A moving walkway has been ripped out of American Airlines terminal 8 at New York JFK. That’s going to make the long walks to some of the C gates feel even longer. But it’s also going to make you spend more money at the shops along the way – and that’s why they’ve done it.
In 2021 American Airlines put out a request for proposals for a new New York JFK Terminal 8 concessions program.
This is a major undertaking. In 2019, before the JetBlue partnership and when American was squatting on slots and had partially abandoned the New York market, sales in the terminal were $107.4 million across 21 food and beverage, 3 duty free, 12 specialty retail, 4 currency exchange and 8 travel essential outlets.
Come July 2023 they announced the selection of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield. This was described as a two-year project.
Now, I haven’t been through T8 since last month but I’d have expected more work to have been done already! Mostly, we’ve just seen the loss of Bobby Van’s Steakhouse leaving probably the most decent food option in the terminal as the New York Deli on the midfield concourse.
Former Priority Pass Restaurant Bobby Van’s
New York Deli which was once Brooklyn Deli
However, one notable change that’s taken place is the removal of moving walkways between Gates 40 and 38 as part of this concessions project. In its place there’s now tables, single seats, bench seats, and nearly all of these have power outlets.
Fortunately the other moving walkway out to the end of the concourse is still there.
We’ve seen moving walkways removed at DFW (D terminal) and O’Hare because people taking those walkways bypass shops along the way. An American Airlines spokesperson offers,
The removal of the walkways between Gates 38 and 40 are part of the $125 million commercial redevelopment program at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Terminal 8.
In partnership with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, work is progressing on the $125 million commercial redevelopment program at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Terminal 8, with a majority of construction to be completed by the end of this year.
The more revenue those shops makes, the more an airport (or, in this case since American controls the terminal, they) can charge in rent. And deals are generally structured so that the terminal owner takes a percentage of revenue as well.
Passengers are not an airport’s customer, they’re the product an airport and airline sells to merchants who rent space inside the terminal. Long walks are frequently designed to accommodate more shopping, with more retail space in the terminal. And airports don’t want passengers skipping the shops!
Dallas spent one million dollars to remove a moving walkway. And these assist passengers in their journey and speed up travel in the terminal which reduces the risk of passengers missing flights!
You’ll frequently see international airports that route you through duty free on the way to your gate, forcing you to take a circuitous route. Sydney’s airport is famous for this, and so is London Heathrow. In fact, British Airways reportedly pays Heathrow £1 million per year to have a door immediately past security on the right that allows first class passengers direct access into the Concorde Room lounge rather than having to be routed the long way through the shops.
Ultimately though the purpose of an airport is to get somewhere quickly. You want an airport that you can get to quickly, get through security quickly, and get to your gate quickly. Moving walkways speed this, but run counter to their other purpose which is high end retail.
Wouldn’t this violate the Americans with Disabilities Act?
Gary, do you think the people, whose faces are clearly visible, appreciate their unwitting and unconsented appearance on your website?
Everything is ALWAYS cheaper at the airport…
@Erect.. There is no expectation of privacy in a public area.
I am with Raphael on ada violation.
@Raphael @Dave — I’m a big fan of the Americans with Disabilities Act. It was passed in 1990 after all (and updated in 2008). I think it’s one of the best laws that George H.W. Bush passed while in office. But, fellas, do you see who’s in charge these days—it ain’t that GOP, anymore.
Sadly, the ADA, and programs like it, are likely on the chopping block, to be deemed ‘woke’ or something silly, either by de facto or de jure. As-in, this administration won’t enforce it, unless it involves or offends the king. So get those bribes ready (sorry, I meant ‘gratuities’).
It’s sad, but it isn’t unexpected, especially in fascistic regimes. The historic ones did not care much for the disabled—like, they ‘got rid’ of them. Wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where these jabronis take things, soon enough, if we let them.
I frequent JFK plenty, T8 specifically, and half the time these walkways are out of service as it is, so I rarely use them. The ones in the tunnel are the ones that really ‘matter’ to me, but even then, without them, I can live. It’s NYC, after all—get used to walking! Most of us who live here do not have cars.
For those who actually need true mobility assistance, the staff at T8 do an excellent job with wheelchair services, so these walkways really aren’t for them, anyway. It’s more an issue for folks who didn’t budget enough time, or are simply lazy.
Besides, JFK T4 has a longer total walking distance anyway, like, end-to-end, that one is like a mile, especially if Delta has you at the very end, like B55, lower level. Sure, offer those Jitney buses from B23 to the end, but seriously, unless you really need it, just get a little exercise, folks. It might do some of us some real good.
