Terminal D, Miami International Airport (MIA)

Based on Visit: 12 February 2022

Introduction

This is my review of the American Airlines Flagship Lounge in Miami Airport, at Terminal D.

A month previously I had visited LAX where they were operating a hybrid model of their Flagship Lounge, combined with the Admirals Club – but it seems in the month passed that the Flagship lounge is starting to come back.

As I understand it, Miami (like most places in Florida) has been first to spring back after the challenges of Covid-19.

I’ll review the Miami Admirals Club (attached to the Flagship Lounge) separately.   

Entry Conditions

As I understand it (and I may be wrong) there are three possible ways to gain access to the Admirals Lounge:

The First is if you are flying on an American Airlines or OneWorld flight in Business or First. Flying First internationally also gets you into Flagship Dining – but flying Business doesn’t, no matter what your OneWorld status is.

The second is if you hold a Sapphire or Emerald status on OneWorld Alliance – or I believe, if you are a Concierge Key member. There may also be other Credit Card providers who offer access, such as Chase – but that’s not so relevant if you’re British like me!

The third is if you buy a Lounge Pass, which is around $150. For what it’s worth – unless you have an extremely long layover, it’s not worth $150! Then again I’m pretty sure you can get a hotel room and dinner for $150?

Opening Times

The lounge is open daily between 05:30 and 23:00.

How to Get There

The Lounge is located in Miami’s Terminal D Concourse, which is American Airlines’ Terminal. If you’re flying on British Airways or Qatar Airways (which leaves from E-Gates) there is a train you can get to take you to Terminal E.

The Terminal D Concourse at Miami is vast – so much so there is a train which goes from one end to the other. However, if you shoot for Check In Desks closest to D32 and go through the closest Security checkpoint, the lounge is very close by.

Once you’re there it’s through the magical frosted doors.

The Check In desks are paired with the Admirals Club, which is also on the same level – but if you’re eligible to go to the Flagship Lounge, you’ll be given an Invite Card.

After that, it’s up the elevators, a right-hand turn and you’re there!  

One very nice feature (whether temporary or not, I am not sure) is that upon arrival there is a server pouring a glass of Piper Heidsieck Champagne for you – and unlike the ‘help yourself’ areas – it’s actually cold!

Layout

Similar to the Flagship Lounge in LAX, the Flagship Lounge in Miami is huge.

There are multiple zones, areas and lounges to relax in:

• There is a dining area
• There are many lounge areas
• There are sleeping zones/pods
• There is a television area

I didn’t spot any conference rooms this time – but maybe I wasn’t looking hard enough!

I was only able to take a limited amount of photos because the lounge was busy – but it has a lot of different areas.

There is also plenty of self-service coffee/soft drinks stations around, which have snacks with them.

There were also some really nice views of the airport and its runways, through the large glass windows.  

Food and Drink

Food

The Flagship buffet was back! Below is a picture of the menu on offer.

There was also a bar if you wanted bespoke Keys Pink Shrimp Fry – I passed on that, as I don’t eat fish!

Other than that, the buffet was (from what I could tell) relatively back to ‘normal’ and a similar menu to what I’ve experienced pre-Covid. I can’t say I thought the quality of the food was amazing – but it wasn’t bad either.

If like me, you do still like some of the Admirals Club’s offerings, there are cheese cubes available at the buffet!

Drinks

Drinks were also back to ‘normal’. As I mentioned above, there was a server serving Champagne as you walked in – which was a nice welcoming touch.

The central bar was open (if it ever closed?), which has Reds, Whites, and Sparking wines. I’ll say now that in a similar way to the ‘open bars’ at BA’s various lounges, I find the wine is too warm. It definitely was here!

There is also my favourite thing – which is the beer fridge! For me at least, this was a well-stocked fridge with many different beers and lagers. Most importantly, it had Stella – so I was happy!

Flagship First Dining was also open. I wasn’t traveling in First (in fact the aircraft didn’t have First fitted!) – so no entry for me!

Wifi

I’ve always found the Wifi in American Airlines’ lounges to be excellent, and this was no exception. It was easy to connect to the network, with a password – and away I went.

I didn’t speed test the connection. As I’ve written about many a time, I believe in the ‘fair use’ approach and the don’t be a tw*t rule. In other words, if it’s public wifi – do emails and work – but don’t stream movies and download endlessly huge files and mess it up for everyone else!   

Showers

Excitingly the showers were open (unlike last month in LAX)!

I asked at the desks if I could book the showers for a time, but was told that it was on a first come basis, and it wasn’t possible to book a time (in Dallas you can…..or used to be able to!). But as luck had it, there was a shower free.

I asked if there was an amenities kit available – and was surprised to be given no less than three different products (usually the answer is “sorry we’ve ran out”)! I was given a toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving kit, and some deodorant! Perhaps they thought I needed it – but it was great to have!  

The showers themselves were also excellent. They were spacious, clean, in great condition, the water was hot – it was just like being in a good hotel. Well done American Airlines!

(I don’t know what was wrong with my phone camera when I took the images below!)

One other feature was the hairdryer! When traveling with me, Mrs Neil refuses to shower at the airport because the hairdryer “won’t be good enough” – so I couldn’t help showing her the Dyson hairdryer installed in these showers!   

Conclusion

American Airlines get a lot of stick when it comes to their lounges – particularly the Admirals Clubs which can be a bit 1970’s. Admittedly, as has been my experience for years, Flagship Lounges are a ‘notch above’ the Admirals Clubs – deliberately so.

However, apart from the warm wine, perhaps a little better quality and more variety in food required – there is very little I could do to fault this lounge!

The staff were super friendly, nothing seemed too much trouble – it was definitely a great experience!

Well done American Airlines!

That’s one reviewed! Just JFK, Chicago, Dallas and a re-review of LAX to go! I hope they’re as great as this!