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American Airlines Admirals Club have had a hit with their made to order guacamole in the afternoons.
Unfortunately it’s not available at my home airport in Austin but I’ve sampled it all around the system. Here it is in Dallas prior to the renovation of the ‘A’ Club there.
They’ve also rolled out made to order avocado toast in several lounges. Someone must have made a bit bet on avocado futures.
The customizable toast with toppings such as prosciutto, tomatoes, and smoked salmon started out in Charlotte, Washington National, Dallas Fort-Worth, Phoenix, and Philadelphia. It’s offered in the mornings from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m.
American tells me “it is going in 21 clubs and will completely rolled out by early June.”
Meanwhile they’re also “testing out a few new food items over the next month that include more substantial and robust options for a few clubs.”
Houston, Phoenix and Chicago O’Hare are the testing grounds. For instance the Phoenix A7 club has had turkey sliders.
Credit: Kevin Lake
And the main Chicago club has offered pasta.
Credit: Norbert Krupa
Apparently these aren’t settled on items, because “there will be a new rotation…in 30 days.”
American Airlines Admirals Clubs are available to members and to those with day passes as well as American’s mid-tier elites flying internationally same day plus oneworld mid-tier elites flying a oneworld carrier domestically or internationally.
I value my membership mostly for help from agents inside the club when things go wrong, but improved food offerings are a nice plus.
Funny how pots full of a $1.50 worth of sauce and $1 worth of dried pasta can make such a big difference.
I’m all for better food in domestic lounges. Lots of room for improvement.
Ugh… AA lounge is worth less than nothing. It is a cramped hassle most of the time. And EXP line is almost always more proficient.
Oh wow 5 cents worth of pasta
How amazing
Now If only the AA chefs can figure out how to boil water
A lot of negativity here, and I get it, Admirals Clubs are decidedly mediocre. I’ll still roll my eyes at anyone who says they honestly would rather sit in the terminal than in an Admirals Club, even when the lounge is packed.
So yeah, I’ll take some food improvements, even if they’re mediocre. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to make a quick meal out of whatever it is they have in the lounge.
They also added Fat Tire as a complimentary beer option at PHX, I’m not sure if there are additional offerings at the other test clubs (be it Fat Tire or a different brew). Their poor complimentary beer offering has been the single most disappointing aspect as compared to other airline lounges, in my opinion.
I agree with Aaron… As packed as the AC’s may be sometimes, they’re never as packed as the gates are and whether I’m drinking coffee or beer it’s a hell of a lot better than nothing. If for nothing else, it’s great to interact with the club staff and some AA staff that aren’t personally processing hundreds of passengers an hour. I applaud AA for trying things and working towards enhancing things. Yes I will be incredibly grateful when they finally install Dom Perignon waterfalls, begin butler passed canapes and install those long requested personal sleeping cabins, but until then I’ll appreciate the guacamole.
I definitely think AA is trying at the clubs and for that they are to be applauded. They are trying out different breakfast items too, not all of which are a hit, IMO.
I did have to chuckle about the custom avocado carts. What Gary didn’t show are the lines that form. Almost as bad as a TSA line (exaggeration for emphasis) and not for those with a short stop-over.
People talking about “$1 of pasta” or such don’t really understand the consumer economics at play.
The only cost figure that matters is the cost of alternatives offering equivalent utility. In this case, the utility comes in the form of food sufficient to form a meal. The options for a flyer are physically limited by the offerings of the airport, which are provided at extortionate rates, such as $10 for a McDonald’s combo, etc., due to the closed economy within the airport. The other option is to procure and bring in a meal from outside, which involves time and hassle – if you value your time at only $50/hour, you’re still talking about easily $10 in opportunity cost to make or procure something.
So the relevant cost isn’t “$1 of pasta”, it’s ~$10 in averted actual or opportunity costs in order to procure a meal.
So, in short, I welcome these additions, regardless of what the naysayers think.
It’s funny how they make a big deal about the hotel breakfast and lounge food in America. Visit any Asian hotels and airport lounges to see a difference of day and night.
So much for rolling it out to all clubs by June. It’s mid August and I have yet to see any signs of improvement at ANY club (BDL, TPA, CLT) I have visited regularly.