In a boon for travelers, American Airlines will be reopening seven Admirals Clubs in October. Alongside those reopenings, food and beverage options inside the lounge will be upgraded with new offerings like avocado toast and chips & guacamole coming.
Reopening seven more Admirals Clubs
Since shutting down most of its Admirals Clubs in the early days of the crisis, spurred mostly by fewer travelers and public health restrictions, American Airlines is now reopening Admirals Clubs where possible. From October, the following seven lounges will reopen:
- Austin Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
- Denver International Airport (DEN)
- Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH)
- Nashville International Airport (BNA)
- Orlando International Airport (MCO)
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
In addition, lounges are already open at the following airports:
- Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
- Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)
- Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- Miami International Airport (MIA)
- New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
- New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA)
- Philadelphia International Airport (PHL)
- Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport (PHX)
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
Most of the already open operations are out of major hubs or else some of American’s critical destinations where the airline has a significant share of traffic. If you do not otherwise have access to an Admirals Club, you can purchase a day pass at one of the lounges.
There will be glass shields at reception and service desks to protect American’s employees and customers. Where feasible, the airline has put in foot-operated door openers for restroom doors. The lounges are cleaned frequently and thoroughly throughout the day.
Also, throughout the lounges, American has set up hand sanitizer stations for customers. Throughout the lounges, there will be signs and floor decals, reminding customers to practice social distancing. That should not be too much of a problem since capacity is limited to 50%.
Flagship First Dining and Flagship Lounges remain closed.
Bringing back more food options
Starting on October 1st, travelers heading to a lounge in the morning can delight in some avocado toast. Heading into the afternoon, American is bringing back guacamole with chips. The airline will ensure that lounge staff members are preparing and serving these snacks while wearing gloves, face coverings, and are observing social distancing. There will also be acrylic screens set up along with food being served in disposable containers to reduce touchpoints.
Self-service choice options like cheese cubes, hummus, hard-boiled eggs, and fruit will be available in pre-packaged individual portions. In addition, Signature food-for-sale menu items are currently available all day using QR codes.
Do note that menu offerings and service hours can vary by location. Also, note that customers are required to wear an appropriate face-covering inside Admirals Clubs. You may only remove these briefly to eat or drink.
American Airlines has launched a new travel tool, powered by Sherpa, which provides customers with the latest information on travel guidelines to many domestic and international destinations. You can check it out here.
Do note, however, that guidelines may change for a country in the future, so do not rely heavily on the tool for planning travel during, say, summer or spring of 2021. Rather, for planning a trip in the coming weeks, the tool will help gauge what kinds of measures are in place that could restrict your vacation.
Are you going to visit any of these reopening Admirals Clubs? Let us know in the comments!