Lounge Review: CLT American Airlines Admirals Club (Concourses B and C)

Index to Genius1 Trip Reports

With 90% market share, American Airlines is by far the dominant carrier at CLT. So it should come as no surprise that there are two Admirals Club lounges at the airport, although what is a little more surprising is that one of them – the largest – is very much still a relic from the US Airways days. This review documents visits to both lounges in June last year prior to a flight in Flagship Business to LHR.

Admirals Club Concourse C

The Concourse C Admirals Club is the larger of AA’s two lounges at CLT, and is located at the intersection between Concourses C and D. There are entrances through reasonably unassuming doors from both concourses, which meet at a fairly grand reception with access through to the lounge from both sides of the central desk. It’s immediately clear upon stepping into the lounge that this is a former US Airways Club, with the interior design largely dating back to the early 2000s. Whilst the lounge was closed in the first half of 2022 for refurbishment, this was limited to safety-related work behind the scenes; the only interior design improvements in recent years have come in the form of new carpets, selected furniture and table lamps. AA have plans to construct an entirely new Admirals Club at CLT to replace this lounge in the coming years, hence its lack of full refurbishment to date.



The first space after reception is a large seating area underneath a vaulted ceiling, with a self-serve buffet at the end closest to reception and the rest of the space taken up by rows of armchairs facing one another. The armchairs are interspersed with original US Airways side tables at regular intervals, which surprisingly feature integrated power sockets. The base of each table lamp also features an additional power and USB-A socket. The bins located either side of the seating space are notably ugly and offer all the ambience of a public street.





The left-hand wall has a couple of large double doors which I believe lead to conference rooms, although these are no longer in use. There is a small business centre tucked between the two sets of doors, with each workstation having its own power provision and some of them having iMacs. Washrooms are also accessed from this side of the lounge – these were always quite busy. There are no showers.





The right-hand walkway features an ungainly and not at all premium vending machine, behind which is a side room with a tended bar offering both bar and café seating.



Beyond the bar, further into the lounge, is another large seating area. Seating has been arranged slightly more imaginatively here with some groups of four armchairs, although the overall effect is still largely that of a hospital waiting room. Floor boxes provide additional power in this area, as there are no table lamps. Many of the armchairs feature their own integrated movable table, which might be practical but isn’t in the least bit stylish.



Moving back over to the left-hand side of the lounge, there’s a small side seating area ahead of the final part of the lounge. I believe this area is often reserved for Concierge Key members (you might be able to spot the tensabarrier posts standing ready to close the area off), although when I visited, no restrictions seemed to be in operation.





What once would have been an impressive circular space ends the lounge, filled with the by now familiar seating options, with a duplicate self-serve buffet at the near end and a tended live cooking station towards the far end, which during my visit was serving guacamole. A number of planters separate some of the seating areas, which is a welcome break from the monotony of the rest of the lounge.





Both buffets in the lounge offered the same options; iced tea, flavoured water, teabags (by Tealeaves), filter coffee (by La Colombe), bean-to-cup coffee from a machine, two soup options, a selection of salad items, cubed cheese, one main hot dish (Caribbean chicken), three sweet bakery items, dried snacks, and whole fruit. As is common for US lounges geared towards a domestic audience, house wine and beer and basic spirits were available from the bar, with other drink options and ‘premium’ food available for purchase. All tableware is single use. Since July last year, AA started to upgrade the food and drink offering in Admirals Clubs (including complimentary sparkling wine and cocktails), although by most reports the changes have been relatively minor.















This lounge’s saving grace is its apron views, which are extensive from two of the three main seating areas.



There’s certainly something quaint about this lounge’s design, but the overcrowded nature of the facility negates even the slightest amount of enjoyment from this.

Admirals Club Concourse B

Located between Gates 3 and 5 on Concourse B, the former US Airways Club received a full refurbishment to the then-latest Admirals Club concept in 2019. This lounge is far smaller than its Concourse C sister, and is arranged in a narrow rectangle, with a central reception and two wings emanating left and right.



The right-hand portion of the lounge is the smaller of the two sections and features two seating areas divided by a wooden screen. Low bar seating flanks the windows, which overlook the apron.



The left-hand side of the lounge is home to the self-serve buffet, tended bar, and ample café-style seating, including more of that low bar seating underneath the windows and a central communal table. Food and drink options are the same as those in the Concourse C lounge. Washrooms are located at the end of this space.







Power provision is strong throughout the lounge, with both power and USB-A sockets at most of the fixed tables, side tables and in the base of table lamps.

I’ve always liked AA’s functional interior design from this era of lounges. Everything works on a practical level, and despite the small size of this particular Admirals Club, the interior designers have done a good job not to make the space feel too constrained. My opinion is no doubt helped by the fact that this lounge was far less crowded than the Concourse C lounge, although it was still busy.

Concluding Thoughts

CLT offers a disappointing departures experience for Flagship passengers. From this airport, AA offer Flagship service to FRA, LHR, MAD and MUC, and seasonal service to CDG and FCO, so you’d think there would be enough demand for a small Flagship lounge or at least a segregated part of the Concourse C Admirals Club offering access to showers and complimentary premium food and drink options; let’s hope this is introduced when the new lounge is constructed.