You Trip Report

	DATE	FLIGHT NUMBER	SEAT	AIRCRAFT
10 Oct 21	AA 2283	4A	777-300ER
CLASS	VIEWS	LANGUAGE	AUTHOR
Business Class	73714	English	jetsetpanda

Prologue:

Welcome to this special report where I visit AA's recently opened Flagship Lounge in MIA and I fly the very familiar MIA-LAX transcon route in J.

The Flagship lounges are the equivalent of UA's Polaris counterparts. The MIA Flagship lounge is located within the Admirals Club by gate D30 through a separate entrance on the second floor.

Upon checking in with an agent at the entrance of the Admirals Club I was given this invitation to be presented to an agent on the 2nd floor.

After I exited the elevator on the 2nd floor an agent spotted my invitation and escorted me to the entrance of the Flagship Lounge. Pax entering the lounge are welcomed with a glass of Louis Roederer champagne.

A very nice first impression.

An agent introduced herself and asked if I wanted a tour of the lounge. I politely declined and thanked her for the kind gesture. She then advised me to contact her if I needed anything else including a shower and wished me an enjoyable stay.

The lounge is divided into different sections and in the back there is a quiet area with sleeping chairs.

The bar.

Self service liquor.

More champagne available.

Dining area with the exclusive Flagship First Dining room in the back reserved for F pax only.

Breakfast buffet.

In the back you will find a "made to order" omelette station.

Let's check the buffet selections.

Viennoiseries.

Salads fruits tuna tataki and hearts of palm.

Breakfast tacos.

Arepas and quiches.

Thomas' favorite breakfast food - crispy bacon.

Fruits and salads.

Arugula salad with Parmesan shavings and smoked salmon accompanied by capers chopped eggs and pickled onions. I love smoked salmon!

Charcuterie and imported cheeses.

My breakfast.

By 11:00A the breakfast transitioned to lunch.

Lunch menu.

Opera and Tres Leches cakes.

My lunch.

Just before leaving to the gate I asked for a shower at the desk and the attendant escorted me to one right away.

Boarding at the gate.

The FA at the door recognized me from a previous flight. Later during the flight there was another FA who also mentioned that I looked familiar.

I reserved a seat in the mini cabin in the forward section of the J cabin with only 8 seats.

My seat 4A

Menu bottle of water pillow blanket and headphones were already in the seat. However the amenity kit was missing.

I looked inside the pillow and it was stained. So much for cleaning.

I settled comfortably into my seat.

View outside.

I asked one of crew about the missing kit and a FA handed me one before departure.

Contents of the kit.

Disappointed at the low quality of these kits. I believe these are the ones they use for Premium Econ on intl flights. I discovered later that these were the same kits given in F when I checked the cabin after arrival.

I had this menu on a previous trip. Back then the seafood dish was excellent. This time I will try the chicken stuffed with spinach and Gouda.

Taxiing out.

Bye MIA.

Service started with drinks and warm nuts. I was surprised that they are back.

Miam miam!

Chicken dish.

Appetizer.

Caramel tart.

A bit dry.

The bread was small cold and hard as a rock. A lethal weapon.

Later on FA's put out the snacks.

Lots of dessert leftover.

Before arrival a drink service was offered with chocolate chip cookies.

Landing in LA.

After we parked I went to the F cabin to take a look. One of the FA's who remembered me went to the F closet and gave me a set of pajamas. The flight apparently came from LHR and the cleaning crew failed to retrieve all the supplies. :P

This kind of makes up for the bad quality amenity kit.

