‘Juggle your hand luggage with a flute of champagne’
What sets this business class lounge apart is a welcome bubbly bar offering Piper-Heidsieck. Just don’t look at the art.
What sets the American Airlines lounge apart is a welcome bar offering Piper-Heidsieck as well as other top-shelf wines. Just don’t look at the art.
Location
American Airlines, a US “big four” airline and Qantas codeshare partner, has Flagship Lounges at Dallas Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami airports (with one on the cards for Philadelphia).
Access to these elite havens, a step up from the airline’s Admirals Club lounges, is open to those with a Flagship-ticketed seat on a qualifying flight, business-class and above on a Oneworld airline such as Qantas, certain elite-status flyers and those willing to part with $US150 ($225) or 15,000 AAdvantage points for a one-off visit.
At DFW, the airline’s largest hub, the Flagship Lounge is between gates D21 and D22 in Terminal D. It shares a tiny foyer with an adjoining lounge, making it a squeeze at busy times to reach the elevators that whisk you to the upper-level lounge.
Seating
You might have to juggle your hand luggage with a flute of Piper-Heidsieck as you settle in, as a champagne welcome bar is positioned between check-in desk and lounge. Varied seating options, from comfy armchairs with side tables to businesslike seating in front of desks, and subtle room dividers, define different zones throughout the long, narrow lounge.
Towards the far end are a TV and a quiet room with serpentine loungers where you can slip on an eye mask, slip off your shoes and try for a catnap.
Floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the runways and sunset (with shades to soften the afternoon glare). Sadly, nothing will spare your eyeballs from the lacklustre art decorating the lounge walls.
Food and drink
For a self-service set-up with no live preparation or cooking to add flair, the buffet-style offerings are surprisingly satisfying. The afternoon/evening selection includes sushi rolls, apple and butternut pumpkin soup, Tex-Mex gnocchi, kale and cranberry salad and barbecue spiced salmon.
Glass snack jars hold gummy butterflies, wasabi soy cashews, strawberry yoghurt pretzels and the like. Thanks to a partnership with the James Beard Foundation that highlights work from a local chef, I also try Dallas culinary star Tiffany Derry’s sesame noodles.
What really sets this lounge apart, however, is the premium wine counter – think Von Winning riesling from Germany’s celebrated Deidesheim region, Napa Valley chardonnay, Willamette Valley pinot noir, French rose and reds – and a specialty cocktail bar where you can mix your own bloody mary (with cured and pickled trimmings) or other concoctions.
This serve-yourself arrangement means no one is casting a judgmental eye over the size of your pour, nor expecting a tip for making it a double.
Hopheads can browse the beer fridge. If flying first-class (not an option if you’re awaiting the 17-hour QF8/AA7262 flight to Sydney), you can also access the Flagship First Dining restaurant tucked, fish bowl-like, within the lounge. Here, you can order the likes of bison strip loin and a caramelised fig old-fashioned.
Work and tech
A small stretch of window-facing desks, with privacy barriers, offers a formal spot to get work done. At one end is a computer and printer/copier/scanner. Most side tables throughout the lounge offer plenty of charging ports.
Refresh
A lounge’s toilets rarely deserve close scrutiny but a warm seat alerts me that I’ve just perched on a Toto Washlet smart toilet. The lounge also features a dozen accessible shower suites, but don’t leave your run for a 30-minute slot too close to boarding time. The desk attendant handing out keys gives me a yes then no then eventually another yes (I sense a behind-the-scenes battle with shower attendants as closing time is nigh).
Extras
Qantas passengers requiring help can head to the dedicated Qantas service desk near the shower suites.
The verdict
Full points for this lounge’s scene-setting bubbly welcome, trusting premium drinks set-up, fresh food selection and runway/sky views. As long as you don’t cut it too fine in timing your run for a pre-flight shower, you’ll emerge squeaky clean, well fed and watered – and ready for your onward journey.
The writer was a guest of American Airlines.
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