American Airlines First Class London Heathrow Lounge
The American Airlines Flagship Lounge Heathrow should be a haven of peace and calm before your flight, with AA calling the American Airlines first class lounge London Heathrow an 'exclusive, private lounge'.
It's not. It's a bit of a dump, with a frightfully dated-looking decor, so-so food and a bad wine list.
Much was expected of a recent revamp, but all that happened was that the kitchens were slightly updated, and the children's area turned into a twenty seat restaurant with a la carte dining and waiter service. The rest of the lounge, and the furniture, remain just as they were in the 1990s.
London Heathrow American Airlines First Class lounge review
As the only Flagship Lounge outside the US (the three others are at Chicago, LA and JFK) the American Airlines Flagship Lounge Heathrow should be a delight. Alas, in the recent refresh the bizarre decision was taken to stick with the outdated AA colours with drab grey and brown fake-leather seats, and antiseptic tiles and walls.
Looking rather like an out of work motorway service station, inspiring, it is not.
However, the revamp gave the Heathrow American Airlines Flagship Lounge a new name - it is now the one and only American Airlines First Class Lounge, giving London Heathrow a bit of an edge. The Flagship name was dropped, because it gave passengers too much hope as to what the facilities would be like.
There is certainly plenty of space: you may not think AA needs it with only a few flights out of London still having First Class, however the number of Platinum's on the route, and other oneworld Elites, means that the lounge can get packed at peak time around lunchtime. Towards evening, it gets empty, and when the last flight with First leaves at 6pm, the lounge closes and you have to make your way into the dreadful Admirals Club next door.
However the revamp did include a new champagne shelf, which you can see as soon as you enter. This is right beside the reception desk, which is never manned. However, at least you can pour yourself a good Champagne to steady your nerves for what you are in for.
There are three main areas to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge Heathrow. As you walk in there is the food and bar area on the right: there are four dining tables here too, and a large high bar area with some very uncomfortable high stools.
Further around is the main restaurant area, although I would take this name loosely. It is actually just an area with ten dining tables, but at least there is waiter service in this area, that used to be the children's playroom, which seems appropriate.
Further in from here is the VIP room, with recliners. It actually makes a good nap room, and used to be a cinema room: the name changed but the furniture didn't.
Past the refectory and the dining area, with two island tables (one hot, one cold with salads) are high round tables with swivel chairs. Then on the new upper level of the AA First Lounge LHR there are much more comfortable armchairs, each of which has a small flip-out table attached. Finally by the windows are a few more comfortable chairs: the view incidentally is superb, of the apron at London Heathrow and the 27L runway.
Inwards of the lounge are the bathrooms.
All in all however, it is a miserable experience, and best forgotten unless you are desperate to explore a hidden and unusual corner of AA's territory.
Food
The food in the American Airlines Flagship Lounge Heathrow is much better than in the Admirals Club, but that isn't saying much.In the main restaurant area, you can choose from either the breakfast or the lunch menu, both of which have three or four dishes. They are pretty basic, and offer little in the way of adventurous dining, but at least they are brought to you at your table. There is normally also a decent dessert.
In the main buffet area, food is split into segments, starting with "The Fresh Start" (Continental Breakfast - basically croissants and jam), then the "Flagship Cafe" (a light lunch with sandwiches), "Afternoon Tea" (some really good cakes) and then the "Flagship Supper": preflight dining, but not with much. Basically, the sandwiches come out again, along with bagels.
There is hot food, with two hot tubs provided by London's renowned "rhubarb" Restaurant & Catering who also run the Food Bar at Terminal Three. If you miss the diet of America lounges however there are carrots and celery and what is enticingly called Ranch Dip.
The deserts in the AA First Lounge LHR are however very good indeed, with a great cheesecake selection.
Bar
So, the food in the American Airlines Flagship Lounge Heathrow isn't up to much. But what of the bar? The good news is that it is free pour and free flowing. The bad news is that wine is pretty poor and almost a free giveaway: the selection would retail for about a fiver a bottle at Tescos.
The wine is on the worktop behind the food, and in the fridge, with two types of red and white. At least there is a sparkling wine in the fridge!
Beer in the AA First Lounge LHR is basic Carlsberg or Heineken, in cans.
At least the spirit selection is worthy of note, with 20 bottles including everything from Baileys to Jack Daniels.
Bathrooms
There are good private bathrooms with a toilet and spa-like showers. These, unlike the rest of the lounge, are new and trendy, and genuinely good places to refresh.
The showers have shower gel and shampoo, but they are fairly cheap and aren't especially pleasant.
Business Facilities
The wifi facilities in the American Airlines First Class London Heathrow Lounge are superb, with one of the fastest connections at London HeathrowThere is free wifi and it is very fast indeed: definitely the best you will find anywhere in Heathrow.
There are newspapers in the lounge, with a good selection of UK papers and few US papers. There is also a fine magazine selection - so long as you like your magazines to be of the 'How to get an MBA and become a CEO' type.
Access
If you have access to the London Heathrow American Airlines First Class lounge - don't use it. There are much better lounges at Terminal 3 which you have access to, thanks to oneworld access rules. The Cathay Pacific lounge has a superb noodle bar and great champagne. Or there is the British Airways First Class lounge, which has a separate First dining room. You can access these with an AA First Class ticket, or as a oneworld Emerald.
Video: American Airlines First Class Lounge
Nice view
So so food