American Airlines have recently updated their offering in São Paulo. To my surprise, having only previously visited their somewhat disappointing flagship first lounge in London, it proved to be far superior to LATAM’s offering next door.
Despite São Paulo being one of LATAM’s 2 main hubs, their lounge is nothing to write home about. The American Airlines São Paulo lounge, located next to LATAM’s offers a far superior space.
Access
You’ll find the lounge on the Mezzanine floor. After clearing security and immigration it should take no longer than 3 or 4 minutes to reach the lounge. You’ll have access if you’re flying with a oneworld carrier in business or first, or have oneworld Emerald or Sapphire status.
The Space
Having recently been refurbished the lounge feels modern and spacious and is divided into several different zones. During our visit (mid-afternoon) the lounge was very quiet. Expect it to be busier in the evenings when most US flights depart though.
Upon entering the lounge you’re greeted by an open seating area. After this there is another larger seating area, a TV zone, as well as plenty of computers, should you need to access them.
Wifi connectivity was very good, and the internet was more than fine for working, streaming videos and everyday browsing. It’s also worth noting the lounge was full of charging points – they were literally everywhere. So if you need to charge devices before flying, you’re unlikely to encounter any problems.
Food and Drinks
At the end of the lounge you’ll find the food and drinks area. Here there are a number of self serve options. If you’re looking to dine prior to boarding there were a number of hot options, ranging from beef bourguignon to pasta. Whilst not overly extensive, or exceptional, this is far better than the options available in the LATAM lounge.
If you were looking to dine prior to boarding in order to maximise rest time onboard, you should have no problems. There were also a variety of lighter options, including sandwiches, cheeses, and small hot dishes.
Drink options were also far superior to those offered by Latam. American Airlines offers a choice of three sparkling wines – one rosé, one prosecco and one cava (a perfectly acceptable and drinkable freixenet). The wine selection was again superior to that offered by Latam. These included a number of Chilean options, as well as one wine from Argentina and France respectively. We sampled the malbec, and it was perfectly fine. A number of mid-range sprits were also available. Food and drinks were regularly replenished during our visit and showers were also available.
I admit to being surprised by the standards offered by the American Airlines Admirals Club. If there are other options available I don’t usually visit AA’s lounges, but on this occasion I was very glad I did. Despite this being a LATAM hub, the Admirals Club instead is far superior. With plenty of seating, a modern design, and superior food and drink options it’s a better place to refresh and relax before flying.
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