American Airlines Charlotte Main Admirals Club Re-Opens June 24

by Gary Leff

Update: An American Airlines spokesperson confirms the re-opening date for the main Charlotte Admirals Club:

Beginning June 24, American Airlines will reopen the Terminal C Admirals Club lounge at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT). The club was temporarily closed for minor repairs and our team in Charlotte is excited to welcome customers back.

American Airlines no longer uses Los Angeles as its transpacific hub. They’ve dropped flying to Hong Kong and China as well as Auckland, New Zealand. In fact, going forward, they’re looking at flying just to joint venture hubs – London, Tokyo and Sydney.

While those are important flights, and American has a significant three-cabin first class operation to New York JFK, they’ve kept Flagship First Dining closed there.

Inside their business class Flagship Lounge is an exclusive dining room intended for Flagship first class customers (as well as those paying in through Five Star, or otherwise invited). Though Flagship First Dining has been re-opened at New York JFK, Dallas – Fort Worth, and Miami, it remains closed at LAX.

As for the possibility it re-opens, an American Airlines spokesperson tells me, “Nothing planned.” That’s sad, but exactly as I’ve expected.

Meanwhile there’s going to be some lounge relief soon for American Airlines passengers in Charlotte. The main Admirals Club there has been closed for half a year, and the smaller second club has faced long lines to get in – only to find a packed club when passengers reach the front of the line.

The good news is that the work in the main lounge is coming to an end and will be re-opening.

Charlotte needs another club or two even once the main club returns. These were crowded even when open. Dallas has 5 Admirals Clubs, Charlotte 2 despite capacity for nearly 80% as many flights.

And don’t expect much of an improvement after six months of work. The bathrooms will be better but this was largely about fire work rather than a full club renovation. On the one hand the lounge really could use a refresh. On the other hand the recent lounge style has been too institutional. So I don’t mind that they’ve waited.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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  1. This is good news, but as you say, Charlotte needs 1-2 more clubs, and has for years. At a minimum there should be one on Concourse E. The C-D club in Charlotte, with its time-capsule 1990s decor, has always been one of the absolute worst in the system, and it’s been made exponentially worse by all the extra volume being pumped through the hub now.

  3. I was there yesterday. Multiple flight delays and a line at least 100 deep that took easily 45 minutes before you got in club. Unhelpful desk folks when it comes to re-scheduling. Basically, this was a complete joke.

  4. So after all of the money AA spent remodeling and upgrading the LAX Admiral’s Club a few years back, which included enlarging the flagship lounge and thereby reducing the size of the regular AC to accommodate Flagship Dining, it will remain closed? This airline continues it’s race to the bottom. So sad.

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