In May, LAX saw the biggest terminal shift ever, as dozens of airlines had to change terminals. The actual transition happened surprisingly smoothly, though airlines are having to do a lot of work to update their operations to get them up to speed.
Delta was the airline that pushed for this change, and ironically it will be years before their operation is anywhere near as nice as it used to be.
However, American is benefiting from the terminal change as well. Previously they had all of Terminal 4 and part of Terminal 6, while now they have all of Terminal 4 and part of Terminal 5. This is good news, since it makes it easier for people to connect between terminals.
It’s also good news in the sense that American is taking over Delta’s old SkyClub in Terminal 5, meaning that the airport is getting a third Admirals Club. This is fantastic news for those with access, since the old Delta SkyClub is a big space.
Former Delta SkyClub LAX, which will soon be an Admirals Club
There has been a lot going on with American’s lounges at LAX lately. Specifically:
- We knew American is in the process of opening the Terminal 5 Admirals Club, which we’ve been expecting to open this summer
- American is also renovating their Terminal 4 Admirals Club and Flagship Lounge, including introducing a new Flagship Lounge as well as Flagship First Dining
Well, we now have some official updates about what we can expect:
- American will be closing the Terminal 4 Admirals Club as of September 5, 2017. This will allow American to speed up the construction of the lounge, and is also being done since at the moment the lounge is so unpleasant, given how overcrowded it is and also how loud the construction is.
- American will be opening the new Terminal 5 Admirals Club this month, which will become the primary lounge for the time being. There will be a temporary guest services center in Terminal 4 to assist customers and provide limited light snacks and beverages.
- The new Terminal 5 Admirals Club will feature expanded food options.
- American will temporarily be relocating their A321T flights to JFK to Terminal 5, so that they’re closer to the lounge.
I’m happy to see this announcement. The last two times I’ve visited the temporary Terminal 4 Admirals Club I’ve found it to be so overcrowded and loud (both due to the number of passengers and construction) that I decided just to sit in the gate area. So I’m all for them closing the lounge, and hope that they actually use this opportunity to speed up construction.
It’s also good to know that the new Admirals Club will be opening later this month.
Now here’s to hoping that American opens the Terminal 4 Flagship Lounge & Flagship First Dining soon, which should be similar to the facilities in New York. In June I heard that these would open in October, though I guess we’ll have to wait and see if they stick to that timeline. Very little in the airline industry seems to be done on time.
American’s new Flagship First Dining JFK (a similar concept will open at LAX)
This will be an awesome improvement, because once the new Flagship Lounge opens, all international first and business class customers will have access to it, including those traveling on the A321 to New York.
American’s new Flagship Lounge JFK (a similar concept will open at LAX)
What do you make of American’s LAX construction plans?
Yes, they wont have a liquor license for at least 30 days from the opening date.
LAX will remain a mess unless and until the remote commuter flight terminal is permanently closed and its operations are shifted to Terminals 4/5, which I understand is not planned.
So LAX will continue to suck.
What about an update on ORD H/K Flagship?
Wow....looks like Lucky got the scoop, and JonNYC has his head in the sand (or elsewhere).
Where's your retraction, Jon? Jon? Jon?
It you have time, go over to a real lounge, go to Qantas One World lounge in TBIT. Only takes about 10 minutes max to walk over there. They don't give you vouchers for drinks. have all you want for free and they have a real buffet. Americans lounges in the U.S. are a joke.
Its ridiculous that you cant access the lounge if youre flying domestic First.
@Louis. They have been doing plenty of construction during the day.
@Lucky. Hope you are right, flying transcon at end of month.
Was at LAX club Terminal 4 and spoke with the manager there. I was told that Terminal 5 will not open until Oct 2017. Apparently Delta took everything including the wallpaper. Also they say Terminal 5 will open without a liquor license...at first. Again as of 7 am this morning the Terminal 4 club will not close to expedite construction. Let see what happens
There's no good way to renovate a lounge as busy as the one in T4, but the decision to close it off in such large chunks during the busy summer travel season wasn't a great one. The current space allocated to regular old Admirals Club members is about 50% smaller than what was there before.
As painful as it'll be not having a club in T4, I'm all for it if they can accelerate...
There's no good way to renovate a lounge as busy as the one in T4, but the decision to close it off in such large chunks during the busy summer travel season wasn't a great one. The current space allocated to regular old Admirals Club members is about 50% smaller than what was there before.
As painful as it'll be not having a club in T4, I'm all for it if they can accelerate the construction and just get it done. The current piecemeal approach isn't working well.
Let's not get started on the club out at the Eagle's Nest... it was so exciting when it opened, but there's basically room for 40 people in there (and two individually-locking toilets for men? Seriously? Does AA even look at their passenger demographics?) All it takes is one delayed SFO flight and that club becomes standing room only.
Uh…construction has only been taking place during closing hours between 02:00 and 05:00. THAT and Doug Parker's recent visit there is the reason for the closure.
Thanks for the update Ben.
I've got some Systemwides yet to use on AA this year, so am thinking I'll wait to use them until after the new lounge opens in T4.
T4 Admiral's Club has been basically unusable for a large chunk of this year. Wondering out loud if Citi would reimburse part of the $450 annual fee on the AA Executive card for us LAX based AA flyers that much like you literally walk out of the club since it's unusable at present time.
Also those traveling in J or F on a 3 class LAX-MIA should have access, right?
Thanks for the providing the dates, I thought it was closing this month.