American is in the process of revamping their international lounge experience, including creating new Flagship Lounges. American's Flagship Lounges used to just be open to international first class and oneworld Emerald passengers, while now they're also open to international business class and oneworld Sapphire passengers, which hopefully translates into a better experience for a lot…
Continue reading: Review: American Flagship Lounge Chicago O’Hare Airport
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A lot different than that Crap Polaris lounge at Ord.
Never again will I waste a dollar on that mess.
What a huge difference in food spread compared to United Club Lounge at LAX T7!
Compared to what I have seen from AA and other airline domestic lounges in the past this looks like an improvement.
Wow, this looks great, actually better than the JFK one assuming you don't have access to the Flagship First Dining there. JFK is a total zoo around the time of the evening flights leaving for Europe, with very few empty seats and far too many people FaceTiming.
Puts BA's lounge in the other terminal (which actually has international F passengers using it) to shame.
It is truly an excellent lounge and I agree with Lucky! Well done with the review!
Hi Lucky!
For JFK, I know Cathay uses the American flagship/admirals lounge. For a silver member traveling economy on Cathay, do you know if the lounge access would be to the flagship or admirals lounge?
I know that business class on Cathay automatically has flagship access, but I wasn't sure about silver marco polo members. Thanks!
The food does look impressive -- particularly compared to what you'll likely get on board 😀 Although, while the "crepes" were a nice concept, the fillings are meant to go inside, not on top. That AA has put together something both crepe-like and edible is commendable.
Looks so much better Vs the older First class lounge.
Im guessing Miami is next?
AA really doesn't give a crap about us in DFW do they? It's supposed to be the headquarters of the company but all we have is the tiny little room called Flagship dining where you have to ask to get drinks and there aren't even tvs to watch.
Beer selection looked disappointing - way too many bottle of domestic swill for an international crowd. How about showing off some of the local Chicago brews.
Two quick questions...
1. Is this in the same terminal as BA fly out of?
2. Assuming 1 is the case, if I wanted to use this lounge as a Gold BA Executive club member (but flying say, premium economy with BA), would I be able to take a guest in? My assumption would be no... but no harm in asking!
Actually, I found the info... and not the same terminal terminal as BA. That's a shame. I wonder if I could pop over and use it anyway? 😀
Brain not engaged... completely forgot this would be behind security. Oh well!
Lucky,
La Colombe is a Philly institution and is now the official coffee of all AA lounges, not just the ones in cities where they have cafes (Philly, Boston, NY, Chicago, DC, LA). Welcome to the cult 😉 There's one in Century City and one in Beverly Hills if you feel like a fix outside of the airport.
@neil - Looks like Anti-Hero IPA from Revolution in there, but agree that only one local beer is a disappointment.
The liquor selection loooks good in general but they’ve really downgraded the Japanese choices. The sake is vastly inferior and there didnt appear to be any shochu at all. Both were pretty reasonable in the old flagship space.
Ben, I am a reader of your blog who is blind. I enjoy reading your reviews, specifically because of how generally how descriptive they are. However, on occasion, you tend to rely too heavily on pictures. For example, in this review, you have inserted pictures of the various food options at the lounge and there is no description of the actual food items, except for the crêpes. I would really appreciate it if, in addition to the pictures, you could outline what options are available, and whether, from looking at the food, how appetising it appears.Similarly, in your flight reports, instead of taking a picture of the menu, could you list what is on the menu, because, as this would be text, it would be easier for people who are blind to read.Apart from this, I really like your reviews.
@Richard G
Hi Richard,
BA flies out of T5 while AA flies out of T3 where this lounge is located. You can get to T3 from T5 by taking the landside ATS and then clearing security at T3. The TSA agents may ask you why you are in this terminal, but just say it is for accessing a particular lounge. You can then head to the Flagship Lounge.
As you are a BA Executive Club Gold Member, you have oneworld Emerald status. This gets you and a guest flying on ANY same-day oneworld flight into the Flagship Lounge, even if it was a domestic flight.
Bleh! Although I appreciate AA's ensuring that the new Flagship Lounge is spacious enough to prevent overcrowding, it otherwise looks incredibly sterile and uninspired compared to the ORD Polaris Lounge. The seating is straight out of a dentist's waiting room.
@Jacob McCarthy
Thanks! I'm surprised that it's even possible. Got to love this site for knowledgeable posters!
@Hiro:
You do realize this is a Flagship Lounge, not an Admiral's Club?
Not sure you can compare the United Club at T7 in LAX to this.
The admittance to the Flagship Lounge cannot be purchased via membership.
Excellent photos as usual. Based on them I would give this AA lounge a 2.5 out of 5. The lighting is ghastly, harsh, glaring mercury vapor like in a non-descript office - along with that corridor entrance which gives the feeling of entering a cold corporate cave; very uninviting, even intimidating! The furnishings look cold, sterile and void of comfort and colours that could help to mute the overall cheap minimalist style. I prefer a First lounge like CX in Hong Kong which has a tastefully decorated and comfortable home/living room feel.
Marco Polo Silver is Oneword Ruby so would NOT have access to the flagship lounge when flying CX economy or premium economy.
Kudos to AA this lounge looks like a big improvement and I love Bollinger!
It's a very good lounge. Not on the same level as The Pier, obviously, but certainly a bit better than The Wing and The Bridge. I'd even give it the nod over the Sakura Lounge at NRT (curry beef notwithstanding).
There are times when this lounge gets extremely busy. I was there on a Sunday afternoon a week ago and it was absolutely packed. No issues getting a shower or a place to sit (luckily), but it was the busiest I've seen it.
When traveling economy on AA, does Priority Pass (Chase Reserve card privilege) allow access to this lounge?
"Bollinger — that stuff isn’t cheap, and I heard corks pop faster than in a rap music video" HA!
@Frank - tell him he's dreamin'...
@schar - essentially, an Admiral's Club is a bog-standard lounge that you can earn OR buy your way into even in Y &/or without any elite status, whilst the Flagship Lounges are intended more as an elevated level of lounge that are solely for premium cabin (J/F) and elite status (OW Sapphire/Emerald) customers only.
The Flagship lounge is awesome! Just came in from Shanghai and had 4 hours to kill before my connection. I had a very tasty meal, some really good wine and even showered...these showers are spa quality showers. Feel so much better getting on my connecting flight! Thanks AA!
Do they still have the air side shuttle bus that will transport you from the Flagship area to T5? Did that last time after arriving from DFW, great not having to go through security again. But we were required to be in T5 very early prior to CX to HKG and sitting over there for any length of time was torture.
Would a AA platinum member connecting to Etihad on a J ticket have access to the Flagship Lounge, or no since Etihad is not OneWorld?
Sitting in the flagship lounge ORD right now and the bollingers gone! replaced with a much smaller selection of champagne delamotte
If I'm connecting off a BA Club World flight and connecting onto a domestic American flight (so going LHR-ORD-TYS) if I show my boarding pass for the LHR-ORD sector will I be able to gain access?
Been a few years since I have been through ORD and looking forward to using the Flagship Lounge for the first time, very dissapointed. To be honest apart from a bit more food, which the staff were not replenishing very efficiently, and more drinks which you could self serve the rest was just like a standard AA lounge. We were there on 22 Sep and it was very crowded and not very pleasant. It was hard to find a seat and as said the food was not replenished that often the chef serving station closed quite early. I have to say it was not the premium feeling I was expecting and when compared to the Cathy or Quantas lounge we could use at LHR on the way out it was poor. To be honest it was worse than the AA lounge at LHR T3.