The American Airlines Flagship Lounge at Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) offers an elevated lounge experience compared to the Admirals Club one level below, with a nice buffet and plenty of room to spread out.
American Airlines Flagship Lounge Chicago Review (ORD)
I’ve visited this lounge many times, especially while I held oneworld emerald status from British Airways, and appreciate that American Airlines offers an elevated lounge product at its O’Hare hub.
Hours + Access + Location
I love the Terminal 3 concourse in Chicago O’Hare…if you love Home Alone, how could you not? You’ll find the lounge in the connector between concourses H and K.
The lounge is open daily from 5:00 am to 12:30 am.
Access is available to:
- First or business passengers on a qualifying same-day international, transcontinental or other domestic flight marketed as “Flagship” (AA does not offer domestic Flagship flights except on its Chicago – Honolulu route)
- First class passengers can bring in one guest
- Concierge Key members (AA’s invite-only elite tier)
- oneworld emerald and sapphire members
- Passengers who hold emerald or sapphire status via American or Alaska must be traveling on a same-day longhaul oneworld flight, though not necessarily from ORD
- American now sells access to all flyers for $150 or 15,000 AAdvantage miles per person on a space-available basis if traveling on a oneworld flight
When you check in at the front desk, you’ll be handed a black laminated card. Take the elevator up to the “Flagship” floor, where you will be present the card to gain access to the lounge.
Seating
The 17,000-square-foot lounge includes multiple zones, including several seating areas. While the lounge can fill up a bit in the early evening, I’ve never seen it packed. There’s a seating area in the center of the lounge much like an Admirals Club, then a dining area to the left and a lounge and TV room to the right.
Throughout the lounge you’ll find 120-volt power outlets and USB-A ports within reach.
The lounge offers some nice views of aircraft arriving and departing.
Food + Drink
The main difference between an Admirals Club and a Flagship Lounge is the upgraded food and beverage options. While this Flagship Lounge does not have an a la carte dining area, it does have a nice buffet of hot and cold dishes…I quite enjoyed the fish, chicken, and vegetables here.
There’s also a self-serve bar, unlike the staffed bars in Admirals Clubs and even a separate Bloody Mary bar. In addition to alcohol, there is a Coke Freestyle machine, coffee machines, tea, and fruit juices.
Restrooms + Showers
Restrooms and dedicated showers are available…request a shower suite at the reception desk.
Flight Help
AA still lags Delta and United when it comes to its app, making the flight support desk all the more helpful in the case of irregular operations. When my Chicago – London flight was delayed, the AA app was worthless, but the lounge staff offered me options and kept us informed…it’s the single most important feature of a lounge (versus waiting hours in a snaking customer service line in the concourse). One day, I hope AA’s app will be sophisticated enough to allow passengers to rebook themselves, but as of now the flight help desk is needed. A British Airways staff member is also present here when BA flights are departing.
CONCLUSION
AA introduced its Flagship Lounges before United introduced Polaris Lounges or Delta introduced its Delta One Lounges. While I’d argue that both United and Delta have leapfrogged AA in terms of premium lounge offerings, that’s not to say this or any other AA Flagship Lounges is somehow subpar. The ORD Flagship Lounge is a very nice lounge with delicious food and no crowding. I quite enjoyed it.
Nice lounge. You’ve got quite the scowl in your bathroom selfie. Are you aware of and working to correct that?
I’m generally POed these days.
Join the club.
Stop being so angry over politics, no one is sending your wife back to where she came from and you both can start cleaning your own house and do your own lawn care, Exploitation of desperate illegals is definitely America’s shame that we all have to own. Our laziness caused the problem in the first place.
Dave go pound sand
Come on Chuck, you must need those illegals to take care of your lawn. By the way, when your wife showed you those new moves in bed and told you she learned them from “a manual” you misunderstood her.
It’s wasn’t a manual, it was Emanuel, the illegal landscaper you hired while you were “busy” on the road Chuckles.
“America is filled with fools and cowards who cheer their own demise, and call it greatness.”
