American Airlines has added Friday sweets in its domestic (Admirals and Flagship) lounges this summer. The specific items will rotate and they’ll be available through August.
From dirty sodas with a cream-top twist on favorites like Dr Pepper and root beer, to made-to-order ice cream sundaes and sandwiches, these limited-time treats bring a fun, indulgent start to weekend travel.
Credit: American Airlines
Credit: American Airlines
When I started visiting lounges on my own as a business traveler a quarter century ago, it’s was mostly just plastic packaged cheese and crackers. American Express helped drive a real improved game when it introduced Centurion lounges in Las Vegas and then Dallas – Fort Worth. Ironically at the time American Airlines was unhappy with the move at DFW airport, though it made DFW connections more desirable for travelers which actually generated incremental business for American.
Delta began upping its lounge food game, and then so did United. American as come along as well. They learned that lounges are key to premium card card adoption and spend. The lounge network isn’t a loss leader product necessary to retain business travelers anymore. It’s a leisure product, too. And the quality of that product matters.
So while budgets still matter, and American is a bit later to the game and somewhat more constrained, they’ve made real improvements. And we’re seeing a lot more lounges in the pipeline after years where closures were more likely. Plus, the designs of the spaces are much-improved and there’s food now, when there really didn’t used to be.
Back before there was a premium credit card that offered lounge access, and American participated in the American Express lounge network, wifi was only free to members and Platinum cardmembers had to pay to get online. It’s incredible to look at Admirals Clubs and realize that they’re far better than they were 15 years ago. And that’s before there were business class Flagship lounges, too.
Leave a Reply