My Impressions Of The United* Private Suite At LAX

FYI, this article loaded very quickly by OMAAT standards, presumably because of the lack of pictures of a glass of water or a cup of coffee.

This format gets my vote. Some articles take a looooooong time to load on my laptop.

So you can't even take pictures once you're in the private suite with no one else but your party?

My customers and I experienced the service as a promo for charter jet operators. The experience had its highs and lows. The exclusivity and ease was valuable to my customers. However, many of them found little added value compared to what is already offered from the private jet terminal at LAX. All found the actual amenities beyond privacy to be underwhelming - the furniture reminded me of something at a Holiday Inn or similar.

From my personal experience with family during travels on commercial, I like the ease and stress-free environment (especially since LAX is an airport I dislike greatly). However, I would not use it if I were traveling with my only my wife or myself. I do value the ability to have a good quality meal if I choose to and the added perks of a terminal.

Sorry for the stupid question, but why wouldn't the goodies have been complimentary if it was a shared suite?

Again, aside from exclusivity and the avoidance of others, is there really much benefit over traditional lounges? For instance, would someone traveling in *A or OW F, or even in EK F, with access to the first class lounges find this to be a good value proposition? It would appear the food and drink are better in most of the airline/alliance lounges, and I'm sure VIPs would be able to arrange private rooms within the lounges themselves. So really you're just omitting the TSA portion of the journey. I'd love a side-by-side comparison.

@AR

It's really for (rich) people who want as little interaction with people as possible, not for people looking to have lush accommodations. The *A and OW F lounges are a better way to spend your time IMO.

Nick, if you liked the view, take the AA shuttle over to the Eagles Nest, that also provides some pretty good views and is free.

Why didn't you take pictures inside the suit Ben was allowed to and did?

Sound like a colossal rip off. If traveling internationally You can get way better food and Bev in the one world or *a lounges at TBIT. For domestic flights, I try to arrive as close to boarding time as possible, with a reasonable margin of error for traffic.Yes, we all hate dealing with the riffraff, but I would rather keep $400 in my pocket.

OH GOD TERMINAL 3!!!111

We used the Private Suite coming back to NYC from LA after Xmas week. The main reason we wanted to do this was because we were traveling with my wife's ESA. It's always tough threading the needle: we need to get to the airport early enough to let the dog have a walk and get through security, but if we get there too early, then we have to exit security to walk the dog again, which is a pain. One thing most Private Suite reviews fail to mention is the *large* outdoor play/dining area. It was absolutely perfect for us. The dog could run around (there are plenty of dog toys she could choose from) while we sat at a lovely picnic table snacking on chicken salad and seltzer water in the warm sun. A *perfect* way to end a holiday week before heading home to cold NYC. So few lounges have outdoor options and are in warm climates, so this was 100% the way to go!

I'd still rather be at a decent FBO, flying private.

I've spent time in one of these suites and the review is pretty spot-on, but I found it less than impressive for the price they're trying to get. It's just not worth it... Folks with enough to sequester themselves like this are already flying private. They go from their SUV to the steps of their Gulfstream. They don't need a suite in-between.

Like I've said before, this is a lot of sizzle and no real steak.

I can't help but think that the sweet spot for this service is catering to C and B level celebrities. A listers can probably swing flying private, even internationally, but below the Tom Cruise/Rihanna level, a lot of celebs fly commercial, especially transcon and transoceanic.

Having grown up in LA, I've always known I never wanted to be famous. The idea of boundaries is really unknown to fandom and it's only gotten worse in the internet age. A couple grand would be a small price to pay to avoid being hounded for selfies (or worse).

TL;dr This isn't an alternative to a lounge for regular travelers. It's a product that's uniquely suited to a market like LA.

@AR: As far as a value proposition goes, it depends on what you're looking to get out of the experience. If I were flying Lufthansa First Class out of LAX for a vacation, I'd absolutely rather get to the airport early and enjoy the *A first class lounge, but that's because I'd want the full on luxury experience, the food, the array of drinks, etc.

