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1 Lounges

[edit] Lounges

Generally speaking, there are two types of airport lounges: First and Business Class Lounges. There are many different organizations which run lounges including AA, other oneworld carriers, Mastercard/Diners Club, and local airport authorities.

[edit] American Airlines Lounges

AA lounge admission policies, although seemingly complex, are well laid out with examples at AA.com.

[edit] AA Admirals Club

The Admirals Club is a Business Class Lounge. In general terms, the ways to get access to the Admiral Club are:

Buy a day pass or annual membership
Fly on a Full-Fare First/Business Class ticket on a transcontinental flight¹ (F, Z, J, or U booking classes)
Fly on a First/Business Class ticket on an 'international' itinerary;² upgraded tickets are eligible; at least the international segment of a multi-segment itinerary must be in First/Business
Be Platinum/Executive Platinum traveling on an 'international' itinerary²
Be oneworld Sapphire/Emerald other than an AA Platinum/Executive Platinum
Present a personal Platinum American Express card under the same name as your boarding pass

Notes:

¹ For the purpose of determining lounge access, AA defines transcontinental as non-stop flights between BOS-LAX, BOS-SFO, MIA-LAX, MIA-SFO, JFK-LAX, JFK-SFO, JFK-SAN, JFK-SEA, EWR-LAX, and IAD-LAX.

² For the purpose of determining lounge access, AA defines 'international' as Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and Mexico City. Flights to/from Canada and the Caribbean are excluded under this definition.

In accordance with the double purpose of Admirals Clubs as international Business Class lounges, passengers accessing Admirals Clubs other than via a day pass or annual membership are entitled to 2 coupons (drink chits) for free alcoholic drinks or bottled water at the bar.

The addition of access for full-fare First/Business Class passengers on certain transcontinental flights was announced in the summer of 2007.

[edit] AA Flagship Lounge

The Flagship lounge is a First Class Lounge located in four airports:

Chicago (ORD): Terminal 3, Gate K19
Los Angeles (LAX): Terminal 4, across from Gate 40, entrance through Admirals Club lounge
London Heathrow: Terminal 3, Departure level after Passport Control in lounge area H
New York (JFK): Terminal 8, beyond security in concourse B

The admit policies are more restrictive than for the Admirals Club:

Fly on a Full-Fare First Class or award ticket on a transcontinental flight (F or Z booking class)
Fly on a First Class ticket on an 'international' itinerary; upgraded tickets are eligible; at least the international segment of a multi-segment itinerary must be in First.
Be Executive Platinum flying on an 'international' itinerary
Be oneworld Emerald other than an AA Executive Platinum

[edit] AA Arrivals Lounge

There is a special arrivals lounge in Terminal 3 of London Heathrow for incoming passengers (hours are 6:00 am - 2:00 pm). Passengers traveling in Business or First are admitted for free. Coach passengers may pay $50 + VAT for access. Guests may use showers, the six computer workstations, breakfast bar, pressing services, etc.

[edit] oneworld First and Business Class Lounges

When flying 'internationally', access to oneworld lounges is based on your Elite Status or ticket class. AA Platinum (oneworld Sapphire) and passengers traveling in Business Class on an international segment have access to Business Class lounges. AA Executive Platinum (oneworld Emerald) and passengers traveling in First Class on an international segment have access to First and Business Class lounges. Note that you must have an onward flight on a oneworld airline on the same day to qualify for access. You will often be required to present your elite status card with the oneworld logo to obtain access; a boarding pass indicating status may be insufficient and you may be denied access. Also, Class-of-Service-based access may be restricted to the lounge operated by the airline on which you are flying; AA and Qantas explicitly grant access irrespective of oneworld airline while Japan Airlines explicitly restricts access to JAL passengers.

The oneworld lounge page has the easiest to understand explanation of whether you are allowed into a oneworld lounge. Note that the list of lounges on the oneworld site is not always well updated, and that you may not be granted access to third party lounges or some contractor-operated lounges.

[edit] Credit Card Lounges

If you have a Platinum or Titanium MasterCard, then you may access MasterCard lounges in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Cochin. Diners Club also has an extensive network of international lounges.

Likewise, American Express Platinum and Centurion card members may access a number of lounges worldwide when flying the airline operating the lounges, and in some cases Gold members are accepted as well (MEX.) AMEX Centurion Lounges are accessible to Gold, Platinum and Centurion members at MEX, EZE and GRU .

