My Lufthansa flight from Los Angeles to Munich was departing at 5:15PM, and I got to LAX at around 2PM, plenty early. Lufthansa departs from Tom Bradley International Terminal, and the shared Lufthansa and Swiss check-in desk is in the “C” area, at the far right of the terminal.
Tom Bradley International Terminal LAX
There was a dedicated first class check-in area, though Star Alliance Gold members also have access to it, so it’s not quite as exclusive as you may expect based on that.
Lufthansa check-in counters LAX
I just had to wait for about two minutes, and then was helped by a friendly agent.
Lufthansa check-in counters LAX
She printed my boarding passes all the way to Lisbon, and asked if I wanted an escort to the lounge. I figured this agent might have line cutting powers, so I said yes, since security at Tom Bradley International Terminal can take forever. I was told just to wait for a few minutes while they found an escort for me, but that ended up taking 10 minutes, which seems like a long time to wait for someone who is supposed to save you time.
The escort took me down to the “secret” security checkpoint. This is located on the arrivals level, at the very left of the terminal, and is intended primarily for passengers arriving at Tom Bradley International Terminal and connecting. It’s a well kept secret, and when it’s open, lines here are consistently shorter than upstairs.
“Secret” TSA security lane at LAX
The catch is that this checkpoint lets you out near Terminal 4, so then you still have to walk through the connector to Tom Bradley International Terminal. At my own pace that might take three minutes, though the lovely Lufthansa representative escorting me was wearing heels, so that about tripled the amount of time it took.
Being escorted to Star Alliance first class lounge LAX
Once in the beautiful Tom Bradley International Terminal we took the elevator up to the fifth floor, where the Star Alliance Lounge is located.
Tom Bradley International Terminal LAX
The Star Alliance Lounge is at the end of the hall, with the business class lounge being to the left, and the first class lounge being to the right. I wrote detailed reviews of both of these lounges a few years back, though I wanted to provide an update on the first class lounge, given how long it has been.
Approaching Star Alliance first class lounge LAX
Star Alliance business class lounge LAX exterior
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX exterior
The first class lounge is intimate, with maybe a couple of dozen seats. Inside the entrance is one of those cool Herman Miller chairs, as well as a desk where one of the lounge agents is usually hanging out.
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles entrance
You might not notice it if just walking by, but to the right is a private room, which acts as a VVIP hangout for celebrities or others who may require privacy (though nowadays LAX also has The Private Suite, which is the go-to place for those seeking privacy).
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles private room
This lounge is small, with maybe a total of two dozen chairs. Perhaps this is an unpopular view, but I don’t love this lounge. It’s so quiet, and if there are even a few other people in the lounge it feels almost uncomfortable. Conversely the business class lounge is massive, has outdoor seating, and is just more comfortable, without feeling like a library.
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles
The lounge has a pretty traditional setup, mostly consisting of chairs facing one another, along with a single couch.
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles seating
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles seating
In the very back of the lounge are four dining tables. The setup is beautiful, as they each have white tabelecloths, which seems like a lot of effort given that most people just have a light snack in the lounge.
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles dining area
Behind the dining area are two private bathrooms. If you want to shower, you can do so in the business class lounge.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX bathrooms
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX bathrooms
Next to the bathrooms is the door that leads to the business class section of the lounge.
Door to Star Alliance business class lounge
What I also don’t love about the lounge is the lack of views. It faces the back interior of the terminal (it basically looks at other lounges), rather than facing the beautiful side of the terminal, or the apron.
Star Alliance first class lounge Los Angeles view
The lounge has a selection of reading materials (including newspapers in Japanese and Korean, I believe, which makes sense given where ANA, Asiana, and Singapore fly to).
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX magazines & newspapers
Along the interior wall of the lounge is the buffet, which is in two parts.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX buffet
To the left is the food, and to the right are the drinks.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX buffet
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX buffet
Let’s start with the drinks. There’s a selection of self serve wine and liquor. Most of the wine is nothing special, though the Beau Joie champagne is excellent.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX wine selection
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX liquor selection
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX liquor selection
There’s also a selection of water and soft drinks, as well as instant noodles.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX instant noodles & liquor
Then the lounge has a self serve coffee machine. If they wanted to differentiate the first class lounge a bit they should have proper barista made drinks, in my opinion.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX coffee selection
The food selection was fairly limited, but that’s because there’s also a menu you can order off of. Food choices included cheese and crackers, fresh fruit, yogurt parfaits, sandwiches, macarons, chips, and snack mix.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX buffet spread
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX buffet spread
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX dessert
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX snacks
The two hot options included stir-fried yakisoba and shrimp dim sum.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX buffet spread
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX buffet spread
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX buffet spread
Then there was the menu you could order off of, which read as follows:
I hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so I ordered something. First I had a glass of champagne.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX champagne & boarding pass
Then I ordered the avocado toast, which was awful. I’m sorry, but this is LA, where avocado toast is a staple food. Spreading packaged guacamole and gorgonzola on a piece of Wonder Bread does not avocado toast make.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX — avocado toast
I also ordered the steak salad with gorgonzola, which was excellent, by comparison.
Star Alliance first class lounge LAX — steak salad with gorgonzola
When I first arrived in the lounge it was quite full, as there were eight passengers from Lufthansa’s earlier Los Angeles to Frankfurt flight, as well as a few passengers on Singapore Airlines’ flight to Tokyo. However, the lounge eventually emptied out, and then my fellow passengers for the Munich flight showed up.
Boarding was scheduled from gate 150 at 4:45PM. I left at around 4:30PM. While I was offered an escort to the gate earlier on, I always like to be the first onboard to get pictures, so I decided to make the journey myself. After being on the ground floor I turned left, and then gate 150 was a few gates over.
LAX Tom Bradley International Terminal
While the Germans are usually all about punctuality, the inbound flight was late, so boarding only ended up starting at around 5PM.
Lufthansa departure gate LAX
There is something I love about the A340-600!
Lufthansa A340 LAX
Star Alliance First Class Lounge LAX bottom line
Overall I really like the Star Alliance Lounge LAX. The business class lounge is massive, has an excellent buffet, has an outdoor terrace, and a new interior balcony. By comparison I find the first class section of the lounge to be underwhelming — it’s small, quiet, has a limited buffet selection, and has no views.
But I guess that’s also the beauty of the lounge. You can the first class section of the lounge for what it offers (excellent champagne and a la carte dining of varying quality), and then head over to the business class section to relax, where you’ll be much more comfortable, and not feel like you’re in a library. All in all, I’d confidently say this is one of the best airport lounges in the US.
If you’ve visited the Star Alliance Lounge LAX, what was your experience like?
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