Air France Lounge, Boston Logan Airport

Update Review, December 2023 Visit

Another flight out of Boston Logan, another quite trip through the Air France lounge.  Not much different from my previous visits, and since I also got a chance to check out the new Chase Sapphire lounge with actual made to order food, I didn't nibble much this time.  I still enjoyed what I had.  This lounge is very consistent in their offerings though, which I appreciate.

Charcuterie & Cheese.

I generally do try the cheeses, but alas, I wasn't hungry enough to try any this time.

Salad, Veggies, Hummus.

I did grab carrots and celery sticks for something refreshing, and tried the not pictured pre-made salad that had very tasty candied walnuts and interesting mixed greens as a base.

Sandwiches.

One of these days, I'll try the sandwiches, the croissant ones in particular do really look decent.

Breads.

A new bread was on offer, a nice looking one with nuts and dried fruit.  It was fairly average bread though, it didn't taste particularly fresh, and had a bit of a sourdough taste to it.  I did like the bits of walnut, and think it would go well with brie in particular from the cheese section.  **+.

Quiche.

The only item not labelled in the buffet was the quiche.  I'm not sure what kind it was.  If I hadn't feasted in the other lounge first, I actually was tempted to try this.

Beef Bourguignon.

Both the Air France and Chase Sapphire lounges had beef bourguignon, a bit random that they were both featuring it, but it seemed more appropriate for this lounge.

Potato Gratin.

The other hot dish was the same from my last visit, that I did find decent then.  So even though I wasn't hungry, I still tried it.

I didn't wait around for a refill, although one came soon after I took my slice.  It was fine, slightly softer potatoes than I'd like, and not as much onion as last time, and not much seasoning, but, nicely creamy, and I enjoyed it well enough.  ***.

Macarons / Madelines.

The dessert lineup did have something different this time, instead of palmiers, they had even more French classics: assorted macarons and madelines.

I didn't try the madelines, but I did take a chocolate and a pistachio macaron.  

The macarons were fine.  Reasonably crisp shell.  The pistachio one did actually taste like pistachio, not just "green".  The chocolate one had decent enough chocolate ganache inside.  Definitely not patisserie fresh, but fine.  ***.

Blondies / Brownies.

The other dessert offerings were the standard blondies and brownies from previous visits.  I really do like these blondies, always nicely loaded with chocolate chips and nuts, with a sweet, moist, buttery base.  Better than average, always enjoyable.  ****.

Update Review, December 2022 Visit

Another JetBlue flight out of Terminal C, another chance to visit the Air France lounge in the adjacent Terminal E gate area.  For the JetBlue gate I most frequently depart from, this is the closest Priority Pass lounge (closer than the Terminal C one), and generally higher quality anyway.  There is nothing mind blowing about the lounge, but it has reasonable food offerings and is a welcome respite from the terminal.

I didn't take photos, but at the staffed bar area there was basic rice cracker mix that was a bit stale but still nice to nibble on, and plain salted peanuts.  No Chex mix this visit.  There was also the standard yogurt, fruit, and granola station near the desserts.  I had some grapes from there and appreciated the juicy fruit and healthy option.

Salad / Cheese / Deli Meats.

The salad, cheese, and charcuterie station was largely unchanged from previous visits.  

Salad offerings were a mixed greens salad, celery/carrots/tomatoes, a couple dressings and hummus, and  tuna salad.  All pretty average quality, although I appreciated the fresh veggies and non-limp salad.

The charcuterie station was just pepperoni and salami, the more premium offerings seem to have been removed.  The brie was kinda melted in a "this has been sitting at warm temperature too long" kind of way.  I liked the dried figs as always.

***.

Sandwiches.

The sandwich lineup was turkey swiss on baguette, caprese on ciabatta, tuna on croissant.  I didn't try any but they looked reasonably fresh.

Potato Gratin.

There were two hot dishes: chicken teriyaki with rice, and potato gratin.  I was impressed by the look of the potato gratin, creamy and gooey, with a nicely browned cheese crust on top.  I don't normally try the hot foods in the lounge, but, this looked too good to pass up.

It was only lukewarm, but it was decent.  The potatoes weren't too mushy, it was as creamy as it looked.  Good cheese level, but not much other flavor/herbs/spicing.  Not as amazing as the potato gratin I had from Fleming's Prime in Houston or Ocean Prime in Orlando, but those were exemplary and from high end steakhouses, and this was, well, an airline lounge buffet.  ***.

Brownies.

The brownie of the day was a chocolate chip brownie.  I was hoping for the blondies again, as I had quite liked them.  These were just ok, they looked richer than they were, and they were pretty dry.  I did like the extra chocolate chips in them though, and they were a nice texture, slight chew.  **+.

