Avianca Airline is a member of the Star Alliance and therefore if you are flying out of LAX on Avianca in Business Class, you can enjoy the Star Alliance Business Class Lounge. The Star Alliance First Class lounge is right next to the Business Class lounge, but it is exclusively only for First Class passengers. Regardless, the Business Class lounge is one of my favorite lounges in the United States for Star Alliance flights as it is huge, provide ample seating areas including the outdoor seating and unlimited food and drinks. Let’s take a look at the review for more details:
Access
Access to the Star alliance Business Class Lounge at LAX is only available for the following:
- You present a boarding pass in International Business Class on a Star Alliance member airline operated flight.
- Your flight departs on the same day of your visit or latest by 05:00 AM the next morning.
- The boarding pass shows the Star Alliance Gold logo.
We were flying out of LAX to Bogota on Avianca 89 flight in business class and we had around 8 hours layover in LAX. Since Avianca is part of the Star Alliance member airline, we were permitted into the lounge by simply had our boarding passes scanned. We could enter the lounge and stayed at the lounge as long as we wanted to since our flight departed on the same day of our visit.
Avianca Flights Leave From Tom Bradley International Terminal, Not Terminal 3
It’s worth mentioning that if you check in with Avianca online, your boarding pass will say terminal 3. However, according to the information on the LAX website, you check in at terminal 3, but you have to walk or make your way to terminal B, which is the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) to catch your flight. The flight does not leave from terminal 3.
“Avianca Passengers Terminal 3 for Check-in. Passengers will walk from Terminal 3 to Terminal B for departure. Departures and Arrivals will operate at Terminal B.”
If you have a layover in LAX that means you probably already got your boarding pass, then simply proceed to TBIT upon arrival. The good news is, terminal 4, 5, 6 and 7 are now connected to TBIT so you no longer need to exit the airport, catch the shuttle bus through each terminal and then go through security checkpoint again to go to TBIT. It is quite a waking distance though so be prepared for that or ask for mobility assistance at the airport on your arrival.
Plenty of Seats
There are plenty of seats at the Star Alliance Business Class Lounge LAX. The lounge is big and thus you will find several chairs available. There are two outdoor seating, one being the area right outside the lounge (balcony) above the P.F. Chang restaurant and another one is the one outside the lounge towards the shower suite area. That outside seats are my favorite because during busy time, the lounge can get crowded with people, and that outside seating area is more quiet and best of all you can spot planes landing and look at the airport terminal. There is also a beautiful water feature there, and quite frankly you can relax and sleep on those sofa chairs as well if you’d like but it can get noisy with the planes noise and airport’s constructions. It’s still better than the seats inside though. There’s also a room right after you enter the lounge that has two sofa chairs to lay on, however it can be difficult to get one due to the high demand from other passengers that want to lay down and sleep.
It is worth mentioning that if food lounge is not your thing, you can get $30 discount at P.F. Chang restaurant if you have a Priority Pass card. If you register a guest with you, you both will receive $60 discount of your bill.
Food & Drinks
All food, snacks, cheese & crackers, fruits and desserts are served in a buffet style. There are a variety of hot food and there’s also an oriental noodles bar that’s located towards the back door of the Star Alliance First Class Lounge. Drinks are self-service as well so you can mix your own drinks and all you can drink wines. There’s also a bar there that you can sit down and have a bartender serves you if you’d like.
Shower Suite
The Star Alliance Business Class Lounge LAX also has a shower suite. To access the shower room, you have to have an attendant arrange it for you. If the attendant is not there, you can press the button to summon one. There are also buzzing devices there and I imagine when the lounge shower gets busy, you will be given one of those to wait for your turn.
Conclusion
Overall, I’m very impressed with the Star Alliance Business Class Lounge at the LAX airport. Not only the lounge has varieties of food and selections of drinks, the lounge is also huge with many seats available, especially the outdoor seating that you can spot the airplanes landing. Besides all that, the lounge also has a shower suite. If you are flying with a Star Alliance member airline out of LAX, be sure to go early and check out the Star Alliance Business Class Lounge.
United Polaris Lounge is also another nice lounge to experience at LAX airport. However, do note that both lounges are quite far away from each other, and thus plan accordingly for your walking distance to your departure flight. If you are flying from LAX – BOG like we did, you cannot access United Polaris lounge though because according to the United Polaris Lounge’s policy, Columbia is not included in the list of destination that can access the lounge.
