How to access American Airlines Flagship Lounges and Flagship First Dining

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American Airlines calls its international First Class/Business Class lounges ‘Flagship Lounges’, and these are very different spaces to the more commonly found Admirals Club lounges that American operates around the country (and in select international locations).

Flagship Lounges offer a considerable step up in services and amenities to the Admirals Clubs American Airlines frequent flyers are probably used to, and they usually also offer a lot more space.

‘Chef inspired meals’ (in the form of extensive buffets), cocktail bars, self-pour wines, beers and spirits, and well-equipped shower suites are all on offer in most Flagship Lounges, so access to one can significantly elevate the quality of a travel day.

So where are the American Airlines Flagship Lounges to be found and who can access a Flagship Lounge?

Locations

Currently, there are just four Flagship Lounges in the United States with a 5th expected to open in 2025:

US locations:

• Chicago O’Hare (ORD) – Terminal 3
• Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – Terminal D
• Los Angeles (LAX) – Terminal 4
• Miami (MIA) – Concourse D

A Flagship Lounge is expected to open in Philadelphia (PHL) in 2025.

Access

There are a variety of different ways in which you can get access to Flagship Lounges – though your cabin of travel (on eligible flights), through your elite status (when traveling on eligible flights), and by paying an entrance fee when traveling with a oneworld airline.

Here’s is a list of who can access Flagship Lounges and how:

First Class and Business Class passengers

First and Business Class passengers traveling on a qualifying international, transcontinental, or other domestic flight that is marketed and operated by American Airlines or marketed and operated by a oneworld airline on the day of access or before 06:00 the following day.

These are the flights American Airlines classifies as ‘qualifying’ flights:

First Class passengers eligible for access via their cabin of travel can enter with one guest. Business Class passengers eligible for access via their cabin of travel do not have guesting privileges to Flagship Lounges.

AAdvantage and Mileage Plan elites

The following AAdvantage and Mileage Plan elites can access Flagship Lounges if they’re departing, arriving or connecting on a qualifying same-day international flight that marketed and operated by American Airlines or a oneworld® airline or marketed by Aer Lingus and operated by American Airlines.

• AAdvantage Executive Platinum elites
• AAdvantage Platinum Pro elites
• AAdvantage Platinum elites
• Mileage Plan MVP Gold 75K elites
• Mileage Plan MVP Gold elites.

For these elites, a qualifying international flight is defined as flights with seats ticketed as “Flagship” for travel between the US and Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East, New Zealand, South America*

Passengers eligible for access via their AAdvantage or Mileage Plan elite status + flight + cabin can enter with one guest.

*Excluding Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

ConciergeKey members

ConciergeKey members can access a Flagship Lounge when traveling on any flights marketed and operated by American Airlines or a oneworld airline or flights marketed by Aer Lingus and operated by American Airlines on the day of access or before 06:00 the following day.

ConciergeKey members can bring their immediate family (spouse, domestic partner and/or children under 18) or two guests into the Flagship Lounge with them.

All other oneworld Emerald and Sapphire elites

All oneworld Emerald and Sapphire elites (excluding those from AAdvantage and Mileage Plan) can access a Flagship Lounge when departing, arriving or connecting to any same-day flight marketed and operated by American or a oneworld airline (regardless of cabin of travel).

Passengers eligible for access via their oneworld elite status + flight can enter with one guest.

Paid access

Passengers aged 21 or over and traveling on any flight marketed or operated by American or a oneworld airline (regardless of cabin) can access a Flagship Lounge on the day of travel for a fee if the lounge agents deem that the the lounge has sufficient capacity (i.e. isn’t very busy).

At the time of writing the cost of a single-entry pass is $150 or 15,000 AAdvantage miles and access is limited to the lounge at which the entry pass was purchased*.

*i.e. if you fly LAX – ORD – XXX and pay to access the LAX Flagship Lounge, you cannot use your entry pass to access the lounge in Chicago as well.

Flagship First Dining access

Flagship First Dining is a service provided in a separate area within two of American’s Flagship Lounges and which is only offered to a few select flyers – access to a Flagship Lounge doesn’t automatically give a guest access to Flagship First Dining.

Flagship First Dining is, effectively, a restaurant experience offered inside a dedicated room within a Flagship Lounge where guests can enjoy ‘elevated’ table service dining with ‘signature wines’, ‘craft beers & spirits’, and ‘hand crafted cocktails’.

Currently, only the following locations offer the Flagship First Dining:

• Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – Terminal D
• Miami (MIA) – Concourse D

Note: T4 at LAX once offered a Flagship First Dining room but that is currently closed (possibly only temporarily).

Flagship First Dining can be accessed through your cabin of travel (on select routes), through the purchase of a special American Airlines fare, or through the purchase of American’s Five Star Select service.

Elite status plays no part in access to Flagship First Dining, so top tier oneworld Emerald elites cannot access Flagship First Dining locations unless they qualify through one of the routes discussed below.

Select American Airlines First Class passengers

Customers who book an American Airlines Flagship First fare (offered on select international and domestic routes) can access the Flagship First Dining facilities.

These are the qualifying routes on which Flagship First fares are offered:

A qualifying departing flight must be marketed and operated by American Airlines on the day of entry or before 06:00 the following day.

Passengers accessing Flagship First Dining courtesy of an international flight can enter with one guest. Passengers accessing Flagship First Dining courtesy of an transcontinental flight do not have guesting rights.

American Airlines Flagship Business Plus ticket holders

American Airlines occasionally offers a bundled Business Class fare which includes select First Class benefits, and it calls this fare a ‘Flagship Business Plus’ fare.

Customers who purchase this fare are granted access to Flagship First check-in areas (where available) and Flagship First Dining.

Passengers accessing Flagship First Dining courtesy of a Flagship Business Plus fare do not have guesting rights.

American Airlines Five Star Select customers

American Airlines sells a VIP package called ‘Five Star Select’ which costs $650 for the first person in a booking, $150 per additional adult, and $75 per additional child (aged 17 and under).

Five Star Select can only be purchased by customers flying in First Class or Business Class and it offers the following benefits:

• Access to Flagship First Check-In
• Access to Flagship First Dining
• American Airlines vehicle or cart transfer within airport property (where available)
• Priority boarding and re-accommodation status
• Car service coordination
• Personalized service through the airport

It should be noted that Five Star Select service is a different product to American’s Five Star service which comes at a lower price point and does not offer access to Flagship Dining.

You can find out more about American Airlines Five Star service and Five Star Select service here.

British Airways First Class passengers

British Airways First Class passengers departing from Dallas/Fort Worth or Miami are currently give access to First Class dining when they are originating in those cities and are flying directly to London.

British Airways First Class passengers are not given guesting privileges to Flagship First Dining and are not given Flagship Fist Dining access at all when flying from Chicago to London.

American Airlines ConciergeKey members

At the time of writing, American Airlines continues to send its ConciergeKey members two Flagship First Dining passes every year which can be used for same-day access alongside the Flagship Lounge access that they already get regardless of the itinerary they’re flying.

The two passes also allow ConciergeKey members to bring their immediate family (spouse, domestic partner and/or children under 18) or two guests into the Flagship First Dining area with them.

Note: This is not a guaranteed benefit given to ConciergeKey members but appears to be a benefit that American Airlines is currently happy to provide.