
Courtesy of The Private Suite
The Private Suite’s $22 million facility sits on the far side of the LAX airfield.
By Matthew Phenix
05.29.18
Courtesy of The Private Suite
The Private Suite’s sweetest perk is a chauffeur-driven ride to your flight across the LAX tarmac.
The airline’s partnership with The Private Suite promises a paparazzi-free airport experience for privileged travelers.
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Hounding celebrities in airports is a time-honored tradition in the United States. Surprisingly, though, all but the lamest celebrities hate it, and realizing that dark glasses and head scarves aren’t fooling anybody, they’ve started to seek alternate arrangements. Enter: The Private Suite, a $22 million enclave on the far side of the Los Angeles International Airport airfield, wedged in between grubby air-cargo warehouses, that’s been a rabble-free zone for celebs and other one-percenters since it opened last May.
Now, United Airlines has announced a partnership with L.A.’s cool-blue private terminal that will bring the A-list experience to travelers who aren’t negotiating a five-picture deal with Paramount. The airline is offering access to The Private Suite as an extra-cost upgrade for some business-class customers.
Although United promises to make Private Suite access available for purchase on united.com and through the United smartphone app in the coming months, for now, the service is available only through a few corporate travel bookers and only to business-class travelers flying between Los Angeles and New York/Newark; Aspen, Colorado; Hawaii; London Heathrow; Los Cabos, Mexico; Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; Shanghai; Singapore; and Tokyo Narita.
Pricing is a bit hazy at this point. In its announcement of the partnership, United noted that it had “negotiated a highly preferential rate”; what that means remains unclear, but it’s safe to assume that it won’t be cheap. The Private Suite levies a membership fee of $4,500 per year, plus a breathtaking $2,700 for a one-way domestic flight or $3,000 for a one-way international flight. Nonmembers can sample the service for $3,500 domestic or $4,000 international, each way.more from afar