Lounges

Category Archives for Lounges.

Review: American Airlines Flagship First Dining New York JFK

by Gary Leff on April 3, 2022

Apr 03 2022

Step inside American Airlines Flagship First Dining at New York JFK and you’ll forget for a moment that this is an airline’s lounge. You’d even forget you’re at the airport, except for the floor to ceiling glass views over the tarmac. The space is serene. The service is excellent. And they’re serving food you’d be happy to eat in a nice restaurant.

It’s even better than when it first opened, and reasonably draws comparisons to first class offerings from Lufthansa in Frankfurt and Air France in Paris.

Turkish Airlines Istanbul Business Class Lounge Adds Flight Simulator Experience

by Gary Leff on March 30, 2022

Mar 30 2022

Turkish Airlines offers one of the very best business class lounges at its home airport in Instanbul, complete with library, billiards area, and golf simulator. Now they have a new feature: virtual flight simulator. It’s called the “Hezarfen Flight Simulator Experience” after the first person in Turkish aviation history to take flight.

What’s Really Going On At The Charlotte Admirals Club

by Gary Leff on February 18, 2022

Feb 18 2022

The main Admirals Club in Charlotte is closed for renovations. Some travelers had hopes this would mean improving the club, still in US Airways-style, but it doesn’t. American – which has been somewhat cagey about the work that’s happening – says the updates which will take several months are about bringing the space up to fire code.

Here are permitting details for what renovations will actually be taking place.

Star Alliance Lounge LAX Now Offers Pay-In Access

by Gary Leff on February 17, 2022

Feb 17 2022

The Star Alliance lounge at LAX is no longer limited to business and first class passengers and Star Gold elites on Star Alliance airline flights (and other airline eligible passengers such as Air Tahiti Nui passengers in business class). Instead, you can now pay for access to the lounge.

Chase Opens New Lounge In The Metaverse

by Gary Leff on February 16, 2022

Feb 16 2022

For many years Chase operated a pop up lounge around at the holidays for United Explorer cardmembers at the Mall at Short Hills, New Jersey. They wanted to be where there customers are.

Coming soon is a network of Chase airport lounges co-branded with Collinson’s The Club, the same company that brings you Priority Pass. But before we see the opening of the first Chase airport lounge, the bank has opened a lounge in the Metaverse..

Internatioal Business Class Passengers Turned Away From Qantas Lounges In Australia

by Gary Leff on February 2, 2022

Feb 02 2022

oneworld lounge access rules provide business class lounge access for business class passengers flying any airline in the alliance. Qantas is using first class lounges as business class lounges, but haven’t renamed those lounges as business lounges so they’re excluded. Hopefully they’ll fully re-open lounges as their international route network restarts – and as partner airlines rebuild their Australia schedules as well.

American Airlines Targets Spring Re-Opening Of Dallas And Chicago Flagship Lounges

by Gary Leff on January 31, 2022

Jan 31 2022

American Airlines has re-opened its Flagship business class lounges at New York JFK, Miami and Los Angeles. Flagship First Dining for long haul first class passengers has reopened at JFK and Miami. However the lounges in Dallas and Chicago remain closed.

Fortunately American Airlines is now talking up a target for their re-opening.

American’s DFW Airport Flagship Lounge Is, Actually, Secretly Open For Use

by Gary Leff on January 30, 2022

Jan 30 2022

The re-opening of the Dallas – Fort Worth American Airlines international business class Flagship Lounge keeps getting delayed. Officially there’s no announced re-opening date, though it looked ready to re-open in late fall and there was a push to staff up for it.

In fact, though, the space is open and being used for some passengers.

Crowded American Airlines Charlotte Club Now Has Lines To Get In

by Gary Leff on January 29, 2022

Jan 29 2022

With only the smaller B concourse club available for passengers to spend time in while waiting for flights, it’s become overrun. While there have been some members talking about a ‘wait list’ to get in, an American Airlines spokesperson explains, “a representative manages the line outside of the Admirals Club. The rep will let guests in as others leave. First come first serve for our members.”

How Austin Almost Got – And Then Lost – An American Express Lounge

by Gary Leff on January 23, 2022

Jan 23 2022

At the start of 2020 the Austin airport was on the verge of getting a new lounge accessible by American Express Platinum cardmembers. But a contracting dispute, the pandemic, and then American Airlines happened.