It was a short walk from the bus gate to the Admiral’s Club. I walked in the double frosted doors and handed my LAX-SFO and SFO-HKG boarding passes to the friendly AAgent, who scanned both boarding passes and handed me a white electronic key to the Flagship Lounge. As an AA Platinum (OneWorld Sapphire), I had access to the Admiral’s Club on my international itinerary. My international First Class segment on Cathay granted me access into the Flagship Lounge.
The Flagship Lounge is located across from the Admiral’s Club. The entrance is an inconspicuous sliding glass door to the right of the concierge desk on the second floor. After entering the FL, I returned the key to an AAgent who asked if I had been to the lounge before. I said I had no, and she offered me a tour of lounge. After the tour was finished, she told me to let them know if needed assistance with anything and left me to my own devices.
I was quite impressed by FL. It was definitely the nicest lounge I’ve been to in North America. There were quite a few passengers when I arrived (around 2PM), but the lounge emptied out as the afternoon and evening progressed. But even then, the lounge did not feel crowded at all. The lounge is fairly spacious and airy, with moderately sized sitting and dining areas as well as nice views of the tarmac. A quiet zone equipped with Bose QC2 headsets and easy chairs is located in the sitting area near the restrooms and shower rooms. Furnishings are of good quality and are in relatively good repair.
View from seating area toward dining area
Tarmac View
Tarmac View. AA 287 Arriving from MIA.
Dining area.
Buffet area.
Foot options were very good, for a North American Lounge. When I arrived, Flagship Tea was being served. Food options included hot soup (vegetarian chili), basil turkey wraps and sandwiches, salad, sliced fresh fruit, cheeses, and assorted desserts. The offerings were rather tasty and fresh, although there wasn’t anything special. A wide variety of drinks (alcoholic and soft drinks) and packaged snacks (chips, etc.) were also on offer. The specialty iced chai tea on offer was absolutely FANTASTIC. I had several glasses of the chai tea along in my five hours in the lounge.
A little fruit, dessert, and chai tea.
Around 6PM, the spread for Flagship Supper was set out. Hot offerings included Cornish hen, sautéed green beans and parsnips, soup, along with the cold offerings of Flagship tea. The food was good, although the green beans were a bit rubbery.
At around 7, I left the lounge to take a walk around the terminal. But the terminal was rather crowded with the evening bank of flights boarding nearly simultaneously. So I returned to the sanctuary of the lounge; however, I did not get a key to Flagship Lounge this time around. It really wasn’t a big deal as I only had 30 minutes before boarding. I haven’t been in the LAX AC since late 2010, so I didn’t mind taking a little peek there. This time around the furnishings and carpeting appear to be rather worn down. However, the view from the lounge is fantastic, as it faces the TBIT.
QF 388 preparing for an evening run back to the land of Oz with an AA 772 preparing for run to LHR in the foreground
Admiral’s Club. View from dining area.
Meager snack offering of the AC. Sorry for the blurry shot.
During my short stay, I grabbed a bottle of water with my drink chit and settled in a comfortable chair in the TV room and watched the tail end of Home Run Derby. The last time I was in the room, I watched the Packers pound the Cowboys as my flight back to Dallas was delayed significantly. Ironically, I learned Wade Phillips (Cowboys Head Coach at the time) was fired after we arrived in Dallas around 2AM the next morning. Anyhow, I headed down to my gate after watching Prince Fielder really belt it out in the last round of the Derby.