========== Miami Intl (MIA) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 6/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 8/10

General cleanliness: 9/10

========== American Airlines Admirals Club Gate D30 ==========

Staff Service: 10/10

Entertainment: /10

Business Center: /10

Food: 10/10

Lounge Design: 10/10

Spa and Bathroom: 10/10

Wifi: 10/10

========== American Airlines - Airline ==========

Cabine comfort: 10/10

Crew: 10/10

Entertainment: /10

On-time performance: 10/10

Appetizer: 7/10

Starter: 0/10

Main Meal: 7/10

Main Meal-2: 0/10

Cheese: 0/10

Desserts: 8/10

Alcohols: 0/10

Mid-flight snack: 9/10

Breakfast or light meal before arrival: 0/10

========== Los Angeles Intl Arpt (LAX) - ==========

Security/Immigration efficiency: 9/10

Access and parking: 9/10

Services and activities: 9/10

General cleanliness: 9/10

Summary:

The Flagship Lounge is a great place to relax and spend some time before your flight. The food was very good with a varied selection to satisfy all tastes. I loved the attentiveness of the crew and the way that guests are welcomed with a glass of champagne.

Aboard the service was friendly and professional. However AA needs to be more consistent with its cleaning and provision of amenities. There is also room for improvement when it comes to catering.

14 Comments

AAFlyer — Oct 16,2021

Thanks Panda.
I would have been disappointed by the catering in the air. However, on the ground it's just great.

Reply

jetsetpanda — Oct 16,2021

No complaints from me as far as the ground experience. AA needs to work on the inflight catering and return it to what it used to be asap. Other carriers abroad have already done so.
Bibopaul — Oct 16,2021

WOWOWOWWO, insane lounge when it comes to catering and it would put AF's lounges to shame. Overall a good trip.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Oct 16,2021

It's truly a great lounge but remember that this is a "premium" lounge and not a regular one and it is more exclusive for access. In general AF has decent offerings for what they are. I guess with US carriers their regular lounges are so average that they have to create a more "elevated" experience for premium pax (with the exception of DL). :P
Thomas — Oct 16,2021

Having visited both US Polaris and AA FL, it's a hard call if I had to pick one over the other.
I second Paul's comment about AF in CDG. Something they need to work on, but you'll find out next month my friend. Casper on the PJ. Excellent.
Like you the meal on board is rather poor.

Thank you my friend.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Oct 16,2021

In terms of sleeping facilities I think UA Polaris has the advantage with more private arrangements and pillows, blankets and other extra amenities. I was surprised that the rest area at the AA FL's are so open and close.

UA allows anyone inside the Polaris lounge to eat at the restaurant. With AA only those pax in F can use it.

I find that the shower rooms at AA FL tend to be on the bright side while on UA it has a more relaxed and subdued feel.

The catering at the AA FL buffet is better and has a more "premium" character in my opinion.
Casper — Oct 16,2021

Gracias Amigo ! Again a very comprehensive report. The buffet is better than the Polaris lounge, Do you agree ?
However in the air it's not up to the standard and what a lovely PJ with my name on it.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Oct 16,2021

Hola mi amigo,

I agree 100 pct. I think AA features more variety and high end dishes like beef and seafood on their buffet and food is presented better. You have to also look at the demographics of the pax for both carriers. AA caters more to the Latin taste while UA is more Asian. For example at the UA Polaris lounge you will see some type of sushi or roll as well as noodles.

Lovely brand of pajamas. ;) It's all in the name.
Emile — Oct 16,2021

Merci ! Thanks god I just ate and I'm stuffed. Lovely review Adan.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Oct 17,2021

LOL. Thanks for reading Emile.
Nomascoach — Oct 17,2021

A nice report. AA can be surprising.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Oct 18,2021

It's good to be pleasantly surprised. Thanks for your comments.
Capoune — Oct 18,2021

Hi Panda!

What an amazing lounge report!!!!! The food looks great.
A nice flight onboard this triple 7 with a good meal.

Thank you for sharing with us this very nice TR.
Reply

jetsetpanda — Oct 22,2021

Hi Seb,

Sorry for the late reply. I didn't see this msg until now. Yes, it's a fantastic lounge and I could spend hours there without a problem. ;)

Onboard a couple of improvements wouldn't hurt.

See you soon for another TR on DL. :)