American’s Flagship Lounge to open at MIA
Pre-flight service for first-class, business travelers
MIAMI — American Airlines’ new Flagship Lounge at Miami International Airport will make its debut Tuesday as part of a $200 million company-wide investment to retain and draw more high-paying international and transcontinental fliers.
The 29,000-square-foot pre-flight lounge will serve as a retreat for travelers who want to dine, relax, rejuvenate or conduct business between flights when traveling through the Miami airport. Besides high-end food menus, travelers will also find showers, quiet spaces for reading or chilling out, digital boards with flight information, as well as TV monitors and lounge-style seating outfitted with electrical outlets for recharging portable devices.
“It’s a departure lounge for our business and first-class customers to enjoy prior to their long-haul international flights,” said Jeremy Klein, senior manager, premium customer services in hub markets for the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier.
MIA is among a select group of U.S. airports slated to get new or renovated Flagship Lounges by 2018.
In May, the first Flagship Lounge opened in New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, with a second lounge opening in September at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Another will be added at Los Angeles International Airport by year’s end, Klein said.
Two other Flagship Lounges are planned for the Dallas-Fort Worth and London Heathrow airports in 2018, Klein said.
“This will be our largest location here in Miami,” said Klein during a sneak preview Tuesday. “It features a bunch of different types of dining and lounge areas.”
The 475-seat Flagship Lounge in Concourse D of MIA’s North Terminal offers a hot and cold buffet spread, chef station for made-to-order
dishes and self-serve areas for snacks, cocktails and wine and champagne. It’ll be open daily from 4:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.
The Flagship Lounge also boasts an intimate 20-seat sit-down restaurant called Flagship First Dining, which opens at 2 p.m. daily to serve multicourse, locally inspired meals.
Access to the lounge is complimentary to first and business-class international travelers flying on American between the U.S. and Europe, Asia, Central and South America, Mexico City, Australia and New Zealand. Elite-status members of American’s AAdvantage frequent flier and ConciergeKey invite-only programs and those belonging to its Oneworld global airline partnership, also qualify for entry when traveling on any American flight.
Premium travelers who purchase a Flagship Firstclass airfare on qualifying American flights get the benefit of dining in the lounge’s exclusive restaurant.
“You can’t get in here by status, you have to buy the ticket to actually get in,” said Klein of Flagship First Dining.
The new roster of premium airport lounges now offered by airlines such as Delta, United and American provide an experience akin to a luxurious hotel lobby, said George Hobica, president of travel website Airfarewatchdog.com.
“The food is much better and some are just stunning now [in decor],” he said. “It’s been a long time coming as they had let them deteriorate, and in many ways they were looking pretty shabby.”
Instead of just snack trays of cheese, hummus and trail mix, today’s lounges offer travelers complete meals with a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
“It’s definitely an upswing,” Hobica said.
For U.S. airlines, the upgraded pre-departure lounges and addition of newer planes with enhanced onboard features are a way to level the playing field with competing international carriers, he said.
The end goal? To boost premium customer loyalty and attract more of them.
For one such top-spending frequent flier, the new Flagship Lounge at MIA hit the right note.
“It’s phenomenal, it’s beautiful and it’s about time,” said Alexander Menzel, a Miami entrepreneur and ConciergeKey member at Wednesday’s preview. “I have 23 million miles with American and I’ve been to pretty much all the Admiral Clubs and I think this [lounge] is probably the best one so far.”
For Flagship Lounge/ Flagship First Dining entry guidelines, visit AA.com.