American Airlines Announces a New 12,000-Square Foot Austin Admirals Club — Their First Lounge With an Outdoor Terrace

American Airlines announced its plan for a new Austin Admiral’s Club this morning. The lounge will be “more than 12,000 square feet on the west side of the terminal” and will be American’s first lounge with an outdoor terrace. The location of the lounge upstairs at the end of the airport will allow for “”expansive views of downtown Austin and the airfield.”

“As we elevate our presence in Austin, we’re excited to bring a new level of comfort and hospitality to our customers,” said American’s Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden. “This new Admirals Club® lounge will reflect the vibrant spirit of Austin while offering the thoughtful design and premium amenities our customers expect.”

American Airlines first announced plans for a new lounge in Austin at gate 14 four and a half years ago about eight gates east of their current lounge. This lounge will actually be about 20% smaller than it would have been in the original space. So a new lounge in Austin has been a long time in coming.

I wrote exclusively in November 2024 that American had shifted plans for where it would build its new Austin club to the West Gate Expansion area of the airport, that the space wouldn’t be done until 2026 (it opened this week) and therefore the lounge couldn’t be expected until 2027. And I wrote at the time that it would be “11,575 square feet including an outdoor terrace.” (It sounds as though measured square footage changed ever so slightly since then.)

While American is expected to remain smaller in Austin than Southwest and Delta, they will nearly double their gate allocation at the airport once the new concourse opens in the early 2030s, and they’ll occupy 9 gates on the west end of the current concourse (along with Alaska Airlines). So this new lounge is located right where American’s gates will be. Already this new lounge is on the side of the concourse that American operates out of now.

Here’s a look at the 2030s gate allocation. The lounge will be above the light blue (American) gates on the very left.

American’s new design aesthetic is currently featured in Philadelphia (A West), Washington National (E Concourse), Denver and Newark.

And the pipeline of lounges which will see it, in addition to Austin, includes the DCA D renovation, new Charlotte main Admiral’s Club and Flagship lounge, a new Flagship lounge for Miami (with the current one converted to Admiral’s Club space) as well as San Antonio.

I don’t necessarily love Admirals Club food, finding Delta lounge food to be significantly better even in the face of cutbacks there, but new kitchen facilities help and having proper space for the food will be better and make the presentation more appetizing.

The real treat, though, isn’t the design or that there will be an outdoor deck – it’s the staff in the Austin club who are the absolute best in the system. They know the names of all regulars on sight.

They work magic with itineraries – and they keep working that magic even once you’ve left, frequently bird dogging inventory and improving connections even after you’ve left the lounge. When I’ve had flights cancelled and could only get a long connection in Dallas or Charlotte, I’ve found myself landing to notes saying they’ve gotten me on an earlier flight because space opened up. They do this for everyone.

It’s a small city, personal customer service feel even in a growing market. And that makes Admiral’s Club membership worth it. The space will finally match the service once this lounge opens, in all likelihood next year – American says construction will start this year. I genuinely cannot wait for the lounge to open because it’ll make flying American Airlines out of my home airport that much better.