I had great flights with American Airlines this past week. My first two were upgraded about a day in advance. The chicken parmesan was actually tasty on the flight from Dallas – Fort Worth to Washington National. And on the return I was in coach but had exit row aisle seats.

From Chicago to Austin I was number one on the upgrade list but no seats. Since they’d ultimately been selling upgrades for an over $600 buy up I never expected to clear. But I even had an empty middle seat in the exit row, who can complain?

I picked up last minute lunch in D.C. which was a double-edged sword. It meant less time in the Admiral’s Club on the E concourse at National airport. I realized something funny. The food there isn’t really better than in other clubs, which means that it isn’t as good as Delta’s clubs or even United’s. And there aren’t any ‘special’ amenities. I don’t care. I love that lounge because of its aesthetics. It’s a space I enjoy being in, and will gladly sit and work there for hours.

And they do have macarons…!

I did stop there briefly, and that was useful because I was flying from DC to Chicago O’Hare before connecting home to Austin. I had a decent layover in Chicago, and so I compared that lounge directly with American’s ostensibly more premium Flagship lounge.

The timing was also fortuitous because my lunch delay meant I was standing directly in front of the secret VIP protocol room in that lounge just as I was chatting with a reporter about special perks for politicians in light of the Mayor Eric Adams scandal.

Hidden VIP Room Behind Admiral’s Club Check-in Desk

Regardless of which pier you’re flying out of this lounge is worth a stop if you have half an hour or more, I think, over the other two lounges American operates in the airport. It’s a quick walk and the difference is striking.

At the end of my short exit row hop to O’Hare, we landed on the K concourse and I was flying out of G for my connection home. American has an Admiral’s Club in G. So I thought about just heading there, but knowing that I wouldn’t clear the upgrade I would need to eat something. And as much as I love Tortas Frontera I just wasn’t hungry enough for one of their sandwiches.

Chicago O’Hare G Concourse

I opted for the Flagship lounge which is in the same spot as the H/K Admiral’s Club. There was a line to get in to the two clubs, though the backup wasn’t that the lounges were over capacity as such – this was just the queue to get credentials checked and it moved quickly. Flagship was crowded though before the London flight.

Flagship was the right choice for the food thanks to my British Airways status match, but the design elements are decidedly mid. This was the 2017-era design motif which can best be described as modern hospital, part of the same approach that was rolled out to Admiral’s Clubs starting with the DFW A club.

And even the food seems to have been cut back a bit. The one ‘prepared’ item at the ‘chef action station’ was.. a pre-cook shrimp pasta. There weren’t even the small bottles of water you could take away while I was there.

Still, the food options are far superior to the adjacent Admiral’s Club, and the views are great.

The American lounges I’m most looking forward to are the Philadelphia Flagship lounge opening next year because it will combine the better than Admirals Club catering with the new design palette and also new Austin club. Sadly, though the Austin club was announced in 2021, American hasn’t even signed a document for space with the airport to build it yet. The location has changed to the West Infill project which is slated to deliver in 2026. There was talk of having two clubs in Austin, since that space is smaller than what they were originally going to move into. With American’s drastic pullback in Austin, flying almost exclusively to hubs instead of three dozen destinations, and without a lease yet I wonder what they’ll do. The airline does say they’re still planning to move forward with this lounge.

Of course, the Austin Admiral’s Club has by far the best agents in the system and if you’re flying the largest carrier at the airport Southwest their best facilities look like this:

Of course until American opens that new club, Delta has by far the best lounge at the airport and is growing flights in American’s place (and no longer just to cities where they can fill planes in one direction flying migrants up from the southern border).

Ultimately the most important element is sense of space which requires an uncrowded location and emphasis on design elements. And I find that far more important – once the basics like comfortable furnishings and power are provided for – than catering (although the opportunity to graze on tasty options is nice).

It turns out my short domestic flights this week had at least five lessons,

1. Upgrades and Seat Experience: An exit row aisle with empty middle can be better than first class, especially if you eat beforehand.

2. Food Quality inflight: I hadn’t tried the chicken parmesan, and it’s something I’d have again. Certainly better than an Ellie Krieger meal!

3. Admirals Club Aesthetic Appeal Over Amenities: Space trumps food and amenities, though the latter can certainly enhance the former.

4. So new Admirals Clubs trump Flagship: at least until the new Philadelphia Flagship opens in the nicer design pallete.

5. New Austin Lounge Moves Forward Despite American’s Scaled Back Future There: However the airline hasn’t signed a deal for the space and it’ll be at least five years from when the lounge was announced to when it opens.