American opens new Flagship Check-In at LAX

Last week American opened their new Flagship Check-In service at LAX.  From the AA.com website:

At American Airlines Flagship Check-in, you’ll get an exclusive, distinct experience that expedites your check-in process. Benefits include:

• A separate curbside entrance room at the terminal offers drive-up and drop-off convenience

• Access to customer service representatives who can personally assist with your individual travel
requirements, from check-in and baggage check to seat or itinerary changes or you have a choice to use available self-service kiosks

• Immediate access to a designated premium security line, offering you expedited access through security checkpoints

Unlike the Flagship Check-In area at London’s Heathrow airport, AAdvantage Executive Platinum status isn’t enough to get you admitted. It’s only available to First Class customers traveling on a three-class transcontinental or three-class international flight, ConciergeKey members, and Five Star Service customers.

Something else that’s changed is that American has introduced a separate premium check-in area for First and Business class passengers, AAdvantage members with elite status, oneworld elite status members, and customers traveling with PriorityAAcces.

Regular check-in is now located on the west side of the T4 lobby.

I flew out of LAX the other day I was able to use the new premium check-in area and thought it was a great improvement: the lines were short and I was able to clear security in record time.

The regular check-in area hasn’t changed though: the lines were long and it still looks like a refuge camp.

Anyway, I wasn’t able to take a photo of the Flagship Check-In area, so to give you an idea of how it looks, I found some images on Flickr and put together a tour:

 

American Airlines Flagship Curbside check-in
photo credit: Ed Schipul

Main Lobby
photo credit: dobrych

Passenger drop off
photo credit: lan Light

Flagship Ticketing
photo credit: denn

Flagship bathrooms
photo credit: Till Krech

Flagship TSA screening zone
photo credit: Stephen Carlile

If you’re traveling from LAX and use  the Flagship Check-in area, let me know if you take any photos and feel like sharing, I’ll put them up on the site.