- Introduction: Two Trips To The Southern Hemisphere
- Review: Copa Airlines Business Class 737 (MIA-PTY)
- Review: Crowne Plaza Panama Airport
- New Panama Airport Terminal 2: Impressive(ish)
- Review: Copa Club Panama Airport Terminal 2
- Review: Copa Business Class 737-800 (PTY-LIM)
- Review: Sumaq Lounge Lima Airport (LIM)
- Review: Priority Pass Restaurants Lima Airport
- Review: LATAM Business Class 767 (LIM-MIA)
- Review: Hyatt House & Hyatt Place LAX
- Review: Qantas First Lounge Los Angeles (LAX)
- Review: Oneworld Lounge Los Angeles (LAX)
- Review: Alaska Lounge Los Angeles (LAX)
- Review: Amex Centurion Lounge Los Angeles (LAX)
- Gorgeous: LAX Midfield Satellite Concourse
- Review: Fiji Airways Business Class A350 (LAX-NAN)
- Review: Fiji Airways Lounge Nadi Airport (NAN)
- Review: Fiji Airways Business Class A330 (NAN-AKL)
- Review: Park Hyatt Auckland, New Zealand
- Review: Air New Zealand Lounge Auckland (AKL)
- Review: Strata Lounge Auckland (AKL)
- Review: Air New Zealand Business Class 787-9 (AKL-LAX)
In addition to checking out the Qantas First Lounge LAX, I also had the chance to visit the oneworld lounge at LAX, which is located right next door. This is a solid business class lounge in terms of space, design, and the food and drink selection. However, it kind of feels like a dark dungeon…
In this post:
oneworld lounge LAX location & hours
The oneworld lounge LAX is located in Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT), which is the primary international terminal at the airport. TBIT is accessible airside via connectors from Terminals 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. It’s a very short walk from Terminal 4, which is where most American Airlines flights departs from (and that’s useful, because some American Airlines passengers will have access to this lounge).
Once you’re in the center portion of TBIT, you’ll want to take either the escalators or elevators up a level (the terminal is on the fourth floor, while the lounge is on the fifth floor),
At that point you can’t miss the entrance to the oneworld lounge, as it’s right next to its Star Alliance counterpart.
The lounge opens daily at 6:30AM, and remains open until the last oneworld departure of the day.
oneworld lounge LAX entry requirements
The oneworld lounge LAX is technically operated by British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas, though in reality it’s accessible by all eligible oneworld passengers, including those on Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, etc. The lounge is a standard oneworld Sapphire and oneworld business class lounge. In line with oneworld lounge access policies:
- The lounge can be accessed by oneworld Sapphire members traveling in any cabin — those earning status through Alaska Mileage Plan or American AAdvantage can only use the lounge when traveling outside of North America, while those earning the status through any other oneworld program can use the lounge before any oneworld flight, even if it’s domestic
- The lounge can be accessed by same day oneworld international business class passenger, including on airlines like American Airlines, British Airways, Japan Airlines, etc.
oneworld lounge LAX seating & layout
The oneworld lounge LAX is massive — it’s around 42,000 square feet, and has seating for around 600 passengers. So while there are periods where the lounge will no doubt get busy, for most of the day this remains a pretty empty lounge.
The lounge consists of one big room, though the very center of the lounge has some small windows looking at the interior of the terminal, so that makes the lounge feel like it’s broken up into a few different zones.
Inside the entrance to the lounge and to the right is the bar, as well as a fire pit.
Just past that is the single largest seating area, which is also near the buffet. One thing is for sure — this lounge has no shortage of different seating arrangements, regardless of your preferred type of lounge furniture.
Near the buffet are some dining tables, as well as some high-top seating.
There’s also a large communal table.
As you go deeper into the lounge, the space gets a bit narrower — I’ll let the pictures speak mostly for themselves, though I especially love the chairs with ottomans.
The lounge also has a small business center with some workstations.
I think the lounge is tastefully designed, and has nice decor. It’s just a really, really, really dark space. I guess that’s not a big deal if you’re flying late in the evening (as is the case with many oneworld long haul departures from the airport), but during the day this lounge can be a struggle for those of us who are solar powered.
oneworld lounge LAX food & drinks
The oneworld lounge has an impressive self-serve buffet. I visited in the morning, so breakfast was being served.
The cold breakfast options included bread, bagels, cereal, a variety of fresh fruit, and chia parfaits.
Hot dishes included a pancake machine, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, mushrooms, quiche, and hash browns.
There were a couple of self-serve drink stations with soda, water, tea, and coffee.
Alcohol, meanwhile, is available at the bar.
Wine is self-serve, and you can find the selection below.
There’s also a beer menu, but those are served by a bartender.
Another awesome feature is that the bar has a real espresso machine, so you can have a bartender make you an espresso-based drink — yum, that’s much better than what you’ll find from the machine!
oneworld lounge LAX showers & bathrooms
While the oneworld lounge in general feels pretty fresh, the bathroom setup feels a bit more dated. The bathrooms are toward the back of the lounge.
