Earlier this summer, American Airlines announced some exciting updates to its lounge setup at its Miami International Airport (MIA) hub. At the time, I wasn’t sure where the lounge would be located, but I now have an update, so let’s cover all the details.
In this post:
American plans major lounge changes in Miami
Miami is my home airport (unfortunately), and American is the largest carrier there. As it currently stands, American’s lounge situation at the airport is pretty underwhelming:
- There’s the D30 lounge setup, which includes an Admirals Club and a Flagship Lounge, and is the carrier’s main lounge complex at the airport
- There’s the D15 Admirals Club, which is the smaller lounge facility of the carrier at the airport
With that in mind, American is planning some exciting updates to its lounges at the airport. American plans to open an all-new Flagship Lounge in Miami. Officially, details about the new facility are extremely limited — construction details and timing will only be revealed at a later date.
Once this new facility opens, the plan is for the Flagship Lounge near gate D30 (which initially opened in 2017) to instead become part of the existing Admirals Club, meaning the Admirals Club will be expanded by around 29,000 square feet.
While we don’t know how big the new Flagship Lounge will be, American claims that these developments will nearly double the amount of lounge space that the airline offers at the airport. I’d estimate that American currently has at least 50,000 square feet of lounge space at the airport, so make of that what you will.
Here’s how Heather Garboden, American’s Chief Customer Officer, describes this:
“We’re excited to expand and elevate the premium experience for our Flagship customers and also provide a more spacious and calming environment in our Admirals Club lounges. Our strong partnership with airport leaders and county officials has allowed us to identify solutions that will make our customers’ experience even better, and we’re eager to work with them in building out this enhanced space.”
Location for American’s new Flagship Lounge Miami
I’ve been mighty curious about the location of American’s new Flagship Lounge Miami. What has confused me so much is that I haven’t seen any official documents with these details, which you’d think we’d see, since details of airport authority meetings are public, and they have to approve these kinds of facilities.
While I haven’t gotten any details through official channels, over a couple of airport visits I’ve asked different Admirals Club agents about where the new Flagship Lounge will be, and they all gave me the same answer — near gate D21.
As you walk down one of the main corridors of the D Concourse, you’ll notice all that space behind frosted glass, one level up, opposite the gates. So that’s where the lounge should be located. That space stretches a long way, though I’m not sure how deep it goes, as this might be a very narrow and long lounge… I’m not sure.
I don’t believe construction has started yet, so we’ll have to be patient. I know many people were worried the new Flagship Lounge would be located over in Concourse E, which would be a bit of a trek. So I think this is great news, since the location can’t get more central than that.
It’s kind of impressive how much lounge space American will have in the terminal, as there will be lounges by D15, D21, and D30.
To take a trip down memory lane, the backstory of that D21 lounge space is interesting. In 2014, British Airways was supposed to open a lounge in exactly this space, coinciding with the airline planning on flying the Airbus A380 to Miami. However, construction plans ended up being canceled because British Airways’ operations got moved to the Concourse E satellite to accommodate American’s growth in Concourse D.
So I’m happy to see that something will finally be happening with this space, though it’s sad to think that this potential lounge space has just sat empty for over a decade.
I can’t wait for these airport lounge updates!
As a Miami-based flyer, I am thrilled to see these lounge updates from American. American has grown a ton in Miami over the years, but lounge capacity hasn’t been added to keep up with demand:
- The Flagship Lounge is actually relatively decent, though dedicated international business class lounges have come a long way over the past decade, and at this point, it feels like a glorified cafeteria
- The two Admirals Clubs at Miami are consistently slammed, so are not very pleasant to spend time in; that says nothing of how outdated and sterile they are
Massively expanded lounge capacity, plus a general refresh of these lounges, is exciting. I’d expect the new Flagship Lounge to follow American’s new design motif, similar to what you’ll find at the Flagship Lounge Philadelphia.
For oneworld flyers, there’s more good news in general, as a British Airways Lounge Miami is expected to open this year, and that should also help alleviate traffic in American’s existing lounges.
On top of that, Concourse E is expected to see a new common use and/or membership lounge, not affiliated with an airline. Rumor has it that a Chase Sapphire Lounge is currently the frontrunner, though nothing has been officially announced yet.
Bottom line
American has big lounge plans for Miami Airport. The airline will be opening up a brand new Flagship Lounge in a new location, which should reflect the carrier’s new design concept. Once that happens, the existing Flagship Lounge near gate D30 will become part of the Admirals Club, meaning the lounge will be expanded by 29,000 square feet.
It’s my understanding that the new Flagship Lounge will be located near gate D21, in the area behind the frosted glass, one level above the terminal. I have no clue when it will open, but at least my curiosity is slightly satisfied, knowing where the lounge will be.
What do you make of American’s Miami lounge updates?
I can only hope that the common use lounge will not be Uncle Julio's Club America that was in concourse F. Worst excuse for a lounge I have ever seen with the exception of a few outstation lounges in South AM.
Probably doesn't exist anymore (with good reason!)
Flew to Barbados on AA last Friday. First, my departure gate was D4. So I went to AC at D15. An hour later, AA changed the departure gate to D40. I had already gotten comfortable so I decided to stay in the AC lounge at D15; plus the lounge agent told me that the AC at D50 is more crowded. 15mins before boarding time I happened to look at my app and noticed the gate...
Flew to Barbados on AA last Friday. First, my departure gate was D4. So I went to AC at D15. An hour later, AA changed the departure gate to D40. I had already gotten comfortable so I decided to stay in the AC lounge at D15; plus the lounge agent told me that the AC at D50 is more crowded. 15mins before boarding time I happened to look at my app and noticed the gate had again changed to E5. It was a freaking trek - about 25 mins. AA needs to put a lounge in Terminal E.
I could crawl from D15 to E5 in 15 minutes...
Back on July 11 I wrote that I expected it to go in the "Unused shell space inside Concourse D (there is a mezzanine area between D‑22 – D‑26 that was rough‑finished during the North‑Terminal build‑out). This would keep premium customers near American’s gates and would be a straightforward lease amendment to add square footage to their existing lease. British Airways had invested in lounge design near D21 when they expected to use gate D1 as A380-capable,...
Back on July 11 I wrote that I expected it to go in the "Unused shell space inside Concourse D (there is a mezzanine area between D‑22 – D‑26 that was rough‑finished during the North‑Terminal build‑out). This would keep premium customers near American’s gates and would be a straightforward lease amendment to add square footage to their existing lease. British Airways had invested in lounge design near D21 when they expected to use gate D1 as A380-capable, before before moved over to E for American Airlines needs."
As a long shot I noted the "mothballed oneworld premium lounge/Admirals Club in Concourse E. American already leased it once."
https://viewfromthewing.com/where-is-american-airlines-secretly-building-miamis-new-business-class-flagship-lounge/
It'll be quite a nice place to play dice, get a tan, and get stabbed.
Dontcha just LOVE Miami?
Where in Miami are you hanging out in to het stabbed?
I came up with a new slogan for it:
The new Flagship/Admirals Club at MIA!!! Brand new look, same curt and surly service.
hopefully they find a way to keep the flagship first dining in the new lounge (not holding my breath) or offer a la carte dining of some form
Can only hope the new lounge isn't like PHL where the day it opened it was under capacity in comfortable seating.
Agreed, I was rather disappointed in the PHL lounge, as it was way over crowded and they were directing people to a room in the back that has a loud electronic buzz and lousy furniture and flooring. The food was eh, but I will say the staff was nice.
Hope they do better in Miami.