Palmiers.

The cookie of the day was the palmiers that I had enjoyed my last visit, although they clearly had chocolate chip cookies very recently, as I saw a number of people with them at their tables.  I again did like the palmiers, sweet, buttery, and crispy.  ***+.

Update Review, July 2022 Visit

Not much new to say here.  Another JetBlue flight out of Boston, another quick spin through the Air France lounge, which is in the international terminal but adjacent to JetBlue's gates, and to which I had access with my Priority Pass Membership.  I appreciate it for the sparkling water, snack mix, and actually decent desserts this time.

Pellegrino / Snack Mix.

Drinks are served at a small bar area by the staff.  I appreciate that they have decent sparkling water, Pellegrino, and not just tiny cans.  They also had a rice cracker mix and peanuts on this visit.

The assorted rice crackers were a bit stale tasting.

Cheese / Charcuterie / Salad.

The salad, cheese, and charcuterie station was largely unchanged from previous visits.  

Salad offerings were a mixed greens salad, celery/carrots/tomatoes, a couple dressings and hummus, and a quinoa salad.  All pretty average quality.

The charcuterie platter had only salami when I visited, and I didn't stay long enough for a refill, I was hoping to see the prosciutto return.  I did, as before, love having the cornichons and little pickled onions.

The cheese platter again had dried figs I liked, and decent enough brie.

Sandwiches / Bread & Butter.

I did not try the sandwiches, two kinds available: turkey & swiss, and a vegetarian caprese, nor the sliced baguette and butter.

Roast Veggies.

The hot food side was mixed roast veggies - I saw potatoes, squash, and green beans, a bit of a random selection.  I didn't try it.

Pasta & Sauce & Meatballs.

The main dish was labelled "Egg Sandwich", but it certainly was not that.  There was tricolor corkscrew pasta, marinara sauce, and I presume meatballs.  Not so French!

As I was looking forward to my. meal on my Jet Blue flight (which, by the way, was glorious), I didn't try this, but I was curious about the meatballs.

Fruit Salad. 

On the other side of the area was fruit, yogurt, and dessert.

The fruit salad was mostly melons (allergic) and pineapple (meh), but I did pluck a few grapes, both red and green, out, as I wanted something juicy and refreshing (my allergy to these kinds of melons is only mild, not like watermelon, where I definitely could not take anything that had been near it!).

The green grapes were fairly standard, but the red ones actually had unexpected seeds, and had fairly bitter skins.  I wished I hadn't taken them.  **+.

Yogurt Station.

The yogurt station I decided to finally try, as I was kinda craving some nice creamy, rich yogurt.  I knew it was US based catering, but I still hoped for something more European, as they just do yogurt so much better than us.  This was definitely not my style of yogurt, tart, lumpy.  Meh.  It had blueberries on it though, which were better than the fruit salad fruit.  **.

Yogurt Toppings.

Toppings for the yogurt, besides the fruit salad that you could add, were granola and honey.  And just like every other visit, the sign said chocolate chips, but, there were none.  Perhaps it is time to finally update that sign?  I haven't seen chocolate chips in years.

Palmiers.

The regular chocolate chip cookie platter had palmiers this time, a nice change, and, actually, a cookie style I prefer more.

These were pretty good.  Super flaky pastry, nice butter and sugar level. Above average for a lounge cookie, no question.

***+.

"Brownie"

The brownie station also changed, now stocked with blondies, although, lol, they still said "brownies".  If you are keeping track, we had mislabelled blondie-brownies, Egg Muffin pasta and meatballs, and no chocolate chips. 

The blondies were actually quite good.  Soft, loaded with both chocolate chips and nuts.  I quickly scarfed one.

***+.

Update Review, December 2021 Visit

Another JetBlue flight out of Boston, another quick spin through the Air France lounge, which is in the international terminal adjacent to JetBlue's gates, and to which I had access with my Priority Pass Membership.  Nothing to rave about, but a nice break from the terminal.

Charcuterie, Salad.

The charcuterie lineup this time included salami, pepperoni, and prosciutto, with olives and cornichons.  I tried the prosciutto only, and it seemed fine, thin sliced, nicely fatty.  I was a fan of the cornichons and onions too.

The salad was listed as Ceasar, but did have baby carrots, red bell peppers, and tomatoes, so, uh, not quite a traditional ceasar.  Parmesan cheese and croutons were packaged separately on the side.  Tuna salad and cous cous based salad were also on offer.  I tried the "ceasar", and it was fine - ingredients fresh enough, and I appreciated the baby carrots to munch on separate from the salad. 

