A fantastic lounge at LAX airport that’s absolutely worth a visit if you’re eligible. The sit down dining option here is truly restaurant quality.

This lounge visit occurred in October 2023.

Access

I gained access via my Finnair Platinum (oneworld Emerald) status. Other ways to enter:

• Qantas first class passengers (+1 guest)
• oneworld first class passengers on an international flight (+1 guest)
• oneworld Emerald members (other than American or Alaska Airlines elites) on any flight, including domestic US American and Alaska Airlines flights
• oneworld Emerald members (American and Alaska Airlines elites) on any flight traveling outside North America

The lounge is open between 6:30am and the last Qantas departure of the day out of LAX, roughly 9pm these days.

Arrival and First Impressions

I arrived roughly two hours prior to my domestic American Airlines flight. The Qantas First lounge is located in Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT). Thankfully it’s a short walk from Terminal 4 where AA houses about half their operation. While you could access TBIT directly from outside, I ended up clearing security in Terminal 4 and then walked airside to the adjacent terminal. Normally when walking from Terminal 4 airside, you would head down the escalators to the main floor where all the gates are located. Instead, just continue past the escalators and the entrance to the lounge is immediately around the corner.

I arrived at 7:30am to find I was the only customer here. The agent welcomed me with a smile and I was swiftly granted access. The decor is fairly modern, with bits of colors here and there to provide some contrast.

They also had a rack featuring some books, something I find is relatively rare in airport lounges these days.

The Restaurant

Let’s cut to the chase and get to the best feature here: the included sit-down restaurant with full menu. There is a sign by the entrance to the sea of dining tables, asking politely to wait to be seated. Of course, since I was the only person here, the wait was rather short.

It does seem they have a seasonal menu, with distinct options for breakfast. While perusing the menu, staff proactively provided a glass of water. I ended up choosing the seasonal fruit salad, the croque monsieur, and a mimosa. One thing I appreciated was that everyone here was wearing a smile and there were frequent table touches to make sure everything is to my liking and to provide refills as needed.

While waiting for the food to be cooked, I had a look around the dining area. The bar pops out a bit from the rest of the lounge with that patterned wall behind it, continuing the art style of the floor. Meanwhile the kitchen is perpendicular to the bar and offers a little insight into what everyone is making. Of course, there wasn’t much to see with just one customer, but I imagine it doesn’t get too crowded here given the limited ways there are to access the lounge.

A short wait later, the food arrived. While the fruit wasn’t quite as fresh as I would have preferred, it was still refreshing to have some fruit to accompany the meal. But that croque monsieur definitely hit the spot. It might not look excessively large from the pictures, but I was stuffed afterwards. There’s no real limit to what you can order, so feel free to pick a few items from the list if you’re feeling a bit hungry.

When I left the dining area, several staff members came by to wish me safe travels and to thank me for stopping by. I don’t think I’ve seen better service at a lounge within the US and quite honestly rivals the service culture in Asia.

Seating

The lounge here is quite large, especially considering how difficult it is to gain access. That means the lounge should be able to maintain a peaceful atmosphere, though I imagine the lounge gets more crowded immediately before Qantas flights. Still, I would have to think you’re never going to have trouble finding a seat here.

You have your choice of the sea of red cushioned chairs…

…or the more casual black chairs…

…or some chairs with a view of the rest of the terminal. These chairs aren’t that useful if you’re into people-watching since really it’s just people walking between Terminal 4 and TBIT airside.

There aren’t many snacks here aside from the restaurant, but there are a couple of stations scattered throughout the lounge with self-service wine. I helped myself to some Riesling, which was nice.

While I was seated, one staff member walked by with a tray of detox juices. She explained they made some juice over in the adjacent business class lounge for staff members here but had some extra and wanted to know if I would like it. I obliged, naturally. She did emphasize this wasn’t a typical benefit of this lounge as I expressed my appreciation for the drink. But I do think she specifically sought me out, as we did have a light conversation while I was seated in the dining area. Again, service is phenomenal here.

Showers

The lounge does have its own shower facilities. There is a welcome desk, but perhaps given the lack of other guests in the lounge, it wasn’t staffed. Rather than use the showers without chatting with someone first, I took the opportunity to take some pictures since all of the shower doors were conveniently left open.

For what it’s worth, the showers seemed nice enough with ample storage and space. Certainly better than that British Airways industrial train look.

Toiletries are by LaGaia Unedited and it does look like you can purchase the line that is exclusively available for Qantas if you want to bring home that airline feel.

Odds and Ends

The one thing this lounge is missing is a view of the runway and natural lighting. Looking outside the windows in the lounge, all you’ll see is the departures hall or the hallway immediately after clearing security. It’s a small price to pay for what is otherwise arguably the best lounge in the US.

There are no real amenities for children but I doubt many children will come here. That being said, there was a family of four who showed up as I was leaving, making them the only guests in the lounge. I wouldn’t hesitate to bring my children here prior to a flight to at least have a meal. If they wanted to run around, I would cut my time short here and go back to the main terminal.

Recommendation: Yes

I would absolutely love it if I could use this lounge every time I fly out of LAX. It adds some real value to having oneworld Emerald status (with an airline other than American or Alaska), as it allows you access regardless of where you’re going. It’s not a stretch to say this is the best airport lounge in the US between the excellent service and the freshly-prepared meals. It’s easily worth a walk over from Terminal 4, though a lengthy walk I would still likely take if I have time and flying out of Terminals 5 or 6 (where Alaska and some American flights depart).

Have you been to the Qantas First lounge at LAX? What were your thoughts?