After an overnight layover in London at the Sheraton Heathrow Hotel, it was time to resume my journey back to San Francisco. I had specifically booked a ticket like this so that I could fly American Airlines’ Flagship First Class across the Atlantic. Flying direct or to JFK on British Airways would have led to a much more convenient flight schedule, but I made a commitment on this blog to flying Flagship First as much as possible before it ceases to exist in 2024.
American Airlines’ Flagship First experience begins at check-in, where they have a dedicated area for Flagship First in Heathrow’s Terminal 3. During the pandemic, American used Terminal 5 instead of Terminal 3, which I think was an upgrade for anyone flying in Flagship First or connecting to/from British Airways flights. But it was probably a bit of a downgrade for those flying in Flagship Business. The main downside to Terminal 3 is that there is no private security line like at British Airways’ First Wing in Terminal 5. In the future, unless I’m specifically trying to fly Flagship First again before its demise, I will probably only fly British Airways from London whenever possible.
After the private check-in area, I was directed to the general Fast Track lane in Terminal 3, which had a short line but always is so slow even though there just aren’t that many people in line.
After clearing security, I headed to the lounge area. Most of the lounges are located in one central area, but confusingly not all (such as the Amex Centurion Lounge).
Since I specifically went out of my way (with the overnight layover) and paid more (compared to flying BA First) to be flying American Airlines’ Flagship First product, I decided to go all in and do the full Flagship First experience, which in this case, included American’s only dedicated International First Class Lounge.
I was interested to see how this lounge compared to the other two First Class/Oneworld Emerald lounges in the terminal, which are the BA Galleries First lounge and the fan-favorite Cathay Pacific First Class lounge. With all the great lounges in Terminal 3, the American Airlines’ International First Class lounge (which is also open to Oneworld Emerald customers) has some tough competition.
Upon being buzzed into the special door, I walked past some flight monitors and entered the lounge, which is mostly just one big room.
My first impression was that it was definitely more functional than many of the other lounges but wasn’t hideous. It has a private dining area like one would expect in a first class lounge.
And there was ample seating.
I assume most people in the lounge were Oneworld Emerald status holders and not true Flagship First Class passengers, simply due to passenger numbers. There were only three flights that offered Flagship First leaving at around the right time for those passengers to be in the lounge (which is a total of 24 Flagship First Class seats). American generally only offers a total of 64 Flagship First Class seats (8 flights on the 777-300ER) from London to the US in a given day: 2 to Dallas (which had already left), 2 to LAX, 3 to JFK (including mine), and 1 to Miami.
The buffet food and drink offerings are elevated compared to an Admiral’s Club, but they’re definitely not as good as those in Flagship Lounges (and MIA).
The lounge is much smaller than the Flagship lounges, so that might have something to do with it. But I was definitely not impressed.
Something to note is that all the lounges in Terminal 3 are open to Oneworld Emerald members, so there isn’t anything to differentiate the First Class experience (e.g. like the Concorde Room in Terminal 5). However, unlike in a lot of other lounges in Terminal 3, American announces when its flights are ready for boarding, which is something I was definitely a big fan of.
By the time I made it to the gate, the flight was already on zone 8 (of 9), which is standard in my experience if one is hanging out in the lounge. I’ll cover the flight in the next post!
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