Next time, get your sparkling water from the Freestyle machine and give Mother Earth a break by not contributing a single-use glass bottle to the landfill.
I mean, fair enough, the tap is fine, but I do like Fever Tree very much.
The difference between this and the regular Admirals Club is like night and day in terms of both service and food options.
I’m definitely jealous when I see the lucky ones with cards coming up the elevator. But then again, they are leaving this incredible country and are flying to a lessor place. So maybe they really aren’t that lucky.
I didn’t serve this country to protect MAGAtts like you, and even though I’m old and decrepit now, I’ll still take up arms again to destroy traitors like you, Dave. I voted for Hillary. I voted for Joe. I voted for Kamala. And I’m proud of it.
So you like losers old man. Hopefully you aren’t as senile as old Joe, shitting yourself while eating ice cream as your junkie son bangs his step mom while sharing a crack pipe.
The country has moved past crazy liberals like yourself that worked decades to keep blacks down. You can no longer count on them for blind votes, your city is in shambles and your party is dead. Liberalism failed and your dreams are gone along with your health.
America woke up and it took someone like Trump to stop taking it in the a## like Bush and other “conservatives” did for the cultural elites like yourself. Now your party is freaks, junkies and anti capitalist angry video game playing outcasts. Congratulations, now you can die in peace.
But thank you for your service. Too bad you couldn’t even beat a bunch of gooks.
Not a bunch of gooks in my case. Ragheads. Gulf War veteran here. And, yes, I am a cultural elite and I look down on rednecks and deplorables like you. As for a “junkie son”, not likely since I’m the G part of LGBTQ+. I’m sure you have an insult for that in your quiver of disdain, so go for it.
Your values are seriously awful. You blindly support a rapist that kills people in cold blood, authorizes military force on Americans, and uses the doj to try and jail his political opponents and intimidation to suppress legitimate free speach.
What sane person thinks these are acceptable values? Do you have any humanity at all? Do you give a rats ass about anyone but yourself? What happened ?
But I guess you are too far gone to even give a flying fuck.
Flying to a lesser place? lol Spare us your biased rhetoric.
Btw, I have BA Silver so I use this lounge when flying domestic too!
Sounds like you are biased toward 3rd world sh#tholes. And BA is considered sh#t here by the regulars.
By the way, what was wrong with your parents adding an extra “g” on your name? Did they think you were “special”?
Im a big fan of this lounge and the one in Dallas too. Always surprised to see them getting generally derided. Always lots of space. Great tarmac views. Good drinks. I personally prefer this to the Polaris at ohsre.
I find the staff at Flagship Lounges to be nothing short of exceptional. My flight was delayed 9 hours, bought a one day pass for AC and they let me use the Flagship Lounge free of charge after AC closed for an hour and a bit. Then jokingly asked if they could rebook me LAX-ORD-HND (as a joke) when my iten was LAX-ORD-LGA, they actually looked into it but couldn’t. Was funny, and showed how kind the staff were, much like the Polaris Lounge at LAX, and unlike the DL 1 Lounges. While they are superior (as a UA flyer), DL’s service is nowhere near the levels of AA in terms of lounges. Sorry.
While I find the Flagship lounges have great food/drink options, I’m still not impressed with the decor. Both Delta and United, especially Delta, have nicer aesthetics to their premium lounge spaces.
Re: the AA app. I was was shocked recently. AA made a schedule change and (once again) rebooked me on the last flight to DFW, giving me a 55 minute connection to a flight to AKL. The app allowed me to rebook it with a 5 hour connection. (And, I get access to the Flagship lounge there to spend the wait.) Then, they made a time change on a reward flight that made my connection in CLT <1 hour. That, too, was easily changed in the app to a comfortable DCA connection. Pleasant surprises.
I was going to forward this to a friend, Matthew, until I read the ugly and hateful comments that had nothing to do with your fine ORD Flagship Lounge review. And these remarks are tame compared to many others I’ve seen. It’s your candy store, but I don’t think you dignify yourself or your readers by allowing liveandletsfly to become a hate machine.