The new Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX is gorgeous. In my opinion it’s one of the few terminals in the US that’s not an embarrassment.
Along with the new terminal, they’ve also added several new lounges. While there are some other lounges still under construction, the major lounges are the ones operated in conjunction with the alliances — the Star Alliance Lounge, SkyTeam Lounge, and oneworld Lounge. They’re a huge improvement over the old offerings.
I’d say the Star Alliance Lounge is the nicest, as it features an outdoor terrace and indoor balcony, both of which are pretty awesome.
Star Alliance Lounge LAX
The SkyTeam Lounge is an improvement over the old one, but still not amazing. Most notably, the first class section is small, has a lackluster food selection, and doesn’t have any champagne on offer.
SkyTeam Lounge LAX
I used the new oneworld Lounge for the first time a couple of weeks ago before flying from Los Angeles to New York on Qantas. While I had visited the previous oneworld facilities late last year, this was my first time in the new lounge, which opened in June of this year.
oneworld Lounge LAX
The catch is that they only opened part of the lounge. They hadn’t yet opened the entire lounge, including the first class section. The plan all along has been for the rest of the lounge to open by late this year, though up until now we haven’t received an exact date.
oneworld Lounge LAX
Well, per Australian Business Traveller, the rest of the Qantas/oneworld lounge, including the first class section, will open on December 18, 2014.
What do we have to look forward to?
The Qantas Los Angeles First lounge will boast an a la carte dining room with seasonal menus from Neil Perry’s Rockpool Group, along the same lines as the airline’s first class lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, although as earlier confirmed by Australian Business Traveller there won’t be a spa.
The decor takes its cues from the Sydney and Melbourne lounges but strikes an updated, more contemporary note.
The Qantas Los Angeles Business Lounge will also gain room for another 200 travellers with the opening of its own dining room featuring a substantially wider range of meals – including a ‘plate of the day’, similar to what’s already seen in the Singapore and Hong Kong lounges.
Also on the cards: seven more shower suites (bringing the total to 16), a family zone and a business zone with six desktop computers.
This is certainly an exciting development for oneworld first class passengers as well as oneworld Emerald members.
oneworld Lounge LAX
oneworld Lounge LAX
In terms of other LAX lounges, I believe the Emirates Lounge is slated to open in January of next year as well, though I doubt it will outdo the oneworld or Star Alliance offerings (though it will likely be better than the SkyTeam Lounge, which Emirates presently uses for their passengers).
Bottom line
I can’t wait to check out the new lounge. Tom Bradley International Terminal is really shaping up to be a world class facility.
So, who’s going to be the first to check out these new oneworld offerings? 🙂
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