Review: American Airlines Admirals Club New York LaGuardia (LGA)

Background

Since I was flying from Canada to the U.S. on American Airlines in Business Class, I was granted access to the Admirals Club. So, upon arrival from my Montreal (YUL) to New York (LGA) flight, I decided to pop in to see how it was as I had never visited the Admirals Club New York LaGuardia before.

A really fun fact is that the first airport lounge ever was opened in 1939 and it was the American Airlines Admirals Club in New York LaGuardia. The president of American Airlines at the time, C. R. Smith created this invite-only lounge and gave important customers, legislators, and well-known people access to the club. Not until 1967 did the airline begin to sell membership to the general public.

It was quite empty during my midweek evening visit, but probably the nicest Admirals Club I had ever been to. It was certainly quite large, and I liked the modern design.

Location & Access

The Admirals Club at LGA is located in Terminal B, Concourse A, near gates 30 and 31.

Hours of operation during my May 2024 visit are Sunday – Friday from 4:30 am – 9:30 pm and Saturday from 4:30 am – 7:30 pm.

Some ways to access the Admirals Club New York LaGuardia (LGA) include:

• Admirals Club members or One-Day Pass Customers
• Customers in First or Business on a qualifying departing or arriving international or transcontinental flight
• Qualifying AAdvantage Executive Platinum, AAdvantage Platinum Pro, and AAdvantage Platinum members flying internationally
• Non-AAdvantage oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members
• Military
• Citi/AAdvantage Executive Card Holders

Canada is listed as a qualifying international destination, though there is a footnote on the website that reads:

*Except on flights operated by Alaska Airlines, access is not granted when flying from the United States to Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

I originally interpreted it as only flying Alaska Airlines grants you access to the lounge when flying from the US to Canada. But that wouldn’t make sense why a partner would get more access. I read other people’s experiences online and it seemed that it was just poorly worded. American probably meant that when flying Alaska Airlines from the US to Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico, you wouldn’t get access, but you would when flying American. I had no issues getting in when scanning my boarding pass.

My Visit

So, there are two parts of the lounge, and upon entering you’ll see the first section of the lounge. When the lounge first opened at the end of 2021, only this right-hand section was open, and later in 2022 the left side of the lounge opened, and both these sections are connected by a bridge. Together, both sections are 22,000 square feet and offer seating for about 360 passengers.

This original smaller section features a variety of seating options, such as a media room, dining tables, and recliner seats.

If you continue to the right, you’ll find a small bar area in the corner of the dining area plus a self-serve buffet section. There are also some dining tables and even a tree in the middle.

Restrooms are available on this side of the lounge but are smaller than the ones on the other expanded side. They do offer some shower rooms here though, in case you want to freshen up.

After checking out this smaller section for a bit, I decided to walk across the bridge and was very surprised by how large that section was. There’s a much larger bar over on the left section, as well as a self-serve buffet section as well.

The food options were similar, but it seemed that this expanded section had a bit more variety. The food selection is not as extensive as the Delta Sky Club at LGA, but it’s quite a step up from what I’m used to seeing at other Admirals Clubs.

Food Selection

During my visit which was during the dinner time hours, both sections had a Korean Beef dish, Vegetable Fried Rice, and a salad bar. The larger section had two soups, Minestrone and Chicken Noodle, while the smaller section only had Minestrone. Fresh fruit was also available, as well as prepackaged chips. Coca-Cola Freestyle Machines were available, and the full bars served complimentary and premium alcoholic options.

If you want a more substantial meal, they had 7 paid options that you could order which included Chicken Bites ($10), Pretzel Bites ($10), Build Your Own Quesadilla ($15), Chicken Apple Cheddar Sandwich ($14), BLT ($14), Mediterranean Salad ($14), Pastrami Sandwich ($12).

Continuing past the buffet, there are ticketing desks to assist with any flight questions.

Video game fans will be happy to see the game room with two Polycade arcade machines.

There is more seating, and my favorites are the large booth-style seats on the wall. There’s also a small beverage/snack area here with snacks and desserts, and I liked grabbing the macaroons. Brownies and snack mixes were also available.

Business travelers will like 3 enclosed phone booths and the business pods with a table and booth-style seating. There’s also plenty of high- and low-top counter space for those to catch up on work.

The lounge even offers two private conference rooms, a 10 seater and a 4 seater, which you can rent by the hour.

Towards the back of the lounge is a quiet area. This space features individual recliners, and curtains to divide the space up a bit.

Views in the lounge overlook the terminal but you can still kind of see planes at the gate in the distance. I do like the open-air feel of it and didn’t mind sacrificing the runway views.

The Verdict

Overall, I loved visiting the American Airlines Admirals Club New York LaGuardia (LGA). It’s probably the nicest Admirals Club that I’ve visited, and I was impressed by the design. It seems like a great place to relax, and I would like to revisit it sometime in the future.

 

Have you visited the American Admirals Club New York LaGuardia (LGA) before? Share your experience below!

 

Cheers,

Ty

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