FriendlySkies

Not necessarily. With so many of the changes that Jeff and the HOU Crew have brought to UA, it's conceivable that the OP (or other pax) would get glimpse at how bad ops are even with just one flight.. Even as a 1K, sometimes I shudder when I fly UA. Before this past weekend, my last flight on UA hadn't been since a disaster of a mileage run to ANC.. Everything else has been on AA, and such a breath of fresh air. I felt bad going back to UA, but they go non-stop to DEN while I'd have to connect MCI-DFW-DEN...

MAH4546

I don't think it's miserable, it's just really annoying to get there. The Eagle Admiral's Club opens next month which will make it a far better experience.

I'd hardly call the airline that is the single largest mainline operator at LAX (and will soon overtake UA+UA Express as LAX's largest operator), that is LAX's single largest O&D airline and with the second largest share of local Los Angeles traffic (after Southwest) "relatively weak" in the LA area. Quite the opposite - I'd argue AA is the single strongest airline in Los Angeles.

zrs70

If you are on the Dreamliner, sounds like you are not in F, but rather in C. C pax don't get the IFL.

tom911

Keep in mind that MD80s have no IFE at all, and although there are now more 737s than MD80s, it's going to be a few more years until they're gone. Upside for AA is powerports in coach if you need them, as well as streaming video if you want to buy a movie and have your own device along. I just don't know what percentage of the mainline fleet has the streaming video. Anyone know if it's every wi-fi aircraft, which would be over 90% if it is?

Tom on Irish Rail to Galway

tom911

There used to be a Flagship Lounge at DFW. Think it closed right about the time I made EXP in 2002, so never had the chance to use it.

I was in the LAX Flagship Lounge for 3 hours last week and enjoyed my visit. I had a nice quiet corner seat in the rear of the lounge until an Australian popped in and had a 30 minute loud telephone conversation standing by the showers and echoing into the lounge, sharing his business dealings with everyone.

Lunch that day was an excellent chicken corn chowder soup, turkey sandwiches, sliced cheese, hot salmon, green beans and rice. I thought it was quite adequate for that time of day. They have a large refrigerator with different brands of bottled water and soft drinks, and I had a Baileys before departure. There were a few bottles of wine on the counter.

Tom on Irish Rail to Galway

tom911

The photos of the LAX FL I took in 2011 look very similar to what was out last week:
http://tom911.smugmug.com/Airline-Lo...lagship-Lounge.

OskiBear

I'm an EXP based in LA and moved over last year during the status match.

I really can't think of anything that I miss from UA and agree with the posts here. The Flagship Lounge is really nice compared to the United Club.

The remote Eagle terminal isn't horrible - in fact, the updates recently have made it a pretty decent place. The bus trip out there is a bit annoying but I also enjoy the view from the tarmac, just like I used to enjoy the ride on the moon buggies at IAD that everyone else seemed to dislike.

I just did a Hawaii roundtrip last week and one thing that I noticed is the level of refurbishment on the AA 757's. The lavatories appear to be fully redone - new sinks, walls, toilets, etc. On UA, they seemed really old, and were just patched over but the old elements were still evident.

All in all, I find the whole AA experience much more pleasant and rewarding.

billgrates3

I've visited the LAX FL many times over the past few years on the way to/from LHR. It's always been quiet and the food and drink selection is usually decent. Tom911's photo is quite typical.

LAXRuss

I'm curious after reading much discussion about the benefit of LAX FL access as an EXP in conjunction with an international flight whether the beverage selection and quality are substantially improved over the Admirals Club. Also curious how the US Flagship lounges compare to some of the US based BA Galleries First lounges.