[edit] Other Premium Lounges

In addition to the AA, oneworld, and credit card lounges described above, there are other lounges that you may be able to access when traveling outside the U.S.:

**Additional Premium Clubs**
City	Admission based on any of the following			Lounge Type¹
City	Class	AA Status	AC Member	Lounge Type¹
ADL	F/J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
AKL	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
ASP	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
AUA	F/J	No	No	AA Brand Non-AC Club (Winter only??)
BCN	J	EXP/Plat	No	AENA Lounge
BDA	?	?	?	AA Brand Non-AC Club
BKK	F/J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
BNE	F/J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
BRU	F/J²	No	No	Brussels Airlines lounge
CBR	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
CHC	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
CNS	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
CUN	F/J	No	No	Contract Lounge ³
DME	F/J	?	?	Contract Lounge
DRW	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
DUB	J	No	No	Aer Lingus Lounge
FCO	F/J	No	No	Contract Lounge
GUA	F/J	No	No	AA Brand Non-AC Club
GYE	F/J	No	No	AA Brand Non-AC Club
HBA	No	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
KIN	F/J	EXP/Plat/Gold	No	AA Brand Non-AC Club
LPB	F/J	EXP/Plat	No	AA Brand Non-AC Club
LST	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
MBJ	F/J	EXP/Plat/Gold	No	AA Brand Non-AC Club
MDE	?	?	?	Airside on the right side of the hallway between a couple of gates; look for the AA logo.
MEL	F/J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
MGA	F/J	EXP/Plat	No	Contract Lounge (Airport VIP Lounge)
MVD	F/J	EXP/Plat	No	AA Brand Non-AC Club
MXP	J	EXP/Plat	No	BA Terraces
NAN	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
OOL	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
PER	F/J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
POP	?	?	?	AA Brand Non-AC Club
PVR	F/J	EXP	No	MX Lounge
SYD	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club (Terminal 2 & 3)
SYD	F/J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club (Terminal 1 International)
TSV	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
UIO	?	?	?	Airport Executive Lounge
WLG	J	EXP/Plat	Yes	Qantas Club
ZRH	J	EXP/Plat	No	Lufthansa Lounge

Notes:

¹ For Qantas and EI Gold Circle Clubs, you must have onward travel that day on a flight marketed and operated by the associated airline. See Admirals Club Partners for more details.

² Only on flights to ORD and JFK.

³ Must have an onward international connection beyond the United States. Note: It is uncertain if this means just beyond the United States or if it means an international connection beyond the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.

⁴ Must be flying on American Airlines.

See the associated FT Thread for more details.

[edit] Additional Information

[edit] Discounts for the Admirals Club

Besides the discounts awarded for Elite Levels, there are some additional ways to save:

If you recently purchased a day-pass, it can be applied to the purchase of a membership
CitiBusiness AAdvantage card holders receive $50 off new memberships (CB2) and $25 off renewals (CB1) paid for with the card.
Every so often, AA sends out a targeted discount to certain AAdvantage members for a $50 discount.
Sometimes there are specials given to coincide with special events. In 2007, to celebrate the opening of the new Narita club, non-US members received the opportunity to join with a $100 discount.

There are indications that signing up or renewing in a specific club is important because the club gets credited with the membership. It is believed that signing up or renewing in the smaller clubs may help prevent them from being closed (although other cost factors like airport rent may be more important in the ultimate decision).

[edit] Regus Business Centers

Starting in 2007, Admirals Club members are now given complimentary membership in the Regus Business Executive club thereby gaining access to downtown and suburban Regus Business Centers worldwide. Details of the AC and Regus agreement.

[edit] Qantas Club (Pub)

Some FTers prefer to become Qantas Club members instead since it grants them reciprocal access to the Admirals Club and BA's Terraces Lounge, along with, of course, Qantas Club locations. Some considerations:

Advantages of Qantas membership instead of AC membership for AA frequent flyers:

Lifetime and long-term (i.e. >1 year) memberships are currently (2007) more economical. Membership options and fees can be found on the Qantas website.
Free drink coupons in the AC.
Access to BA lounges when flying BA. This is only important for Gold and non-status members as Platinum and EXP members are allowed entry by virtue of their status.

Disadvantages of Qantas membership instead of AC membership for AA frequent flyers:

Cannot visit AC without a same-day flight on AA.
No access to EI lounges or Regus business facilities.
AC access is dependent on continuing partner relationship between Qantas and American. (This could happen someday: Qantas recently ended its relationship with USAir and, as of 1 July 2007, a Qantas Club membership is no longer valid for access to USAir lounges.)
Only one guest allowed, although immediate family is generally permitted.
May marginally contribute to closure of an AC that might have benefited from your AC Membership.
In the case of irregular operations, the AC staff may not protect QC members proactively as they often do with AC members.

See:

[edit] Photos

tom911 has taken some great photos of the lounges.

[edit] Other Links

The Lounge Project Review of oneworld lounges has links in a tabular format while LoungeGuide.net has many lounge reviews in a wiki format.

[edit] Related FlyerTalk Threads

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Category: American Airlines