***.

Cheese.

Of course, being a French lounge, it had a decent cheese lineup, with very perfectly ripe gooey brie, sharp cheddar, and blue cheese, along with dried figs.

I enjoyed the brie and figs. ***.

Turkey Swiss Sandwiches.

The premade sandwich was turkey and swiss, with mayo and lettuce.  I stayed away.

Chicken Teriyaki & Rice.

The hot meal of the day was white rice and chicken teriyaki, which I also didn't try.

Clam Chowder.

The soup of the day was clam chowder, which I was excited to see, but was pretty awful - thin, flavorless.  This is the only item, besides beverages, that the staff serve for you rather than self-serve.  Not sure why they don't trust us to ladle out soup?

*.

Snacks.

For snacks, there were plain Lay's chips and ranch Doritos, along with oranges and apples, pretty standard offerings.

Fruit Cups.

The fruit cup was honeydew, cantaloupe, pineapple, and grapes.  The sign said watermelon too, but it wasn't there, which was good, as I'm allergic, and I was really craving fresh juicy fruit.  The grapes in particular were quite satisfying, but the rest was underripe. **+.

Yogurt.

The yogurt I believe was just plain greek yogurt.  It came with a sprig of mint and two blueberries on it.  Granola and honey were available on the side, but no chocolate chips as the menu said.

Brownies.

For dessert, the brownies just said "brownie" but they clearly had cream cheese swirl on them.

They were fine.  Rich, fudgey, not dried out.  Not bad, not amazing.

***.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

One kind of cookie was available, although the menu listed several. These were chocolate chunk, with large hunks of chocolate.

The big hunks of chocolate were nice, but otherwise, a pretty "meh" cookie.  They tasted like generic packaged cookies, and seemed a bit over baked, too dark and dry around the edges.

**+.

Update Review - December 2019 Visit

I took a super quick swing through the Air France lounge before an outbound JetBlue flight (the Air France lounge is the closest to the JetBlue gate, even though in a different terminal).  I mostly wanted to use the bathroom, grab sparkling water (Pellegrino little bottles, not chilled, boo), and check out the wine (meh to the bordeaux I tried).

Nothing particularly positive to say about the place, as I knew from previous visits, but it is spacious and quiet, and a good place to get out of the main terminal if you need.

Cheese / Charcuterie.

The offerings that were actually somewhat french ... cheese (although not the most inspired lineup) and cold cuts (salami, pepperoni, mortadella).  If I was hungry, I actually would have tried the mortadella as I kinda love it sometimes, and the brie for that matter, but I skipped this all.

Breads / Dried Fruit.

I'm not sure if it was intentional, but I actually thought the bread and dried fruit board looked kinda nice, even though somewhat haphazard.

Snack Mixes.

I had to laugh at the label on the peanuts ... "snack mix w. peanut" it said.  Unless my eyes were deceiving me, it was peanuts, and only peanuts.

The other is wasabi crunch, with mostly rice crackers, which seemed stale.  The wasabi peas didn't pack much punch.  Meh.

Salad Bar / Fruit, Yogurt, Granola.

The cold well had yogurt, granola, and fruit (for those international travelers wanting breakfast?), and makings for salad - a kinda random lineup with cooked beets, croutons, and spring mix, plus tomatoes, cucumber slices, baby carrots, and celery sticks that would work as veggies to dip or salad editions.  And a slaw.  There were two unlabeled dressings, plus what looked like cranberries and sunflower seeds?

Broccoli & Kale Slaw.

"Almonds, sunflower seeds, dried fruit, with creamy slaw dressing."

After I read the sign for the broccoli & kale slaw, I realize that the dried cranberries were likely the "dried fruit" intended for the slaw, the sunflower seeds as well.  I have no idea where the almonds were.

I tried one of the dressings, but it seemed to be very tangy ranch, not what I'd expect from a "creamy slaw dressing" and the slaw was undressed.

I did like the slaw base though, crunchy shredded broccoli, torn kale, carrots, and radicchio.

Pizza-ish.

Token hot veggie dish, pizza/flatbread, Mediterranean inspired it seemed, as I smelt feta and saw black olives.

Chicken & Rice.

Token hot meat dish, some kind of chicken stir fry.

Sandwiches.

Pre-made sandwiches were restocked frequently.

Minestrone Soup.

On the other side of the spacious lounge is the soup station, with two hot soups, including vegetarian minestrone soup ...

Chicken & Rice Soup.

Chicken soup ...

Waffles & Cinnamon Rolls.

