JFK Leavng/returning to terminals
 

Hello! I'm traveling from JFK to Madrid mid-June. Due to last minute booking changes, my boyfriend and I are not on the same flights! Not even the same airlines! He's on Delta and I'm on American. Is it possible for me to arrive at JFK Terminal 8, check my luggage and check in for my flight, and then take the Air Tran over to terminal 4 and have a drink with him in the Centurion lounge? Then get back on the Air Tran and return to Terminal 8 and get on my flight? I'm wondering how much of a hassle this will be and how much time to allow for exiting and re-entering the terminals. Is this a crazy thing to attempt? I fly in and out of JFK all the time, but have never "transited" there since I live in NY, so I have no idea if this is a dumb idea or not. Thanks for any insights.

AFAIK you wouldn't be allowed into T-4 without a boarding pass for a T-4 flight. The Centurion Lounge is airside . . . so you'll just have to meet up with your BF after you clear immigration in Madrid . . .

Well, that's a bummer. Thank you very much though for the information.

You will be allowed into T4 main terminal without a boarding pass but you won’t be allowed airside & through security without a BP for a flight departing from T4.

The question was about the Centurion Lounge which is airside . . . of course one can walk into the terminal, but that wouldn't help the OP. I guess my post should have said "you wouldn't be allowed into T-4 airside" but since I did elaborate about the location of the lounge I thought that was clear. Guess not??

1) go over to T4 and if TSA says no, you are at the wrong terminal, then just say oh, thanks and go away
2) buy a ticket to somewhere from T4 for later in the day and then cancel before departure. Fully refundable ticket or one that gives a credit that you can use and has no change/cancel fee.

You must hang out on FT :) -- there are posts about doing just that almost every day. Too much hassle for me but its definitely a possible solution. But just the luck -- Centurion Lounge has reached capacity and she's denied entry :(

I do. Just came back from there to comment about option 1, above.

I took a trip a couple weeks ago. There were three checks before I got thru TSA.

The first was at the bottom of the escalator in T4 at LAX. That person was there to make sure that people were at the correct terminal because AA also uses T5. It was very brief: I think I just flashed my bp and told her my 4_ gate number.

The second check was by the attendant at the PreCheck line and that person only cared abour seeing the TSA Precheck mark on the bp.

The third check was the TSA ID check. I handed him my Global Entry card as ID and, IIRC, he didn't even look at my bp.

The return trip didn't have the terminal checker but the other two checks were pretty much the same. It was different given that there is no need for a terminal check at PIT.

So, for option 2 - better be sure that the ticket you buy (if on Delta) departs from T4 and not T2 .Maybe they would let a DL T2 passenger pass thru T4 to take the jitney to T2. Anyway, OP could go behind the BF and let him do the talking if there is a terminal checker. The others may not care about OP's gate if he is at the correct one and the agent sees they are traveling together.

Thank you all for the interesting ideas. I think we are going to stay put in our respective terminals and just talk on the phone!!! My other thought is to get a boyfriend with a PJ. :))