge will not only offer classic drinks like Old Fashioneds and Martinis but also views through its floor-to-ceiling windows of the 1958 Lockheed Constellation airplane parked outside. MCR and MORSE Development announced on Wednesday that Gerber Group, of Mr. Purple and The Campbell bar fame, will operate the restored Sunken Lounge, which will officially open on May 15, the same day the first guests will be welcomed to the hotel at John F. Kennedy Airport.
Via Flickr
In looking for out-of-the-box ways to cut travel time between Manhattan and JFK Airport in Queens, New York officials recently reached out to Tesla founder Elon Musk for engineering ideas, Crain’s reports. Musk’s The Boring Company reportedly outlined strategies for connecting John F. Kennedy International Airport with Manhattan based on the tunnel system the company has developed, though several challenges were immediately evident.
American Airlines and British Airways will invest $344 million over the next three years to revamp its terminal at John F. Kennedy Airport, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday. The project includes expanding and improving the customer experience at Terminal 8, where British Airways will move to from its current location in Terminal 7. The project falls under Cuomo’s $13 billion plan to overhaul JFK announced last October. The Port Authority is not contributing funds to the Terminal 8 project; 90 percent of the governor’s JFK plan will be privately funded.
Via Flickr
Travelers who frequent New York City airports will now be able to plan a slightly smoother trip. Real-time tracking of security and taxi wait times have rolled out at Port Authority-operated terminals at John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty, LaGuardia, and New York Stuart International airports, the agency announced Monday. Using a real-time measurement tool “BlipTrack,” passengers can track the wait times online for TSA checkpoint screening areas and taxi stands at 14 terminals across the four airports.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed new details Thursday of his $13 billion plan to overhaul John F. Kennedy Airport and transform it into a 21st-century transit hub. In addition to two much-needed new international terminals, the overhaul will bring NYC’s biggest tourist attractions into its passenger waiting areas and a central hub. There will be interior green space called “Central Park at JFK,” a food hall modeled after Chelsea Market, an elevated walkway called “The High Line,” and artwork and exhibits honoring iconic landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty’s torch.
Photo via Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office
The Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners approved on Friday a $355 million plan to rehabilitate a key runway at John F. Kennedy Airport and add a new high-speed taxiway. The 10,000-foot-long runway, or 13L-31R, that will get the revamp handles nearly half of all planes arriving at JFK. This runway, one of four at the airport, will close between April and the end of 2019.
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