Tag Archives for admirals club.
I’ve heard from several Executive Platinum passengers recently who have received texts from Admirals Club agents shortly before they arrived at the airport. These usually welcome them and let them know the status of the club and Covid procedures. The texts aren’t from an automated system – they’re from an agent in the Admirals Club, which I think is a really nice touch.
And it’s gets better.
There are fewer of these passengers today, with borders closed and testing requirements in place. Furthermore there’s very little international business travel. And frequent flyers with club memberships have been flying less as well.
So the real fight is for leisure passengers, many of whom haven’t been frequent flyers, and they’re mostly traveling to close-in destinations like the Caribbean and Mexico. And American is expanding airport club lounge access as a result.
Three more Admirals Clubs have re-opened – Tampa, Raleigh, and Orange County – joining 21 clubs that had already re-opened. (Two additional airports have service centers to assist Admirals Club members with their travel, Pittsburgh and Atlanta.)
That brings the total list of re-opened clubs to 24 across 20 airports.
During the month of October American Airlines will re-open 7 more Admirals Clubs expanding beyond hub locations, They’re also bringing back cheese cubes, avocado toast, and guacamole and chips.
In re-opened clubs a full bar is offered where permitted by local regulation, and packaged snacks are offered. They’ve added plexiglass shields at reception and at service desks, and in some cases foot-operated door openers for restrooms. There are also hand sanitizer stations and floor decals to promote social distancing.
American Airlines lounges will re-introduce hot food August 12 and food for sale August 19.
On June 22 American Airlines opened 11 Admirals Club and 13 Service Centers where club members can get help with their travel itineraries. Now they’re re-opening 4 additional clubs, including one that was just a service center previously. All re-opened clubs are at American Airlines hubs, while service centers are now strictly at outstations.
American Airlines is building is schedule back up domestically for July, re-opening Admirals Clubs, and improving its change fee waiver – while re-asserting one element of restrictions attached to its basic economy fares.
I’ve been consistently hearing from American Airlines employees that several Admirals Clubs are expected to open in June. I’ve heard about major hub clubs, and the dates being offered are late in the month.
Asked about what I’ve been hearing, an American Airlines spokesperson offered “We hope to have more information to share this week.”
Citibank is giving a credit of 50% of the annual fee to AAdvantage Executive cardmembers. This is the card that comes with American Airlines Admirals Club membership.
Citi and Barclays American Airlines companion tickets are also being extended.
American already closed 23 airport lounges including all Flagship lounges and many Admirals Clubs. The airline has been consolidating operations at airports to handle fewer flights, so major hubs still have at least one club.
That will no longer be the case come Thursday.
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 »
