American Airlines has announced a plan to open a new business class Flagship lounge in Miami.
- The current Flagship lounge will be converted into Admirals Club space, adding 29,000 square feet to the lounge next door. That’s incredible.
- Overall, Americn will “nearly double” the amount of lounge space they offer in Miami.
New Philadelphia Flagship Lounge
They will maintain the current D15 Admiral’s Club in addition to this expanded D30 club. The great news about the new Flagship lounge is that it should be in the airline’s new design template, which is gorgeous and a vast improvement over the 2017-era lounges (which I’ve described as ‘modern hospital’).
Current Miami Flagship Lounge
MIA customers can expect that every element of the Flagship® and Admirals Club® lounges will be thoughtfully curated to balance style, comfort and function, creating spaces that feel less like an airport and more like a modern hospitality destination. Distinct zones — a.k.a. “neighborhoods” — each feature their own unique offerings designed to suit traveler needs:
- Lounge: Relax and recharge in comfortable seating
- Bar and dining: Connect and collaborate over drinks or a meal
- Villas: Embrace privacy and a mental reset in the spa-style shower suites, workstations and/or kid-friendly family room
Credit: American Airlines
What concerns me though is that – since American is eliminating Flagship First Class across their fleet as they upgrade business class with new Boeing 787-9s, eventual retrofit of Boeing 777-300ERs and delivery of Airbus A321XLRs which will replace premium cross-country Airbus A321Ts – American’s Flagship First Dining in Miami will be casualty.
Miami First Dining
American’s First Dining in New York has already been downgraded to the Chelsea Lounge shared with British Airways at New York JFK, and American still operates First Dining at DFW. I’ve asked American to comment on the future of First Dining in Miami.
For most elite flyers, Flagship First Dining was not something that was available anyway, only to those who paid or upgraded to Flagship First. Losing Flagship First Dining seems logical now that they are eliminating First Class. I won’t miss it.
Wow, all those years in Miami, I wish they had done this sooner. So, the real question is WHERE are they going to put the new Flagship, if they’re giving the old space to the AC?!
The AC at D30 would nearly always get packed, so expanding it is an excellent idea. The existing Flagship was fine, but AA was skimping out on the First Dining, for a while, only evenings (so, if you got the occasional morning-time Flagship First on the 773, MIA-LAX, you were out of luck, still regular Flagship lounge access). Better than LAX, where they’ve basically given up on it there.)
Meanwhile, the AC at D15 was rarely packed, namely because it’s so far away from everything. Amex is nearby, too, so that takes some ‘pressure’ off capacity (though, it’s usually super-full; amazing views, though).
They won’t have first so no need for Flagship First Dining. Not a loss for 99+% of fliers. Sorry Gary that you may miss out on an entitled experience. If they stay open I can see letting CK members in and others that pay maybe $75-$100 a person (or add a pass or 2 for million miler thresholds, Loyalty Point tiers, etc).
They should monetize it or close it. Doesn’t make sense to keep open solely for your benefit no matter how “concerned” you may be.
Why have Flagship First dining when Flagship First is on the outs?
Adding lounge space is a big plus. Maybe they could try it in CLT sometime.
@Christian — On CLT, sheesh, one can dream… one of the most neglected fortress hubs of all time. And the rocking chairs simply do not make up for it. Bah!
So, if Flagship Dining goes away does that spell the end of restaurant style dining at Flagship clubs? Seems this would put them at a competitive disadvantage against Polaris and Delta One Lounges.
I did the FL First dining at MIA a couple months ago (was connecting at JFK to Transcon F) and the food was no better than what is served on the buffet. The waiters were great but I could have saved myself the $60 tip. No big loss.
I’m wondering if the old E club will become the new FL lounge. It was at one time a OW premium lounge that AC members could use when flying out of E. It was due to be renovated as a new AC prior to COVID but the construction never resumed. It’s a very nice space.
And yes MIA needs more AC space. At one point in the past they supplemented the D15 club with that open space next to the club. Surprised AA hasn’t used it again as it just sits empty.
I would think AA would replace Flagship First Dining with restaurant style dining for all Business passengers like Polaris and Delta One otherwise it would be a competitive disadvantage. If they do that, then I wouldn’t see it as a downgrade. If they do sunset restaurant-style dining then it probably won’t make a big difference at fortress hubs, but it would be foolish at any of its competitive hubs (although LAX has not had this since COVID and ORD has never had it).
I would think AA will want to invest in the MIA Flagship Lounge to protect its very lucrative gateway South America vs competitors – MIA also supports LHR, CDG, Spain, and some Italy with business traffic + leisure so there is $$. Having a strong on-ground product with the improved hard product would be smart to continue to secure that premium traffic. The increase makes sense given they’ve mentioned more South America incoming with the A321XLR. After all, they’re mostly competing against Latin American carriers here who aren’t famous for their hard or soft product, so AA doesn’t have to be ground-breaking here.
Actually, AA mentions a-la-carte dining in its press release so I think it’s very likely that is the path they go down. The devil will be in the details in how much they invest in the food quality and variety of offerings, but this may be an upgrade for the majority of premium passengers.
@Parker — Yeah, it’s almost as if American saw what Delta was doing, said, ‘hold my beer,’ then decided to get rid of the ‘good’ thing. Bah!
@George N Romey — Glad you got the chance! That’s a niche access, so, like, you showed them your JFK-SFO/LAX ticket in Flagship First, and MIA was like, ‘sure, why not, come dine with us!’
Gotta admit, Terminal E is not great (F is the absolute worst, though, like straight back to the 1970s). So, if AA puts money into improving E, that’d be swell. Also, the only ‘CLEAR’ checkpoint is near there, so it might actually work out well.
The Flagship lounge’s suck – my primary airport is LAX and when they closed Flagship Dining there, never to reopen, I was very disappointed. The LAX Flagship lounge is always so crowded, that on our last trip to AKL on AA we walked over to enjoy the Qantas lounge which is far superior. Similarly, we loved visiting Flagship Dining at JFK and would actually visit there even if we didn’t have time to eat since the bar and small, intimate area was a great respite from the larger (and often overly crowded) Flagship lounge. While the Chelsea lounge is fine, it just doesn’t have the panache and exclusivity of Flagship dining. Sadly, the deterioration of AA aligns with the deterioration of the industry in general.