If you mention other airports and their deliberately convoluted mazes… don’t forget Gatwick South Terminal!
Great to know that aspiring “premium” carrier American Airlines values my time as a passenger so much they remove a moving walkway to help minimize my time on non-value-added tasks like walking through an airport.
There is no ADA violation. Now if there were steps without an elevator there would be but it is assumed anyone that has trouble simply walking is in a wheelchair or other mobility device and providing a moving sidewalk, where many stand and get in the way of those who walk which I detest people doing, is not a requirement under the ADA.
Please people do a little research before you spout off and show your ignorance.
BTW Gary a few more steps are good for people especially obese Americans. Must be a slow day to post a pet peeve of yours like this!
No, the real effect of removing the moving sidewalks and making people actually *walk* is that it ultimately improves the hip room and knee room in the seats in coach.
I don’t get the gripes about the distance to those gates in T8. Not even up there with the United concourses at ORD via the tunnel. Almost a miniaturized version of that. It’s much less than the long, long T4 schleps.
Kinda sucks for those who have trouble walking 3 miles from the counter to their gate. I can’t shop because it takes long to walk. Real people must not make these decisions.
No ADA violations result from walkway relocation. Individuals with mobility impairments may request wheelchairs as needed. The addition of shops and restaurants necessitated walkway removal.
The ultimate results is missed connection flights… I have yet get a flight with connected flights right next to each other… THEY ARE ALWAYS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE AIRPORT!!!
@1990, I presume you are calling the Biden regime Fascistic since these terminal renovation plans were put in place during the prior presidency?
Personally, I would limit the blame to the airline and perhaps the airport as I doubt any administration was in the loop on moving Starbucks into the Dunkin space.
I am disgusted by this. I don’t fly American (too many bad and unnecessary situations to describe) but will do even less shopping in the airport after reading this.
I personally thought Terminal 8 needed more seating to eat or relax in, so I applaud the removal of the moving walkways.
I have issues with walking right now, which necessitate a bit of outpatient surgery next month. I have to go through JFK, an airport I absolutely loathe, tomorrow and Tuesday. Moving walkways are a blessing for me right now. I couldn’t have made it through PHX on a couple of recent trips without them. Get a wheelchair? No. That would leave someone who really needs one without one. It would almost feel like Jetway Jesus to me. As for shopping, I don’t think so. I’ll pig up at the Admirals’ Club rather than pay $25 for a sandwich. The moving walkway is the one thing there that I would patronize.
Not that it matters in the slightest, but I do get some satisfaction in that an airport is the last place I need to spend $ for an overpriced piece of orap that I have to stuff in my already (over)packed luggage and schlep around for the duration of an already stressful experience ! No shopping & more beneficial exercise for me … lol
I will never buy the $25 goy slop they have in that airport. Would rather starve
Maybe this is all part of AA’s plan to remove what little BoB there is left in Main Cabin on that airline… so maybe this will *increase* passenger satisfaction? 😛
ORD has never had moving walkways.
Once in a while I will buy something at the retail shops in an airport but mostly I find them annoying. I am more likely to buy food. I like the food court at BKK and I like food marts with reasonable prices such as the one at IATA DMK.
As someone who is disabled and struggles with walking long distances, removal of the walkways means I’m going to opt for wheelchair service instead, which means I’m even less likely to stop along the way.
This is why private airport (or terminals) are awful.
Profit maximization over customer comfort. And of course it’s not like you truly have much of a choice.
Changi, Incheon, Tokyo are all fully public and so much better because of it.
Two thoughts
it’s criminal to do this to disabled and those who have any form of disability issue
Second it’s an embarrassment that in New York one of the dining centers of the universe
all that’s now on offer at JFK is ghetto trash bodega food at outrageous prices
Pathetic
Going for premium
AA never cared for their passengers.They always try to screw the customers when the plane late or cancelled. Making you walk over a mile to shop at overpriced shops is criminal for anyone at any age that has health issues. Calling it good exercise is ignorant and cruel for people that are in pain. Getting a wheelchair is not the solution. Plus you can only get a coffee at Starbucks because they an exclusive contract. Awaful coffee awful airline
@dwondermdnt, how is it criminal to remove the moving sidewalk? If you need assistance walking, attendants are available to take you where you need to go. Half the time the moving sidewalks aren’t working or when they are, some lard but in leopard print tights and fuzzy slippers is leaning over the rail yapping loudly on the phone while twisting her weave with those ridiculous raptor-like fingernails, oblivious to the people she is holding up cause her fat but don’t care about people who use the moving sidewalk to actually walk on it.