Then there are nine shower suites, each of which has a walk-in shower, a toilet, and a sink.
Bottom line
The oneworld lounge LAX is a solid alliance lounge. It’s huge, has nice decor, and has a good selection of food and drinks. My only real criticism of the lounge is the lack of natural light, as this has to be the darkest lounge at all of LAX.
The Qantas First Lounge LAX is right next door, so if you have access to that, you’ll definitely want to go there instead. As far as a comparison to other lounges goes, I’d say the Star Alliance Lounge next door is a bit better (mainly due to natural light and the terrace), while this lounge is infinitely better than the Korean Air Lounge used by SkyTeam airlines, which has to be one of the worst international airline branded lounges in the United States.
If you’ve visited the oneworld lounge LAX, what was your experience like?
Am a member of American Airlines admirals club. Can I tsk advantage of the club at LAX even though I will be flying EVA air?
Is it possible to purchase a day pass if I’m flying internationally on Iberia premium economy?
It is true that the lounge feels very dark even in the evening, almost dungeon-like, it is considerably darker than the Star Alliance Lounge. The lounge was quite packed when I arrived at 8pm with mostly pax leaving for Australia. I had to wait a good 40 minutes for a shower which was a decent experience. The buffet food was forgettable and don't bother with the $10-range wine and cava, just order a cocktail from the bartender instead.
Note to any coffee nerds that visit this lounge: while I appreciate that they have caf and decaf options, and Ben is right that the barista-made coffee is better than the machine-made coffee in the lounge, I wouldn’t accept the coffee they serve here in a real cafe. If you know your way around an espresso machine, you’ll notice that the milk steam wand is crusted on with scalded milk, which means it isn’t cleaned...
Note to any coffee nerds that visit this lounge: while I appreciate that they have caf and decaf options, and Ben is right that the barista-made coffee is better than the machine-made coffee in the lounge, I wouldn’t accept the coffee they serve here in a real cafe. If you know your way around an espresso machine, you’ll notice that the milk steam wand is crusted on with scalded milk, which means it isn’t cleaned properly. The grinder isn’t dialed in, so expect an over-extracted coffee. Its OK if you need the caffeine, but its not good.
Can anyone tell me if this lounge has views of the aircraft on the ramp, some of the comments leave me wondering if its a dark lounge with little or no natural light
No views of aircraft.
An anomaly of this lounge is that you can get access if you're flying premium economy on Japan airlines. Pretty good perk for those looking for a small upgrade.
@Lucky you forgot one way to access the Oneworld Lounge LAX, if you’re an Alaska Lounge+ Member you can access it with a same day international Qantas ticket in any class of service.
Although technically the lounge is operated by British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, its strictly operated by Qantas and as such is a 'tipping not required' lounge (as in the custom in Qantas' Australian lounges, but of course you can still tip if you really feel the need to). I understand staff are paid such to compensate for lack of tips.
A "dark dungeon"? Seriously? Nitpicking, as you admitted reviewing the Qantas first lounge.
But Ben *is* nitpicky. We, his readers, *are* nitpicky. In fact, we actually come here *for* the nitpicking.
Not sure lack of natural light here makes "a dark dungeon" a fair assessment. It's right on par with The Pier in that regard.
Feels darker. Not a bad thing, though, if that's the vibe you're looking for.
Strangely, this lounge has also been available to Air France / KLM business class pax for many years, last I flew AF from LAX (before summer) they were still sending you to the Oneworld lounge. I'm not sure if it's still the case right now.
Qantas and AF codeshare on Australia/France routes. Also last time I flew from SFO Qantas used the AF/KLM lounge there, so it's possible AF access to the OW lounge at LAX is part of an arrangement between QF and AF on the west coast, or part of a wider agreement between the airlines.
Mike, your answer makes a lot more sense than my theory that AF/KLM are too embarrassed to send their passengers to the KE lounge hahaha.
But either way, I'm glad they don't use the KE lounge given how sub-par it is. It definitely made my day at check-in when the AF agent told me I would have access to the OW lounge.
I just flew Air France out of LAX, and I was able to use the One World lounge. It was much nicer than the new Delta Lounge and had better food.
@Lucky would you prefer this or Flagship at LAX?
+1
@Ben would be great to get your ranking of the Oneworld lounges at LAX too
@ Sel, D. -- Funny enough, I think I prefer the Flagship Lounge. It has floor-to-ceiling windows and lots of natural light, so I think that would be my choice. That being said, I might stop by here if I wanted a decent coffee. ;)
@Lucky thanks for the tip. Have a couple hours and don’t want to swap lounges. I’ve had great domestic lounge access thanks to your Safar Flyer Gold article. I’d prefer the terminal to most admirals clubs but the Flagships are pretty great.
Breakfast is definitely better at the Flagship IME. Haven't tried the rest of the meals at the OW Business though. Love to see a review of that.
Agree. LAX Oneworld lounge is more an eveningtime mood lounge. Qantas more of a daytime mood lounge. Generally seek either depending on the likely mood of the flight and destination ahead.