This weekend is my 35th birthday or as I’d like to call it, the 6th anniversary of the 29th year of life. Although, 35 isn’t a big milestone my partner, a luxury travel geek, decides it should be. So he gets me a first class ticket on American Airlines from Los Angeles International to John F Kennedy Airport in New York. In other words, this is the start of a great high-end weekend in New York City. But first, I should let you know that getting a first class ticket on American Airlines means you get access to America Airlines Flagship First Dining. This exclusive lounge is reserved for first class ticket holders. You also get access to other first class lounges like Qantas First Class Lounge. But which is better? Americans Flagship First Dining or Qantas First Class Lounge? Today, I had the pleasure of sampling both.
Let’s back up a bit. As we arrive at the airport he takes me through this hidden doorway. A concierge greets us. Our flight’s delayed. She prints our boarding passes before escorting us through the airport. She takes us to the front of the TSA Precheck line and we’re immediately processed through security.
American Airlines Flagship First Dining Experience
We head to the American Airlines lounge. Upon handing over our ID and boarding pass, I am given an invitation with my name on it, flight information for the Flagship First Dining Lounge.
We go through the Business Flagship lounge, we’re escorted down a long corridor with giant images of movie stars in black and white. We’re greeted and they promptly seat us.
They hand us a drink and food menu. As a champagne lover myself I decide to try the Krug Granade Cuvée, a Champagne from France. It’s $400 per bottle. Since we have first class tickets it’s free for us. I only know this because of other bloggers I follow. I’m not really one for luxury items but I’m excited and most importantly my partner wants me to have a good time (and I am!)
I look over the menu and decide I want to try something different… I opt for the Chilled Maine Lobster, which is essentially a tomato Caprese salad with lobster. As an entree I decide on a Pacific Corvina, a white fish. My partner hates seafood so we rarely go to places with seafood on the menu. This is an absolute splurge and a total delight. I am loving it.
Pacific Corvina 
Chilled Maine Lobster
My partner orders the Peas and Carrots Risotto and the hamburger.
Peas and Carrots Risotto 
Hamburger
For dessert I got the cheese plate with four kinds of cheese.
As we eat, we get a second glass of Krug and finally ask for a cup of coffee to complete my meal. Theres something about the progression of a meal like this that makes it incredible. I love it. My partner knows how to spoil me. Although as a budget traveler, this isn’t really my style but I’m not complaining. Not one bit.
Then the Texts Start to Come In
I get an alert saying our flight is delayed another hour. By the time we’re done eating, it’s delayed three hours. As we complete our Flagship Dining experience we get a final alert. Our flight is now cancelled due to weather. My partner promptly gets up and heads towards the front to handle this. We are immediately rebooked… On the red-eye. I HATE red-eyes! Our new flight will take off at 11:30pm and arrive at 7am.
Nevertheless, I am not letting this put a damper on my birthday weekend. After all, we’re in the first class lounge, drinking $400’s worth of champagne. As the waitress clears our table she tells us we’re allowed to stay here all day if we want.
Our flight’s originally scheduled for a late morning departure. Now that we’re here for the day we decide to change scenery. Although I had something else in mind. Since we can go between lounges I decided to compare and contrast my first class dining experiences.
How Do You Get Into These Lounges?
There’s many airlines with lounges. Getting into these lounges can vary. That’s for another post but, getting into the American Flagship First Dining Lounge and the Qantas First Class Lounge can get a little convoluted so bare with me.
If you purchase a first class ticket from LAX to JFK or internationally you can get into the American Airlines Flagship First Dining lounge. It will also get you into the Qantas First Class lounge. Although, some random rule says you will not get into the Qantas First Class lounge if the first class ticket is on a smaller two cabin plane. It must be a three cabin plane. This doesn’t include business class. Business class tickets can still get you into other lounges but not these.
First class tickets are very expensive but getting a complimentary upgrade, or upgrading yourself with points will also get you in.
Certain credit cards also allow you to enter some lounges which is pretty great. With the ever expanding list of credit cards adding these benefits it’s only a matter of time until you find one that works for you. American Express now has lounges in many airports all over the world.
How did we get in? We used points to upgrade ourselves.
Now, lets get on with it…
The American Airlines Business Lounge
We sat in the business flagship lounge for an hour before leaving. Although, I should mention it’s huge. There is an open bar… Yes! That means pour your own booze. The buffet is enormous. It has many options from fish, to beef to vegetarian options. I wanted to sample everything. It’s too bad I ate.
I grab a soda to sip. I taste the sweet mash potato and decided it’s too sweet for me. The Business Flagship Lounge is great. Although there were too many people for my taste.
Despite all the people, it’s very nice and comfortable. There are plenty of seats. There’s something to love about these lounges.
Qantas First Class Lounge
We walk to Qantas in Tom Bradley. The Qantas First Class Lounge is big. It’s a beautiful open space. It’s symmetrical with many seating arrangements and a full service restaurant and bar. Although, if you are in here, the food and bar is free.
We grabbed a couple of “Womb” loungers to relax in.
The American Airlines Flagship Dining Lounge and the Qantas First Class Lounge are both good. Although, I’m sure people want to know if one is better than the other. To be honest, I enjoyed both equally.
The Qantas First Class Lounge has tasty things on their menu. As the hours went by and late morning turned into late lunch, I decided to try their restaurant options. I got another glass of champagne. Although, their champagne isn’t as fancy as the American Flagship First Dining lounge, it’s still good.
I asked for their Peppered Squid (the chefs specialty) and a Croque Madame. The Croque Madame is very good but big. It’s fantastic. Get it!
After stuffing my face with squid, I could only eat half my Croque Madame.
The one thing I liked better than the American First Class Dining Lounge is how big the space is. The lounge is huge with plenty of seats to choose from. Although they are both pretty exclusive, not many people at either lounge, Qantas feels more isolated which I love. It’s my inner hermit that dominates at times. To be completely honest, the decor is way better at Qantas too.
As lunch turns to dinner we head back to American Airlines Flagship First Dining. We sip on more Krug while I eat my kale salad and wait for our red-eye. Today is my actual birthday and I have to say, even with all the delays I had a great time enjoying these first class experiences. Hopefully this is the start of another great year!
Let Me Break It Down For You:
Which lounge is better American Airlines Flagship Dining or Qantas First Class? They’re both great but they each have different strengths.
The AA Flagship Dining Lounge’s food and drinks are more high-end.
Their Krug champagne retails at $400 per bottle (but its free for you.)
It feels exclusive.
The food is amazing.
The experience is great.
The Qantas First Class Lounge’s decor is better. I thought it was more modern.
The food is good but not as high end.
Lots of seats to choose from.
The space is bigger which makes it feel like you’re the only one there.
Get the peppered squid dish… its amazing!