Review: American Flagship First Dining LAX

"That wasn’t done this time around, at least not within 10 minutes of when our dessert was cleared, so I just waited until I saw Raquel and tipped her directly."

Wow...never in a million years would I have thought to tip an Airline Lounge server.

Interesting....

What if your in J on a 787 International out of LAX? Is there a new lounge for J too? Or do you just go to the OW lounge in TBIT?

What is the best lounge to go to for J? Is there one similar to the new flagship ORD lounge for J passengers at LAX now?

@ Abe -- Yes, there's the new Flagship Lounge LAX, which I reviewed here:
https://onemileatatime.com/american-flagship-lounge-lax-review/

@Mike -- In the US, lounge servers/bartenders appreciate tips. Being an American and being accustomed to that, earlier this year I attempted to tip the bartender at a LH Senator Lounge at MUC. She laughed and waved my tip away, and said this is her job. It really made me think about how much more premium the lounge experience everywhere is when servers are paid appropriately and do not accept tips.

@Lucky, would you say it’s a better experience than the OW lounge? Which one do you recommend if you’re traveling through LAX on AA intl. J?

@ Abe -- Personally I think the Flagship Lounge is roughly on par with the oneworld business class lounge, and it comes down to personal preference. Personally I'd check them both out in your shoes and decide based on what you like most. I plan to do a comparison post of the Qantas First Lounge and Flagship First Dining, though it has been a while since I've done the oneworld business lounge.

My understanding is that Oneworld F does not necessarily give access to First Dining. However CX has an agreement for JFK passengers to have access. Is this correct? And are there any other similar agreements in place?

@ Andrew B -- Correct, no Emerald status gets you access to Flagship First Dining. Cathay Pacific first class passengers can use Flagship First Dining at JFK, but that's just because there are no other lounge options in the terminal other than American. That won't apply at LAX, since there's the Qantas First Lounge.

Unfortunately, this all comes at the expense of the AAdmirals Club which is now half the size it used to be and is totally packed.

Makes me feel like a chump for having a membership.

Is it possible they meant the espresso machine wasn't working? Or did you see a cappucino machine?

@ katya -- It's the same type of machine that they have in the Flagship Lounge. You can see it in the corner of this picture.

@Abe -- But don't forget, if you have OW Emerald (through AA or a partner) you can access the Qantas First Lounge in TBIT regardless of cabin. I haven't been yet, but I imagine (while we wait for @Lucky's comparison post!) that it'll come out on par with or slightly ahead of the AA Flagship Lounge / Flagship First dining experience, and certainly ahead of the OW J lounge or AA Flagship without First Dining.

Lucky,

At the end of the day, is this worth 15,000 AAdvantage miles?

I ask because my main way to access this lounge would be through mileage upgrades from business to first on the transcons. I’m flying out of LAX in mid January on one of the late afternoon departures. This could be a good lunch before boarding, but I still can’t decide if it’s worth the cost.

@lucky, I saw you at that day!

Beachfan

Well, that problem started when AA allowed people to just buy lounge access. Between that, the Priority Pass mob, and the travelling toaster oven sales people on employer-paid tickets, most lounges are now packed and totally devalued.

The Flagship First lounges are about where regular airline lounges were 50 years ago. All the exclusivity and kudos went long ago.

Lucky - here is one I cannot figure out. I am flying LAX-JFK(F)-MIA(F)-MDE(J) in a few weeks - would I be eligible to use Flagship Dining in both JFK as well as MIA? Sounds like yes to JFK - now curious about MIA

@Lucky something not accurate in your article...

"While you can’t use Flagship First Dining purely as an arrivals lounge, you can us it if you’re connecting off of an eligible flight. That’s to say that if you’re flying from New York to Los Angeles to San Diego, for example, you could access Flagship First Dining in both New York and Los Angeles."

This is wrong. You CAN access FFD on either or both ends of an eligible transcon in First. (aka if you fly in 3 class first from LAX to JFK, you can stop by Flagship dining in New York before heading into the city.) Many many reports of this on FT to back it up.

"While you can’t use Flagship First Dining purely as an arrivals lounge..."

So if I'm flying SFO->JFK in F, I can't access Flagship First Dining upon arrival in JFK? If so, that's a big disappointment considering SFO has no premium ground experience for transcon passengers.

@Jon_ISP What @Lucky states in the article about access on arrival is incorrect, both from many reports and from confirmations I've had from Admirals Club staff in JFK, as well as Admirals Club customer relations via email...both confirm that you will have access to Flagship First Dining upon arrival, even if LAX/JFK is your final destination.

@ Martin
"and the travelling toaster oven sales people on employer-paid tickets, most lounges are now packed and totally devalued."

If you pay for everything out of your own pocket, I feel sorry for you. I like having my company pay for my travels/status/cars 🙂

Jan,

As long as you want no choice where and when you travel, that's fine. But I don't need a free trip to Akron on a Wednesday in February.

I've done my share of paid business travel, and to more glamorous places like Zurich, Hong Kong, Sydney, Singapore, Tokyo, London etc. But even that gets old eventually. And I no longer need subsidies from others.

Anyway my point was more about how lounges have become diluted, and part of that problem is that employers are lazy about accruing the miles/points for themselves rather than letting employees keep them. When I ran a business I never let employees keep those miles - they didn't pay for them.

the wine list looks quite cheap. a 7 USD white wine I wouldn't classify as First Class.

Lucky, you should consider upgrading the comments section. This comments section is something I would have expected to see on a site ten years ago, frankly. For example, it would be nice if I could respond to another person's comment directly in a thread and get e-mail updates only for responses to my comment. That someone has to write @Name to clarify who they're responding to is ridiculous.

Hate to burst AA's design bubble, but the new dining area is hideous....the partitions in particular. Looks like they used a hospital designer. JFK dining facility is nicer.

In either case, just really wish the dining at AA terminals was better. I'd rather be at a 'proper' restaurant than a lounge....and, sorry, but that's all that flagship dining is and will ever be.

How is this comparing to Qantas First Lounge in LAX? Or oneworld business?

Been here many times now, and the entire experience (from the music to the decor to the meat and potatoes style-plating) reminded me of one of those strip mall American upscale-casual American dining restaurants I haven't been to since my childhood. At its best, it was the type of food you'd find in the lobby restaurant of a Marriott in Dallas, TX. (On my last visit, they were serving some type of corn soup that tasted straight out of a can...)

The menu at Qantas is significantly more current (New American cuisine vs Traditional American). While some of the dishes are overrated — their steak is nicely cooked, but the cut too thin — others like the calamari wouldn't be out of place in a James Beard nominated restaurant you'd find in SF.

Going back to AA Flagship F, I really don't know who's idea of shishito peppers on crackers constitutes fine dining...