Originally Posted by
hikouki
Yes, connecting through either SFO/ LAX on arrival. (Sorry, I confused the terms "arrival lounge" as opposed to "lounge-on-arrival-with-a-US-connection")
Is there still a "Star Alliance Lounge" at LAX (TBIT?)? Is that an option as an arrival-connection lounge?
Is there a sterile walkway from TBIT to the UA Terminal/s? It has been a while since I transited through LAX. Last time I used it to transit was prior to 2017 and I was heavily using AA/CX, and I recall there being a seamless transfer from the AA terminals to TBIT (and somewhat on the return). And OneWorld had their own OW Lounge.
There is a Star Alliance Lounge (Business and First) at TBIT. While it maybe an option for the arrival, I’m assuming since you are flying United on your connecting flight, I would not bother spending time there. This is because that currently there isn’t post-security access between TBIT and T5/T6/T7/T8 due to the construction at T4. So you would have to clear TSA security twice: once to get back into TBIT to access Star Alliance lounge and then another when you exit TBIT and head over to T7 where you’d have to go through security again.
And yes, I have taken advantage of the Qantas First Class Lounge at TBIT mixed with AA travel and it worked really well. Particularly since T4/T5 and TBIT and neighbors and it was a pretty direct route you could take.
But given how far T7/T8 is, even if the tunnel was still functional all the way, it would still be quite a hike and not the most direct route with lots of going up escalators and going down again.