1990, you are one weird FA.
Ugh, the usual half-baked, brain dead drivel from 1990. It’s seemingly endless and so very tiresome.
But I digress… The most effective response would be for every passenger with even the slightest legitimate disability departing from Terminal 8 to request a wheelchair. If this happens consistently, any perceived economic benefit from removing the moving walkways will (in all likelihood) quickly disappear.
Note that the steak restaurant is still there – just renamed. Not sure about the food – but it’s an option
@Erect – you’re an idiot.
I wonder what percentage of travellers actually buy things in airports. I assume the vast majority never buy anything that is not food or beverage.
Jokes on them. As I’ve gotten older and need a moving sidewalk more I have been using wheelchair service in airports where they have been taken out. And I don’t stop at any of the bars/restaurants anymore. I hope they starve charging $ 12 for a pretzel.
Capitalism at its finest. People be damned!
@Jim – but it’s not free via Priority pass
@Kelly J Collins – false. ORD’s terminal 1 C concourse had 8 moving walkways installed in the 90s and removed 2015-2016.
That steak house was the only place to eat that wasn’t just packaged junk food! Now it’s closed. No lounge for priority pass anymore. Another reason NOT to fly BA to New York, they need to sort out their arrangements for those without BA/AA lounge access, especially now they have made it impossible for most to get Silver or Gold status.
America is a spiritually soulless place, except of course when it comes to money where it is worshipped and every imaginable mechanism to place it above anything else is shoved aside in its behalf, including manners, good taste, and common sense. It’s political situation best illustrates it.
Terminal 8 has been an oasis compared to JFK’s other facilities, most of which are awful. The dining options at T8 have never been great and have needed work. As JFK is rehabilitated, T8 has to keep up and so it is good to see better options and some changes being made there.
AA invested in building JFK T8 when they still had grand plans to remain the biggest player at JFK. But AA gave up that prime position at JFK. Now it’s a sort of out-of-service airline at JFK just like those moving walkways which have remained off or out of service for longer and longer stretches at the terminal.
I dislike airside shopping malls and so try to avoid/minimize spending money at airside retailers. Without functional moving walkways, I am less likely to shop airside and more likely to go from the airline lounge directly to the gate or directly from security to the gate and hang out close to the gate area.
ORD had more moving walkways around 30 years ago than it has now.
So when do we start removing interstates and bypasses sending people back into city’s.
The moving walkways need to be much wider. Why? Because people of girth that should be getting exercise will use the walkways not to walk and to block everyone else from walking. Like those walkways at JFK T8.
The walk at JFK T8 isn’t a problem. The walk from the Southwest and JetBlue gates at the new SLC airport to is.
The new airports world all over are being designed for passenger comforts, but only in America, the greedy capitalists in the name of free enterprise want Travellers to suffer. Amazing
I top somewhere to eat because I’m hungry. I walk past most of these places because I’m also in a hurry or heading to a lounge where I can eat for free. The people who would be eating at a static location would be those in relative close proximity to their gate. Those people would be on the moving walkway. The people on the moving walkway are more likely to eat closer to their departure gate.
So this just makes it suck for people who have long traverses of the airport. The people who would eat AT that location are likely already sitting in the area.
there are many people who, while not officially disabled, have difficulty with walking long distances (especially when in a hurry).I have relatives in their 70’s and 80’s who are able bodied and walk for excersize, but have recently started to speak seriously about traveling as wheelchair passengers because of the distances involved in the airport.
@Gary – that option has been gone for at least a year with Chase and longer for Cap 1/Amex. Appears that if you want a PP lounge in T8, its a game room. https://www.prioritypass.com/lounges/usa/new-york-ny-jfk-international/jfk30g-gameway
@chris I walked by there on Monday and Wed and both times the steak restaurant was open – did not have time to look at the menu. I would assume same/similar food and pricing. Even post loss of Priority Pass, it could be super busy at times.
PONY pulled the same stunt for the LGA redo. to force passengers through the stores. Many other airports (especially International) do this so no reason to lay the blame on AA. PONY probably put the entire moving sidewalks cost on AA, so they passed. Doubt AA had anything to do with this
So. Purposefully DO NOT stop in anyone’s shop. Make it a shop boycott area. I mean, I’m not in the airport to shop for overpriced junk. I’m getting to my gate so I can go somewhere more meaningful that an airport tourist trap.
my airport goal is get to the gate. shopping is last thing on the mind. I’m past the traveling with small children stage, but these were really useful then.
