American Express has begun operating their own network of “Centurion lounges,” which are a step above what travelers have become accustomed to from US airline-operated lounges.
I consider the American Express Centurion lounge in Dallas one of my favorite airport spots. It’s one of the two lounges I visit most often.
There’s a Centurion lounge already in Las Vegas and at New York LaGuardia as well and also San Francisco.
American Express Centurion Lounge San Francisco
There’s an additional known lounge in the pipeline for Miami, and a more modest lounge coming to Seattle.
The Miami lounge is about to open in the North Terminal, convenient for American Airlines passengers.
According to the Miami Herald it opens early June.
As for the food,
[Celebrity Chef Michelle] Bernstein’s buttermilk-brined fried chicken and Greek-style local watermelon salad will be available at MIA’s Centurion, located in the North Terminal that services American Airlines and Qatar Airways. She said she leaned toward lighter items, like a green goddess salad and a vanilla panna cotta dessert, to “make sure people are comfortable as they board their flights.”
And the lounge design:
The 8,000-square-foot Miami space will be ring-shaped, with tarmac views and, in a nod to South Florida’s coastal vibe, a floor-to-ceiling textural wall that resembles a wave.
This lounge is ‘loooooooooooooong’ overdue in MIA
Michelle Bernstein also curates the Delta One/business class menus on Delta’s Latin American routes. Interesting to see another airline-ish partnership involving her.
great news but why Latin food? Cant they have normal catering to serve most people?
@Shannon they partner with local celebrities chefs for their lounges, the quality of the food is quite high compared to what you get in airline lounges in the US. We’ll see what the food actually is, but I’ve found everything they’ve done to be pretty accessible (though my tastes may not match yours!).
@Shannon Miami is 70% Latino. Latin food is “normal catering” in Miami!
Are food and drink complimentary in Centurion lounges?
@Grant – yes!