Stephen is an established voice in the credit card space, with over 70 to his name. His work has been in publications like The Washington Post, and his Au Points and Awards Consulting Services is used...
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9 comments
Crisa Castro-Naoe
November 21, 2020
Question: we have a transcontinental first-class booking from LAX to JFK, however, our route is LAX to SFO, then 45 minutes layover, then finally the A321T SFO to JFK. Will we qualify to use the Flagship First lounge on the LAX side?
Stephen Au
November 21, 2020
Hi Crisa,
Yes you should be able to access the lounge, but only if it’s open. Here’s the rule I think you’re looking for:
“Departing flight must be the same-day (or before 6 a.m. the following day). Customers traveling on airline industry non-revenue tickets are not eligible for access.”
So as long as your transcontinental flight is before 6 a.m. the next day, you’re good to access LAX Flagship First Class Dining!
Luke C
October 23, 2021
Hi Stephen, great article! Does Flagship check-in lead to expedited security, or do you simply join the regular queues for that?
Stephen Au
October 27, 2021
Hi Luke,
When you go to Flagship check-in at LAX, you’ll be sent to a separate security line that is shared by TSA PreCheck travelers. So in this sense, it’s not a “regular queue”. But it’s not a private security experience like you’d get at The Private Suite at LAX.
Kenneth Beckett
January 20, 2022
Flagship First (& Business) Class is also available on (some) LAXMIA nonstop flights. Unfortunately, the AA site says Flagship First dining is still closed at LAX (and DFW). We’re flying Flagship First LAX->MIA on Friday, so this really sucks. The return flight has only Flagship Business (the 787-9), so we’ll miss it again there even though it’s open at MIA (yes, I’ll be trying to talk our way in based on LAX being closed).
M Smith
June 27, 2023
Why does this article say the lounge is still closed due to COVID. According to the AA web site it is open.
Jarrod West
June 27, 2023
Hi M,
Thanks for pointing that out, I’ve corrected the post.
Pedro Schmidt
July 01, 2023
Hi Stephen! Great article!
Do you know if it possible to access the Flagship First Dining also during arrival at LAX?
I have a flight JFK-LAX and was wondering whether I could try it.
Thank you very much!
Jarrod West
July 05, 2023
Hi Pedro,
Sadly, Flagship First dining is still closed at LAX, and we haven’t received word yet as to when it will re-open.
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