No one thought that the reason might be because they don’t have any good stores, go look at the stores delta has.
This is infuriating! Makes me hate AA management even more.
Welcome to United AL in SFO. In it’s wisdom (or sheer stupidity) to expand, it eliminated the ppl walker and now they have signs on the walls letting us know, while we are gasping for air, that we are almost there.
…because why not eliminate things that actually help passengers?
Come on United, you could be better!
There is a new restaurant that replaced Bobby Vans.
Idlewild Chop Shop.
I used to travel by air several times and month. It was fun and I enjoyed shopping in the stores between flights. I even would book flights allowing enough time to visit stores that we didn’t have locally. Over the years the greed that has overtaken the airlines, the terminal owners and the business’s has made air travel a nightmare. The idea of flying anywhere is no longer an enjoyable experience much less fun. So now, instead of happily planning trips and spending a fortune on travel, my first priority is to avoid air travel at all costs. It’s a lot more fun to get creative and explore travel modes I can enjoy and find far more relaxing. It is easier on the pocketbook and allows me much more spending power in the shops along the way.
Making passengers pay for a badly designed airport just to increase sales!
The average BMI for Americans is 28 – grossly overweight and 2 points short of obese.We could all use to walk more – and hold the Cinnabon or whatever unhealthy food they’re selling.
Capitalist innovation at work
I rarely take those things, I like to walk and stretch my legs between flights.
So basically, I’ll just boycott flying. Sounds good to me.
American airports are doing their best to make sure passengers arrive at their terminals as stressed out as possible. That’s not very nice.
Some people will spend money but old people, handicapped people, people with small children will just miss flights and stop traveling. Society has gone from making good things happen and happen easier to making it all too hard. The USA is now known for total mayhem and dysfunction.
If airports want to increase concession revenues, they should work with airlines to reach a mutually beneficial compromise: allow for enough time between connecting flights so passengers can shop.
If traveling internationally, I love duty-free shopping. Otherwise, I’m not likely to buy anything in an airport other than food. While I’m not a fan of AA, I do hope the new concession outlets in Terminal 8 are successful as long as they don’t overcharge too much for whatever they’re selling. With the majority of passengers traveling for personal or leisure reasons, it’s important for airports to make it an enjoyable experience. Using the captive audience mentality to justify overcharging passengers is a great way to alienate the traveling public.
Death by a thousand paper cuts
i was in JFK 2 weeks ago (gate 1) and on my way, the concessions were customerless and I was annoyed to the point where i really don’t need this anymore
Forget any EXP loyalty, i am only flying AA when it’s convenient for me..
F*** American capitalism. Time for another revolution.
As long as people buy as if they just have seen those shops, don’t blame airlines. I watched them to pay 3X prices. Another one AA flight attendants selling food onboard and people are buying lime crazy in a short domestic flights. Amazing!
Probably makes 40 metric tons of co2 and costs $10k
Each year
Akin to some large retail stores, ie IKEA, that essentially force a customer to walk a circuitous maze to simply exit its store. But it works, as we merrily walk along spending our money along the way.
For those of us who are older and mobility challenged, the long walks shlepping luggage can be a real problem. I’ve never done it yet but I’m going to start using those people carriers that are continually tooting their horns.
I found the long walk at IKEA annoying so I have limited my trips there to things I could not find at a reasonable price elsewhere. It has been one or two decades since I have been there. At airports I don’t have a similar choice. If I want to fly, which I do, I have to put up with the circus.
This should benefit Gary Leff. Dude needs to walk and lose a few pounds.
Madrid Airport’s terminal 4 (T4) and it’s satellite terminal (T4S) opened in 2006 with snaking pathways through the main duty-free shop….required to get through to eateries, other shops and, finally, gates.
The automatic walkways are past all the spending temptations and are very necessary because that terminal is huge. There’s also an automatic underground tram to and from the satellite terminal every five minutes or so.
This terminal still looks amazingly new, despite turning twenty next year. (American is the main US carrier there.)
With all the varied instances of folks going a bit nuts at airports (outbreaks of nudity, or…your average Tuesday fisticuffs at Miami) or in the air (the guy who took out his frustrations on a seat on United), one thing I’m a little bit surprised we haven’t seen (as far as I know) is one of them deciding to trash one of these shops.