Chic new Air France lounge opens at LAX with a spa and exclusive first-class area
Air France is opening a new lounge at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the Tom Bradley International Terminal on Friday.
The airline first announced plans for its new LAX lounge a year ago when it also unveiled its refurbished lounge at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), but it has been quiet on details since then.
TPG was at the preview party for the new Air France Lounge at LAX on Thursday night, however, ahead of its official opening to the public Friday. Here's what flyers can expect.
Access to the Air France Lounge at LAX
The Air France Lounge at LAX will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.
Passengers flying international business class or first class on Air France, KLM, Delta Air Lines and other SkyTeam airlines will have access to the lounge, as will SkyTeam Elite Plus (equivalent to Delta Gold Medallion or higher) elite members with a same-day boarding pass for a flight on a SkyTeam airline.
Air France will operate three to four flights daily (up to 26 per week) from Los Angeles to its hub at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) this summer, and KLM will operate two daily nonstops from LAX to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), so expect it to be busiest between 12 p.m. and 9 p.m., ahead of the main bank of departures.
Don't forget, Air France also flies between LAX and Faaa International Airport (PPT) in French Polynesia five days a week (Sunday-Wednesday and Friday), so passengers on those flights will also be able to access the lounge.
Unlike some other Air France lounges in the U.S., including those at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Washington's Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), the LAX outpost is not participating in Priority Pass, so hopefully it will avoid some of the overcrowding issues other lounges experience.
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Location of the Air France Lounge at LAX
The new Air France Lounge at LAX is in the Tom Bradley International Terminal's Midfield Satellite Concourse near gates 201-225.
To get there, travelers must pass through security and then take an underground passage (accessible via elevators and escalators) from the main part of the terminal to the midfield concourse, which can take about 10 minutes.
Once there, visitors can take an elevator to the lounge on the sixth floor, two levels up from the departure gates.
Agents are on hand to assist with scanning guests in, framed by a wall decal of the airline's logo, a flying seahorse, or hippocampe aile.
Layout of the Air France Lounge at LAX
The new lounge is the airline's largest in North America: 11,883 square feet and with seating for up to 172 guests at a time.
Why so large? "The reason for opening a lounge at LAX was very simple," said Zoran Jelkic, the senior vice president for Air France-KLM long-haul operations. "Together with KLM, Air France has seven flights per day out of LAX, it is second to JFK in terms of our North America operation."
The space comprises several distinct areas and was designed by SGK Brandimage, a brand experience company that has been collaborating with Air France on lounge and airplane cabin designs for over 20 years.
"The lounge is part of the identity of the brand ... and it represents a significant investment," Jelkic told TPG. "It's a way to put forward cultural values ... as we say, l'art de vivre, including gastronomy."
Visitors will notice pops of blue, white and red, the colors of both Air France and the French flag, throughout the space in order to create the effect of stepping inside and feeling like they have already arrived in France (or are back at home for French passengers) ahead of their flight, according to Jelkic.
The decor also highlights furnishings by French designers, such as orblike lighting fixtures by Margaux Keller, trippy red "Ribbon" armchairs by Pierre Paulin, curvaceous coffee tables from Charlotte Perriand and sinuous "Ester" chairs by Patrick Jouin, which were originally designed for famed French chef Alain Ducasse's restaurant at The Dorchester in London.
To the left of the entrance is the cocktail bar, which features high stools and some living room-style seating across from it. There is also a private booth for folks who need to make phone calls.
Beyond that, there are several seating sections available, including a general lounge space with low-slung navy-blue and powder-blue armchairs arranged into convenient vignettes.
Some chairs have small modular work surfaces attached to them as well.
There is also a large central area around a column with dark blue banquettes and ottomans where larger groups can congregate.
Visitors will find numerous plugs — universal power sockets, USB-A and USB-C ports — located throughout the seating areas to keep their devices charged.
There is a brasserie-style dining area with booths lined up against the windows overlooking the tarmac and a large communal table for solo travelers and groups.
Next to the dining area, there is a semiprivate alcove with a clutch of armchairs for Flying Blue's invitation-only Club 2000 customers and top-tier Flying Blue Ultimate elite members. Though small, this could be a nice place to retreat to during times when the lounge is more crowded.
Guests can stretch out on sofas and chairs with ottomans for a little nap or meditation session ahead of their flights in the quiet room, which is tucked into its own separate corner of the lounge on the other side of reception, near the showers.