And ... cold waffles (syrup on the side) and little cinnamon rolls between the soups.  Completely random placement, and ... kinda random items in general.  Breakfast leftovers?  They were also the only sweets, no token cookies or brownies even.

Classic Cup O Noodles.

And on the other side of the soup station, the most popular offering in the lounge, I'm not joking ... Cup O Noodles.  Every time I'm there, these are the hot item.  Comfort food I guess?

Original Review - 2018 / 2019 Visits

The Air France lounge in Boston Logan airport located in Terminal E, right near gate 4.  This is the international terminal, but it is accessible airside from Terminal C, and is a Priority Pass lounge.  Protip: if you are flying out of Terminal C, depending on your gate, it may be the closest Priority Pass lounge (rather than The Lounge, in Terminal C across from Gate 19).

I only cruised through quickly as my JetBlue flight at a nearby gate was delayed, but I'll return another time intentionally, as it was generally better than The Lounge (although, The Lounge certainly had better snacks and shockingly good clam chowder).

This is only the second Air France lounge I've ever visited, the first was in SFO.  The Boston location is considerably better than the San Francisco version, in nearly every aspect: size, seating options, and cuisine.

Setting

The lounge felt quite spacious.  Perhaps because it was 3pm, and there were no international flights taking off around that time, so it was nearly empty, but also, it really just was a decently large lounge.

I didn't get photos of all sections, but there was a wide variety of seating styles.  No showers or kids areas that I saw.

Seating.

Each arm chair had a side table, which is convenient, but these didn't look particularly comfortable.

More Seating.

The other seating area was far more appealing, with wider, more plush looking chairs, power outlets, and a section with a high counter and stools, which is where I set up, so I could stand - I'd be sitting for long enough soon!

Food & Drinks

The food lineup was fairly standard for an International lounge of this caliber - a few snacks, generic salad, sandwiches, soup, and one hot item.  I didn't try much since I was just there to scope it out, since I had a little extra time due to a flight delay in Terminal C.  

Drinks.

Everything is self-serve, including the bar.  It is a small bar with the basics, along with a couple wines, beer, soft drinks, and fruit juices in the coolers below.  The San Francisco lounge had a much more elaborate setup, at least with the mixers.

I tried a red wine (Côtes du Rhône), and it was fine, but not memorable.

This area also had cheese cubes and snack mixes.

Bread and Snacks.

The snack jars were certainly different from any other lounge I've visited, a bit clunky to use, with serving spoons on top, and real lids.  They were unlabeled, but seemed to be salted peanuts, Chex mix, and dates.

I tried the Chex mix, since I love snack mixes, but it was just standard brand name Chex mix, never as flavorful or good as my mother's version.  Peanuts seem like an odd choice if you are going to offer only one nut, just due to the severity of allergies, and dates were entirely random ...

On another visit, there was an asian snack mix, filled with rice crackers and wasabi peas, that was standard, but nice to munch on.

Next to the snacks were baguettes (so French!), along with little packets of butter and Smucker's jam.   This mostly made me sad, because, I saw that they were appealing to French desires, but, um, I'm certain this bread was nothing like that in France, and the butter certainly was not ...

Soup Station.

The lounge is large enough that things are really spread out.  On a busy day, I'm sure this helps ease congestion.

This station, all on its own on the side of the lounge, had two kinds of soup: miso and chicken noodle on my first visit, minestrone and potato cream on my next, along with toppings.  Next to it was also a hot water dispenser with Cup of Noodles cartons lined up.  The few kids in the lounge seemed quite pleased with that option.

The soups were literally boiling, um, a bit too ot.

Salad Bar.

The salad bar had a small assortment of fresh veggies (baby carrots, celery sticks, cherry tomatoes), a base of mixed greens, some cut fruit, olives, cooked baby beets, little cornichons, seaweed salad, cole slaw, and some white unlabeled dip (or maybe dressing?)

I tried the seaweed salad - it was fine, standard, just like in SF, great to pair with the miso soup if you are going for Asian cuisine I guess?  I also got a big scoop of the slaw, excited to see slaw, but I didn't like it at all, it was very overdressed, and the flavor wasn't anything special.

Sandwiches.

Sandwich options were turkey or ham and swiss (with butter, on baguette of course!).

Hot Entree.

The hot dish wasn't labelled, but it seemed to be a beef stir fry, with steamed white rice on the side.  It actually didn't look that bad.

My next visit it was pasta and red sauce.

Croissants / Waffles.

Next to the hot entree, even though it was 3pm, was ... croissants and waffles.  Cold waffles.  At least they had syrup on the side?

I did not try these.  This seemed to be the only baked goods, no actual desserts were offered.