Originally Posted by
ijgordon
I think there were flights departing at like 1am at one point. Maybe LAX-HKG? This rule was to ensure you could access FFD prior to the technical day of departure. I think there were also scenarios of early morning arrivals/connections but I'm not sure exactly how that would have played into it.
Yea, this is exactly the scenario the "before 6am" part is designed to cover. If I arrive at LAX at 10pm for a 1:30am flight to HKG I can go straight to the lounge, I don't have to wait 2 hours until it's technically the same calendar day.
And the "before 6am" thing is a oneworld rule, not unique to AA. So while AA may not currently have many (if any) qualifying flights departing between midnight and 6am you can bet that other carriers like QR, CX, etc. do.