I recently had quite a bit of time to spare in Los Angeles before an eastbound redeye back to the East Coast. Although I could’ve done some exploring in the LA area before the flight, I decided to just spend it all at the Flagship Lounge. It ended up being a good decision.
Let’s go over the details and what this lounge has to offer.
Flagship Lounge Access
There are several ways to access an American Airlines Flagship Lounge:
- Fly First or Business on a qualifying flight. On American Airlines, on another Oneworld airline, or on Aer Lingus, fly First or Business on a transcontinental route, an international route, or to Hawaii. For American Airlines flights, these flights must be ticketed as Flagship.
- For South America: access excludes flights to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
- Guest access: 1 guest for First class passengers
- Qualifying Status with AAdvantage or Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards. On American Airlines, on another Oneworld airline, or on Aer Lingus, fly a qualifying international route.
- For South America: access excludes flights to Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
- Guest access: 1 guest
- ConciergeKey. Fly any flight on American Airlines, on another Oneworld airline, or on Aer Lingus.
- Guest access: Immediate family, or up to two guests
- Oneworld Sapphire, Emerald. Fly any flight on American Airlines or on another Oneworld airline.
- Does not apply to passengers with Oneworld status via AAdvantage or Alaska Airlines Atmos Rewards.
- Guest access: 1 guest
- Single visit pass for $150, or 15,000 AAdvantage miles. Fly any flight on American Airlines or on another Oneworld airline, purchased at any Flagship Lounge location.
- Based on lounge capacity.
Note the differences in access rules for those with Oneworld Sapphire and Emerald via AAdvantage/Atmos Rewards and other Oneworld loyalty programs. Those with status through a program outside of the U.S. can get access on a simple domestic flight, while AAdvantage and Atmos Rewards members are limited to international flights.
In other words, if I have Oneworld Sapphire status with Cathay Pacific, I’d be able to access a Flagship Lounge even when flying from Chicago to New York. However, Oneworld Sapphire status via AAdvantage will not grant me access.
Flagship Lounge LAX Review
This lounge is located between gates 41 and 43 in Terminal 4. The entrance is shared with the Admirals Club.
As usual, I received a black invitation card to hand to the receptionist upstairs as I walked into the lounge.
Seating:
This lounge spans 15,000 square feet, which is one of the smaller Flagship Lounges for American.
Upon entering, you’ll first come across this area overlooking Terminal 4.
Next to it is a TV space, and more seats by the window.
This is the main section of the lounge, with large windows (the curtains were down in the afternoon until sunset because of direct sunlight), the dining area, and plenty of seating.
I was inside this lounge for over 7 hours, but it never got overly busy during my long visit. It was a quiet January weekday, and I’m sure that played a bit of a role.
Outlets were at nearly every seat. I had no trouble finding one whenever I needed some juice for my devices, which is always a nice part of being in a lounge as opposed to the regular gate area.
I spent a couple of hours on one of these lounge chairs getting some work done and relaxing.
A large display with both departures and arrivals was located in the main area of the lounge.
The curtains went up at around sunset. This lounge offers stellar views of the ramp with its large windows.
A beautiful LAX sunset:
Dining:
I was very hungry when I arrived at around 3 p.m, so I immediately grabbed some food.
The selection of food wasn’t particularly huge, which I’m sure the weird time I decided to get myself a meal (3 p.m.) was part of the reason.
I had pork, cod, vegetables, and bread from the buffet. They were all very good.
Although I didn’t have any, risotto was also an option during dinner time.
There was a slight line for this, and it seemed pretty tasty.
Drinks:
I got myself a glass of Bollinger around dinner time, after finishing some work.
Like at any Flagship Lounge, beverage options are abundant throughout the space.
More wine and champagne…
In addition to the bottles of Bollinger here, there was another small station (staffed) located near the entrance with more of them.
Coffee machines and tea were located in a few locations across the lounge, not just in the dining area.
Plenty of soda and other soft drinks…
Other lounge amenities:
This lounge has a total of eight shower suites, and I used one of them as I got closer to departure time. They’re located down the hall by the restrooms. Ask a receptionist for availability.
Unsurprisingly, with the quietness of the lounge on this day, there was no wait time when I went.
This was a beautiful shower suite. Water pressure and temperature were both good.
Bath and body products are by Klur, both by the sink (below) and in the shower.
A smaller snack and beverage station was located towards the TV area. This had coffee, tea, and other soft drinks, in addition to small bites such as nuts and raisins.
Restrooms were clean. Nothing much else to say aside from that; it’s your typical Flagship Lounge restroom.
Concluding Thoughts
I had a pleasant time here and didn’t get sick of the space even during my lengthy 7 hour visit. I loved the high ceiling and large windows, the food was solid, and the shower suites were nice. It wasn’t a busy travel day when I was there, so I also enjoyed the quietness even during the usual peak afternoon and evening hours. I never had any trouble looking for open seats, and I appreciated the outlets located by every chair and the wide range of different seat types.
Although it’s not the biggest in terms of dimensions, the open feeling of the lounge helps make up for it. It would certainly feel tight if it had lower ceilings like the Flagship Lounge ORD does.
All photos taken by the author.