But for a domestic itinerary, flying around the holidays, and as @Aaron S. points out above, flying with an ESA -- the Private Suite is the better alternative. Yes, it's packaged snacks and mini-bottles of (very good) booze, but the seamless ease of arrival to boarding is unparalleled. And yes, while you're waiting to board you can easily step out of your suite and grab some fresh air, take a smoke break, walk your dog, etc. -- you just don't feel like you're in an airport.

So, to make a long comment short, correct -- if flying internationally and with time to spare, I'd value the lounges more. If I'm on a United domestic flight to IAD and the airport is a cluster, I'd value the ease of the Private Suite tenfold.

I did the United Private Suite offer at the $375.00 rate. The only difference on my trip was that I was in the shared suite. The service, snacks and beverages seemed to be about the same as you described with one annoying difference. There are two areas in the shared suite, each with a table various seating arrangements and each with a large format TV. While I was by myself, there was another family in the suite that had their respective TV blasting on a news channel. It was not restful until they left and I turned off the sound. Anyway, with that kind of noise, I think I'd just prefer the regular United Club in the main terminal.

I did enjoy all the other amenities including the tarmac drive, but I think its a "one and done"

Enjoyed this post, until I read the following statement:
"As we all mused to each other, “I never realized how much I hate other people until I realized I could avoid the airport altogether.”"
What an incredibly sad statement to make. But considering the location (LA and LAX), it's not surprising. I'm hopeful it was more directed toward the state of LAX facilities, rather than hating people, who all are thrust into that singular experience.

@Kelly: no, none of us actually hate other people. It's just a turn of phrase-- I hate the masses of people crowding LAX and it was nice to have a couple hours not interacting with other humans.

Did you settle into your cozy economy seats after this? I wonder what other pax thought if they saw you come out of the private car in a suit and then settle into economy. I would have LMAO!

At what point in the boarding process did you arrive? Were you able to board before anyone else, or is it really just whenever your car happens to arrive (i.e. when Group 3 or 5 or something is boarding)?

@Benjamin makes no sense.

"I’d still rather be at a decent FBO, flying private."

Ummmm, yeah. That's like saying, "I'd still rather be in Emirates First than in economy." Ok. Yeah, everyone would. And it's a whole lot more expensive. What's your point?

"Folks with enough to sequester themselves like this are already flying private. They go from their SUV to the steps of their Gulfstream. They don’t need a suite in-between."

This is not true at all, especially for international travel. The price differentiation is so large between a $10k first class seat and a $200k charter trip, that there are certainly many people who would do the former and not the latter.

In fact, if someone was going to charter transcon, but instead flew private suite + lie flat, they would literally spend $2 or 3k instead of $30k or 40k, which, even for extremely wealthy people, makes sense a whole lot of the time (Flying alone, etc.).

Is it my imagination, or is this a little more interesting than Lucky's review? (Much as I like Lucky's posts in general.) Write more frequently, Nick.

@Mallthus hit the nail on the head. This is ideal for celebrities who don't fly private. And if you fly out of LA, I'm sure you've seen them all. There are still a ton of celebs who fly AA from LA to JFK regularly, and even those who fly private domestically, still end up flying commercial for int'l. And if they can't get private included in their contract, they may well be able to get the Suite written in - just to avoid paparazzi. I imagine the studios may have negotiated rates for their talent. Not unheard of.

Of course the entre Kardashian crowd LOVES to be photographed at LAX, after all, they are famous for ..... um ...... oh never mind.

I personally wish the Private Suite well, even though I will never darken their door. It's nice being a nobody 🙂

Did you ask how your ID info is kept secure?
Did you ask who will have access to it?
How long will they keep that info?
Boy you are quick to give divulge that info...

So you sent your ID through a non secure website / email.

You would think they would have a secure website that you could upload that information. I guess privacy only extends to who you see at the lounge not the Nigerian Prince that now has all your personal information. ‍♂️

What about wheelchairs? I could see this being attractive to wealthy older people who primarily want to avoid the hassle of a huge airport, but how would you get from the tarmac to the plane?