On November 12 I was flying American Airlines from New Orleans (MSY) to Dallas (DFW). While checking in, I happened to notice the signage above the counter. There, next to "American Airlines" was a relatively new sign indicating that next to the AA check-in counter is the entrance to the MSY Ionosphere Club.

That's right, Eastern Airlines' equivalent to AA's Admirals Clubs and United's Red Carpet Clubs. So what if it's been a decade since "the wings of man" folded. I had to know more, so I pointed up and asked the AA staffer who was checking me in if that really was the old Eastern club still in existence.

She chuckled, told me that I had a good memory and confirmed that it is Eastern's old Ionosphere Club, basically untouched.

It seems that when EAL ceased operations, the MSY airport authorities tried to lease the space to someone else but wanted -- and still want -- such a high rent that they've had no takers. As a result, all the Ionosphere Club furniture and fixtures, right down to the artwork on the walls, are still in place. "It's like stepping through a time warp" the AA staffer told me.

Obviously I asked if I could go in, but she told me that the airport keeps the place locked, only opening it two or three times a year when they need the space for training or a meeting or similar. And when the airport refurbished its signage, they included a new sign for an airport club of an airline that no longer exists.

Does anybody know anybody who has any influence with the MSY powers-that-be? Because I'm thinking this would be a natural place to host a Flyertalk fais-do-do. (For those not conversant in Cajun, that can be translated as "party.")