sukn

Yes, there is no paid entry into any of the Flagship lounges.

nikad

Thanks sukn! Would you say the main difference is food? What kind of snacks and drinks are available at no charge in the AC club nowadays?

jgchan

I'm flying from abroad arriving in the late afternoon for an evening flight to LHR via JFK T8 in July and have a scheduled 4.5hrs stop-over.

After clearing immigration, picking up luggage, passing thru Customs and then re-checking it in, do I have enough time to use a one-day AC pass? If I do, then which AC lounge should I use…the one opposite gate 42 or the one opposite gate 12? I've read the posts and info that fellow travellers have written, and know that I have access to both.

Also once I've collected my luggage in the reclaim area, do I still have to pay for a trolley to transfer my cases to the re-checking in area? Is it far between those two areas?

CMK10

You should certainly have enough time to use a day pass, probably 2.5 to 3 hours depending on the lines. Personally, I prefer the Admirals Club by gate 12. I like the large open space and the views from the windows better.

SJC AA

I agree. But a day pass should be valid at both ACs (including the one at your departing airport, if there is one, as long as it's the same calendar day). So try them both!

srs507

Flying out tomorrow out of JFK, flight's at 7pm. Which AC will be less crowded? Would like some quiet time to do some work before flying out. First time with access to any AC tomorrow so I've never been.

wholeinone04

I'm flying with my fiancee LAX to JFK to FCO in July in economy plus (aanytime awards if it matters). Have a 2.5 hour layover from 2:20 pm to 4:50 pm at JFK. I have citi AA exec card so it sounds like I can access either of the AC lounges but not the FL lounge right?

From reading the past couple pages, doesn't seem like either of the AC lounges are that impressive. Is there free food and drinks or just free snacks? And based off the map, aren't the two AC lounges pretty close, can't we just hop into/out of one or the other pretty easily?

Oh and one more thing, to get into the AC lounge do I just need to show my citi exec card or what?

george 3

You can buy food through a limited menu, snacks and some drinks are free.

Your inbound LAX will most likely be assigned a gate in the C concourse (gate 30s/40s). FCO flight can be either concourse. Either AC will do, but give yourself ten to fifteen minutes to get to the gate. Snacks are free, some drinks are free, meals from a limited menu are for purchase. If you have the coin and time, try the Bobby Van's restaurant just after security.

N1120A

Food and drink. In the Flagship, the food is good and the drink options are much higher end. Plus, you are free to go to the AC bar and get anything you want for free.

The LAX lounge actually has better free food options, including sandwiches in the evenings, than JFK.

wholeinone04

Ah unfortunately we'll be there early since our flight is at 6 am.

Thanks, this is good info. Sounds like there's no decent free meals at any of these lounges, what's the point then haha?? We'll probably bring food on the lax to jfk flight and buy food at bobby van's when we get to jfk before our flight to fco. Thanks for the tips!

One last thing, to get into the AC lounges, do I just show my exec card?

george 3

See below excerpt from AA website pertaining to the Citi Executive card - you do have AC access.

Admirals Club® Membership4

With an Admirals Club® membership, you and your immediate family (or up to two traveling guests that accompany you) have access to over 40 Admirals Club® worldwide locations. You'll agree that travel has never been this comfortable and convenient. Enjoy spacious and plush lounges offering complimentary drinks and light snacks, complimentary Wi-Fi, conference rooms, PCs with Internet access, print services and more. Before, after or in between flights, this is where you belong. For details on Admirals Club® locations, please visit aa.com/admiralsclub.


As for Bobby Van's, I think they have a to go menu, but when eating there, i enjoy a table in the front area to watch people coming out of security check point. Be advised, the restaurant menu is has many of the features in their Manhattan locations (two I believe) and they are not inexpensive. However, the $15+ burger is well worth it. Coincidentally, my wife, son and I all had a burger here before boarding our JFK-FCO flight a few years ago to do the college exchange program kid drop (we hadn't been to Italy before so it was a good excuse to go).

SQjunkie

Sitting in the 'Flagship' Lounge at T8 Gate 12. They certainly shouldn't big it up by calling it Flagship - to me it looks a bit like a second rate BA business lounge for domestic flights. Couple of cling-filmed apples, a few stale looking croissants. There is a full bar which seems to not be the norm in the USA but is everywhere else. Only positive is the nice view of the runway.

It's certainly better than a porcupine in a bag of popcorn but perhaps 4/10 as a basic business lounge.

ExpatExp

Depending on the time of day, you will find a breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet service available, roughly similar to the standard in a BA Galleries Club lounge but with less choice. It may be between mealtimes at the moment.

You may be aware that the standard of premium lounges in the US is lower than that in some other places and that what you are describing is normal.

SQjunkie

Hey Expat - realised the standard was on average lower than elsewhere, but as I haven't been as much in the USA lately I have a recency bias. I just wanted to highlight for those similarly infrequent USA visitors that it isn't worth much effort to go to the Flagship lounge.

Good point on mealtimes though. I was there at about 3pm-4.30pm so probably smack in the middle of the dead zone.

nikad

Got myself and my husband a one day pass to wait for our flight with our 2 yo at JFK. Went there with very low expectations, the place is comfortable, but a bit crowded at times. The snacks are not super varied, but they are constantly bringing more. Coffee is good. We were given 2 vouchers each for drinks, I had two glasses of Malbec. The kids area has only one chair for an adult, and a TV screen plus 3 computers...not a single toy! I think they could make it a little bit more fun for the little ones. When we left to board our flight, it was delayed 5 hrs so we went back. The airline gave us vouchers for meals that we could use at the lounge, but we had filled up with snacks. Overall it was well worth the 100$ for us. Spent 8 hrs there. I do not understand why they close so early though.