Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD)
I recently transited through ORD on my way back from Asia, and–to my surprise–I was handed an invitation to the Flagship lounge when I went to the Admirals Club. I am clearly a bad travel blogger for 1) not keeping up with AA’s Flagship lounge renovations and 2) not knowing what the access rules are (international first and business class on oneworld gets access; JFK-LAX/SFO transcon business and first class gets access; AA Platinum and up get access on international itineraries on oneworld airlines; oneworld Sapphire and Emerald and Concierge Key get access on oneworld itineraries).
In general, lounges in the US aren’t great. Particularly lounges run by US airlines. So I wasn’t expecting much when I entered. But I was very pleasantly surprised. The lounge was spacious, had plenty of seating, had lots of power outlets, had nice shower rooms, and had extensive food and beverage options.
![a room with a television and tables](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4714-1024x768.jpg)
![a room with chairs and tables](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4715-1024x768.jpg)
![a room with a red chair and a screen](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4716-1024x768.jpg)
![a group of chairs in a room](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4717-1024x768.jpg)
![a group of people in a room](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4721-1024x768.jpg)
![a row of chairs and tables in an airport](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4713-1024x768.jpg)
![a bathroom with a mirror and sink](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4712-1024x768.jpg)
![a row of candy containers on a counter](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4718-1024x768.jpg)
![a refrigerator with drinks and cans](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4719-1024x768.jpg)
![a table with bottles of liquid and a menu](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4720-1024x768.jpg)
I’m not a big drinker, but the alcohol selection in this lounge was pretty extensive. Even though it was only 10am when I arrived, I was tempted to crack open a beer.
![a group of bottles of wine](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4722-1024x768.jpg)
![a group of bottles in a cooler](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4723-1024x768.jpg)
![a refrigerator full of beer and cans](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4732-e1517182369345-768x1024.jpg)
![a bar with many bottles of alcohol](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4733-1024x768.jpg)
The food selection was also quite impressive for a US lounge. There were lots of hot food options for breakfast, including an omelet station, eggs, bacon, potatoes, a lot of different baked goods, and steel-cut oatmeal. Although I hate on dragon fruit, I am shocked that they had dragon fruit given how expensive it is in the US (and it was actually pretty decent as far as white dragon fruit goes!). I believe they have sushi because of Japan Airlines, but the sushi was not very good, although the rest of the food I tried was reasonably good for airport lounge food.
![a group of pans with food in them](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4731-1024x768.jpg)
![a trays of food on a table](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4730-1024x768.jpg)
![a table with trays of pastries and pastries](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4729-1024x768.jpg)
![a trays of food on a table](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4728-1024x768.jpg)
![a group of plates of food](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4727-1024x768.jpg)
![a plate of food on a table](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4726-1024x768.jpg)
![a buffet table with different types of food](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4725-1024x768.jpg)
![a row of small bowls of food](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4724-1024x768.jpg)
![a tray of food on a counter](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4735-1024x768.jpg)
![a group of condiments and bottles on a counter](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4736-e1517182354914-768x1024.jpg)
![a group of people sitting in a room with a long bench](https://efficientasianman.boardingarea.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/IMG_4734-1024x768.jpg)
All in all, I was very pleasantly surprised by this lounge, and I’m looking forward to AA opening more of these lounges!
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