La Premiere, or first class, passengers, along with the airline's ultra-VIP Hippocampe (read: high-spending) flyers, have a dedicated room to themselves, which was inspired by the onboard La Premiere cabins and features a soothing ivory-hued palette, sumptuous armchairs, a few dining tables and a view out toward one of the gates Air France typically operates from. It can accommodate up to 12 guests at a time.
Amenities at the Air France Lounge at LAX
The Air France Lounge's standout amenity has to be its Clarins Spa, which you will also find at a handful of the airline's other lounges, including the one at JFK and the lounge in Hall L of Terminal 2E at Charles de Gaulle and its other lounge in Terminal 2F. The spa will officially open in September and will operate daily from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m.
The one at LAX has two treatment cabins and will offer complimentary 20-minute facial treatments on a first-come, first-served basis (so sign up as soon as you arrive!).
Lounge guests will have their choice of three themed facials: the "anti jetlag," the "instant detox" and the "illuminating eye care," each of which is performed using Clarins' signature massage techniques and the brand's plant extract-infused products.
La Premiere passengers can reserve their treatments in advance, including a special "de-stress" experience just for them, by calling a dedicated customer service phone number. No additional paid treatments are available.
Can't snag a spa treatment but still want to freshen up? You can take advantage of the lounge's two shower cubicles, which include walk-in showers with bathing benches stocked with Clarins products, spacious sink areas for primping and their own private toilets. These, too, will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The restroom section has private unisex stalls, some of which are wheelchair accessible.
Finally, the lounge will offer free Wi-Fi, though it was not functional during the opening event. The free Wi-Fi provided by LAX, however, worked just fine and the signal was solid.
Food and drinks at the Air France Lounge at LAX
The Air France Lounge at LAX has a few different food and drink offerings designed to set the lounge apart from competitors and to showcase French dishes and presentations that highlight "l'art de la table," according to Jelkic.
Primarily, there are various buffet stations where guests can pick up things like fruit, pastries, cereal and yogurt in the mornings, along with self-serve coffee drinks and teas.
In the afternoons and evenings, visitors can expect light options like cheeses, cold cuts, salads, finger sandwiches, quiche and a variety of salads, plus a smattering of sweets like chocolate mousse and rice pudding, and heartier hot French specialties such as beef bourguignon, braised chicken and monkfish a la provencale.
Perhaps most exciting of all, this lounge features an open cooking station preparing French-skewing delicacies like made-to-order sweet and savory crepes, pan-fried prawns and Languedoc-style cassoulet with duck confit.
Guests can saunter up to the handsome blue bar, or perch on one of the white stools, to enjoy a glass of Lanson Champagne and other French (and California) wines such as Clos Cantenac Petit Cantenac Bordeaux and M. Chapoutier Meysonniers Crozes-Hermitage Blanc, along with local L.A. beers like Golden Road Mango Cart Wheat, mocktails and specialty cocktails such as the French 75, an olive-oil martini, and a Jazz Cat with Lanson Champagne, Chartreuse, Aperol, orange and grapefruit juice and lemon bitters.
La Premiere lounge visitors can order from an a la carte menu that includes items like French lobster bisque, filet mignon with roasted beets and zucchini in a port sauce, grilled vegetables with figs on couscous, and a selection of cheeses and desserts, as well as a special wine selection with choices such as 2013 Piper-Heidsieck Rare Brut Champagne, Margaux du Chateau Margaux 2015 from Bordeaux and 2021 Domaine Faiveley Montagny Domaine, among others.
Sustainability-minded customers will appreciate the fact that the lounge has streamlined its food service and disposal to reduce waste, and provides drinks dispensers and water fountains so that loungegoers can fill their own bottles to take with them, reducing the use of single-use plastics.
Bottom line
Given what a major market Los Angeles is for Air France, it's about time the airline opened a lounge at LAX, its sixth here in the U.S.
This is bound to become one of the more popular lounges at the airport given its size, its range of amenities and the number of flights operated by Air France and its SkyTeam partners out of Tom Bradley.
If you plan to visit yourself, make sure to give yourself enough time to enjoy its amenities, including the live cooking station and the Clarins Spa.
Related reading:
- The best credit cards for airport lounge access
- The do's and don'ts in an airport lounge
- Domestic lounges that are worth going out of your way for
- Bucket list achieved: Reviewing Air France's incredibly hard-to-book La Premiere first class
- Private suites and high-tech touches: What it's like flying Air France's business class
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