MeanwhileBackAtFAI

Due to a stoke of luck (?) I am on AA SFO-ORD-DUB today rather than my usual SFO-LHR-DUB on BA so I avoided all the IT outage related drama.

This is also literally the first time in my life that I am on AA and both the SFO and ORD AA Admiral's Club lounges are an utter disappointment.

SFO had some rudimentary food, some pastry stuff and fruit in very small quantities with lacking presentation.

ORD? Forget about it, this is all they have:
http://imgur.com/a/zHMeN

You get a coupon for one drink at the bar.

In comparison to BA lounges where there is real food and all kinds of drinks this is amazingly bad. So while BA J is a bit dated, the lounges simply rocks! Thank you BA, truly, I appreciate the lounge experience!

Luckily I had a bag of jerky ..., I probably could have sold that for like 20 bucks to hungry travellers ..., but I chose to stuff my face it it.

mrow

Admirals Clubs offer food for sale so you may have had to revise your jerky pricing downwards to compete! :-)

SeattleDavid

You can ask for more anytime - they just don't want someone taking four and giving them to other guests, so they tend to give them one at a time, sometimes two. They are dated and geo-located, so they are of no use any other day or any other place.

observer

The ORD Admirals Club generally has a decent spread of food (though not like a BA F lounge). I wonder if OP missed it because this and other AA clubs are being extensively renovated and the traffic flow within the lounge is not good. I am surprised by your coupon for a drink. Perhaps a premium drink. Most alcoholic drinks are free in AA clubs (though you get lower shelf brands).

MeanwhileBackAtFAI

Arguably my all natural jerky is better than the microwaved stuff they sell.

There are so many small improvements that can be made for not much money at all. Look at the Alaska Airlines Board Rooms, they have pancake stations where some gamification is built in to see that pancake roll through and come right out (yes, carbs are the enemy, still!).

It doesn't cost much to add some yogurt or cheese cubes with some crackers. It does cost more than the 17 cents per pound fake trail mix that they serve at the Admiral's Club, I get that.

For being the World's largest airline my personal experience has left me disappointed, and made me really appreciative of BA lounges.

I am departing from T3 in ORD so in the wrong terminal to go to the BA lounge. Given the events of today it's probably a mess over there anyway.

MeanwhileBackAtFAI

You Sir are a scholar and a gentleman!
I found the real food, thank you! It's still not quite at BA level but at least there are two kinds of soup, fresh vegetables, cheese cubes, and a freshly made guacamole station.

navylad

Indeed the OP is correct, whilst the AA lounges are being renovated slowly, there is dire need to and the food and drink offerings are basic. Well done BA!

britsv

The ORD first class lounge is wonderful. It's just well hidden and quite a walk. Food is great (e.g. lamb chops), free pour drinks and champagne (like GF). Available for OWE even on domestic economy tickets.

SFO on the other hand has none of that. For AA always route through LAX/ORD/JFK... (at DFW they usually aren't keen on letting you into the small first class dining room)

WorldLux

The BA lounge in SFO isn't exactly world-class. I think that it is rather silly to make general statements about lounge offering after only having sampled a small number out of hundreds/thousands of lounges.

navylad

Isn't that the point of a brand, so you learn what to expect from a particular brand? After visiting a fair number of the 78 AA lounges, You develop an idea of what to expect, or rather not expect from them.

Down the back

Currently sitting in Admiral lounge at gate 52 in LAX on way to SAT and was just thinking the same as OP that the BA Galleries are way better than the AA Admiral, same in JFK this morning, I can't speak for the First lounges as haven't been in BA or AA ....

elitetraveler

Are you talking about the AA FL at ORD?

It's small and often overcrowded. Bad sushi and scallops wrapped in bacon swimming in oil on the bottom of a hot pan, fried Indian appetizers, cut fresh fruit, carrots, celery etc.

In terms of a major hub F lounge for a major airline, probably one of the worst in the world.

britsv

For a domestic lounge in the US (see Admirals Club discussion above) it's an oasis in the desert! How many "F lounges" are there in the US that are accessible to domestic flyers (on OW only Qantas at LAX in my experience)? It's certainly a step up from the AA lounge at DFW which is their home base (and also better than many BA lounges in the US)

Dambus

Glad the OP made it home on an airline that is actually able to get planes in the air.

Being based in the Chicago area I agree the ORD lounge offerings are generally very weak. The United Polaris lounge is the exception at the moment.

BA F lounge is passable, C lounge is like a basement although pre flight dining is good.

Main Admials Club is being renovated but to be honest I prefer the atmosphere to the BA lounges. Flagship lounge is not worth the hike unless you really need several drinks.

Ber2dca

I was just gonna say, odd timing for the post to slam the airline that got you where you wanted to go and praise the airline that wouldn't have..