American Flagship Dining LAX Bottom Line

The most first-class part of the whole Flagship First experience, Flagship Dining lived up to the hype. A private dining area with excellent meals and super attentive service means that you will be well taken care of during your time there. 

The Good: Excellent food and very attentive service. I was well taken care of.

The Bad: Honestly nothing, the dining area remained quiet and peaceful. 

The Noteworthy: Flagship Dining food far surpasses anything you can get on board an AA Flagship First flight.

Access to Flagship Dining LAX 

Access to American Airlines’ Flagship is very limited. The sure-fire and “easiest” way to access the Flagship Dining experience is by flying American Airlines Flagship First in a three-cabin aircraft. That means that you need to be flying on a 777-300ER or First class on an A321T. Some Concierge Key members are also offered a few Flagship Dining access coupons, which they can use throughout the year. Besides that, very few people can otherwise access the Dining experience. I have heard some VVIP passengers and members of the American Airlines E-Board who are not otherwise Concierge Key members are given access, but I am unable to confirm this. I was able to access thanks to flying in on American Airlines Flagship First from Tokyo. 

Arrival at LAX and Access to the Flagship Lounge

After clearing immigration at LAX, which was a bit of a mess given all the Asian arrivals at once, I proceeded back into the terminal. Once past security, I headed to the Admirals Club/Flagship Lounge entrance. After showing the agent my boarding pass, she gave me an invitation to the Flagship Lounge as well as an invitation to Flagship Dining. When I entered the lounge complex, a premium services agent escorted me to the Flagship Dining area and told me that if I left, to flag down any services agent who would scan me back into the dining area. 

Flagship Dining Room

The Flagship Dining room is located at the very back of the Flagship Lounge. It is only accessible with a special swipe keycard that certain lounge agents have. The room itself consists of a large bar area with individual seats, a variety of tables and some booths. There are dividers between some of the booths, to provide privacy for passengers as they eat or work. The area is very quiet, and even when there were more than a few booths occupied, it still felt private and exclusive. 

Flagship Dining LAX Experience

Although the Flagship Dining room is a great place to work, the highlight of the experience is the food. The menu is supposed to focus on local cuisine and regional ingredients. The menu read as follows:

I decided to order two appetizers and one main course. Since I had not eaten much on the flight to LAX, I was really hungry. The first course was a chilled Maine lobster and burrata plate. It was refreshing, delicious and light. 

It was followed by an avocado tuna tartare plate, which was good but not wow. Also very refreshing and had a California vibe to it. Even though this was the least good of the food options I tried, it still blew away most appetizers found at most airline lounges. 

For my main course, I decided to order the Flagship Burger. I had heard great things about it. I am a big fan of burgers (especially the new Impossible Burger available at some Admirals Clubs), so I wanted to know first hand how good this one was. The burger did not disappoint. I asked for it medium, and it came to a perfect medium. The lettuce and tomatoes tasted fresh and juicy. The fries were good, but nothing outstanding, however. 

Landing Thoughts

After spending a few hours in the dining room, I took a shower and left for my next flight to Miami. The American Flagship Dining LAX experience is truly world-class. Although the menu is not as varied as those in other First Class Lounges, the experience blows away any other lounge in the United States. The Flagship Lounges themselves are on par with United Polaris lounges, and Delta’s Sky Clubs pale in comparison to these premium lounges. I believe the Flagship Dining experience does provide an added level of luxury to traveling in First class, however, I would recommend American working on their in-flight experience before improving an already great lounge.

Here is a list of all my flight reviews: The Millennial Traveler Flight Reviews

Here is a list of all my lounge reviews: The Millennial Traveler Lounge Reviews

If you want to stay up to date with the latest airline news follow me on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn!

Also, follow Travel Update and Boarding Area on Twitter!