American is renovating the New York JFK, Los Angeles, and Chicago Flagship lounges.
Current Flagship Lounge, Chicago O’Hare
Rendering of New Flagship Lounge Seating, Courtesy American Airlines
They are adding Flagship Lounges at:
- Dallas Fort-Worth at the D concourse Admirals Club lounge, which hosts what was rolled out as Flagship dining but is now called International First Class Dining – the lounge will be renovated to add space.
- Miami at the D30 Admirals Club, which will be renovated to add space.
- Philadelphia at the A West club between Gates A15 and A16.
Existing Flagship lounges were renamed International First Class Lounges to clearly describe who normally has access (oneworld emerald members with airlines other than American get access all the time, American’s Executive Platinum members get access when flying internationally as well).
When renovations are completed the lounges are renamed Flagship lounges, with their renovation and re-opening, they expand access long haul and premium transcon business class passengers, not just first class passengers.
American’s New York JFK Flagship lounge is officially open, and therefore open to business class passengers not just first class passengers (as well as mid-tier oneworld elites).
American’s Flagship First Dining inside the Flagship lounge is also open. This is not available to business class customers. Several members of the media received a preview of Flagship First Dining earlier this week but I was speaking at a loyalty conference in Atlanta and unfortunately couldn’t attend.
The JFK menu will feature ingredients from local purveyors including cheese from Sprout Creek Farms and grass-fed beef from Joyce Farms that will be used in American’s signature Flagship Burger, an item that will be available in all of our Flagship First Dining locations.
…American plans to add Flagship First dining this year at Miami and Los Angeles, and later at Dallas Fort Worth and London Heathrow.
Is Flagship First Dining open the EXPs and OneWorld Emeralds? If not, that would be ironic since EXPs have access to first class dining with Cathay Pacific and Qantas.
@john – No. FFD is only open to pax traveling in F on 3-cabin flights operated by AA. No FFD for pax based on status, and no FFD for pax traveling on a OW partner in F (e.g., F on CX).
flightwonk, be aware that FFD is open to pax traveling in F on flights operated by OW carriers. The ticket must show the AA codeshare flight number however.
Frankly, it’s not much of a perk. The food is buffet style and self serve. It’s exceptionally average. The tables and chairs are lower end plastic seats and metal frames that are difficult to move. Tablecloths like in the Emirates First Lounge in Dubai? Hah!
I shuddered when the new entry criteria were published last year. The lounges are already just about at capacity, so when the number of travelers triples (based on the number of F and B seats across the fleet), you’ll have standing room only. Even with expansion they only have so many square feet to work with in the lounges as a whole, so it’s just a shell game.
Where you’ll really feel the hurt will come when there are flight disruptions. When just one JFK-SFO transcon was delayed by 90 minutes, the desk inside the Flagship Lounge at JFK was pretty overwhelmed trying to rebook just the 10 of us in First Class. Imagine the chaos if all the Business PAX were clamoring for attention.
Once again AA is setting up to over promise and under deliver. Plus ca change ….
It is a hoot that as an American EXP (OneWorld Emerald) I can use the a la carte dining in Qantas and Cathay Pacific first class lounges but not American. Not allowing American EXPs and OneWorld Emeralds access to the first class dining at JFK (currently they have access to first class dining at DFW) may cause Cathay Pacific and Qantas to begin denying access to their first class dining facilities for American EXPs.
The lounges look wonderful and incredibly luxurious! Hope I’ll get to try one of these some day!
Reshma – sorry you aren’t missing much.
Really rotten of AA to deny their own Emeralds what they allow to alliance members (eg non AA Emeralds ARE eligible for sit down dining). Cathay, unfortunately uses the AA lounge at JFK – so while I have access to any of their first lounges at Hong Kong, etc., on my own airline I’m a nobody 🙁