Aug 18, 2014, 6:40 pm
Last edit by: JDiver
Admirals and US Club changes, closures, consolidations etc. (Master Thread)
Please edit/add to this Wikipost with any done, confirmed, announced or pending Admirals Club changes
(not wishful, speculative or possible changes).
LOCATIONS, CLOSURES, CONSOLIDATIONS Etc.
All US Airways Clubs have been rebranded as Admirals Clubs.
Admirals Clubs are following US Airways Club tradition of serving soup.
AA- US "exchange" programs have been implemented at some Clubs so both AA and US Club users can be assisted by redeployed "AAngels" with computers (e.g. DFW Clubs now have US assistance counters and personnel).
ATL: Concourse T Admirals Club only staffed by AA personnel, no computer system installed to allow assisting US pax. (11/22/2014)
BUF: 2015, changed to November, BUF / Buffalo a Club to close.
DCA: US Airways Club in t-B rebadged as Admirals Club. Member dtremit says "To be clear, the small US club in the "B/C" pier (formerly a UA club) was closed and consolidated into the adjacent AC. The large US club on the "C" pier is still open."
DFW: Admirals Clubs now have "out stationed" US personnel for assistance.
GRU: Admirals Club closed for renovations beginning December 1, 2014 as construction of a new club in Terminal 3 begins. New AC is expected to open in 2015. AC Members may use the GRU Executive Club in T3 until the new AC opens.
LAX: US Airways Club closed. AS lounge in T6 (near US gates) now available for AC members, transcon premium cabin ticket holders on AA or US, and under oneworld access rules when flying US or AA.
PHL US Airways B/C Club rebadged, has AA Personnel available, at least weekday mornings until 10am (not sure about after this time frame). In A-East, Admirals Club opened, has US Personnel available.
RDU: US Airways Club closed.
SJU: The Admirals Club® lounge at San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin International (SJU) permanently closed 30 Dec 2015.
All US Airways Clubs have been rebranded as Admirals Clubs.
Admirals Clubs are following US Airways Club tradition of serving soup.
AA- US "exchange" programs have been implemented at some Clubs so both AA and US Club users can be assisted by redeployed "AAngels" with computers (e.g. DFW Clubs now have US assistance counters and personnel).
ATL: Concourse T Admirals Club only staffed by AA personnel, no computer system installed to allow assisting US pax. (11/22/2014)
BUF: 2015, changed to November, BUF / Buffalo a Club to close.
DCA: US Airways Club in t-B rebadged as Admirals Club. Member dtremit says "To be clear, the small US club in the "B/C" pier (formerly a UA club) was closed and consolidated into the adjacent AC. The large US club on the "C" pier is still open."
DFW: Admirals Clubs now have "out stationed" US personnel for assistance.
GRU: Admirals Club closed for renovations beginning December 1, 2014 as construction of a new club in Terminal 3 begins. New AC is expected to open in 2015. AC Members may use the GRU Executive Club in T3 until the new AC opens.
LAX: US Airways Club closed. AS lounge in T6 (near US gates) now available for AC members, transcon premium cabin ticket holders on AA or US, and under oneworld access rules when flying US or AA.
PHL US Airways B/C Club rebadged, has AA Personnel available, at least weekday mornings until 10am (not sure about after this time frame). In A-East, Admirals Club opened, has US Personnel available.
RDU: US Airways Club closed.
SJU: The Admirals Club® lounge at San Juan Luis Muñoz Marin International (SJU) permanently closed 30 Dec 2015.
Admirals Club changes, closure, consolidation, etc. (Master Thread)
Jul 29, 2015, 11:42 pm
#121
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Executive Platinum
Posts: 2,085
Jul 29, 2015, 11:45 pm
#122
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Executive Platinum
Posts: 2,085
Agree with those too, with the exception of SEA since there's already a board room there. Are these all former AC locations? I know the last time I passed through PBI, the old US club was still intact, just with a sign in front saying it was closed (this was a couple of years ago now though).
Jul 30, 2015, 7:42 am
#123
Join Date: Jun 2000
Location: JFK > LGA >> EWR
Programs: AA EXP 1.2mm, Kimpton IC, Starwood Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 2,180
Coffee that's actually coffee, not reconstituted powder like in the AC.
The LAX BR also has great tarmac views.
More substantive food (pancakes, hard boiled eggs).
Jul 30, 2015, 10:01 am
#125
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: PBI/FLL/MIA
Programs: DL DM/2MM, MR Ambassador, National EE
Posts: 1,614
Quote:
Originally Posted by GotCalcio4
Just curious, in your opinion, in what way are the board rooms superior to ACs? I find the "bar" in the SEA board room to be a total joke. Although the salad bar was a nice option.
Free good beer (vs. $7 or $8 + tip for drinkable beer in the AC; BRs don't even accept tips).
Coffee that's actually coffee, not reconstituted powder like in the AC.
The LAX BR also has great tarmac views.
More substantive food (pancakes, hard boiled eggs).
Originally Posted by GotCalcio4
Just curious, in your opinion, in what way are the board rooms superior to ACs? I find the "bar" in the SEA board room to be a total joke. Although the salad bar was a nice option.
Free good beer (vs. $7 or $8 + tip for drinkable beer in the AC; BRs don't even accept tips).
Coffee that's actually coffee, not reconstituted powder like in the AC.
The LAX BR also has great tarmac views.
More substantive food (pancakes, hard boiled eggs).
Jul 30, 2015, 12:15 pm
#128
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
It is Buffalo, not a whole ton of business travelers. The cities you listed are much bigger and they have far more corporate traffic. I drove through downtown buffalo last year and it is kind of a sad sight, the city is struggling.
Jul 30, 2015, 1:36 pm
#129
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 6,001
The once or twice a year I am in there, it is a bunch of suits.
As for the city, while I wouldn't say it is booming, it is doing quite well. Between Harborcenter (massive hockey arena where the Aud was), Ford Plant at max capacity, 3 Universities at highest enrollment ever, a construction backlog, Pegula buying the Bills and the Sabres and 2.4 million passengers a year at BUF, the city is not depressing at all. No, it is not booming, but, not sad either. And certainly not a struggle.
Probably not enough traffic to support an AC in Buffalo, but someone will fill the space with another club.
Unfortunately, GSO will probably be next on the closure list. (Less than 1 mln passengers last year.)
Jul 30, 2015, 3:49 pm
#131
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Executive Platinum
Posts: 2,085
Gotcha. I'm not a big beer drinker, but can appreciate the value in that and the other things you listed.
Jul 30, 2015, 3:50 pm
#132
Ambassador: Alaska Airlines
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: BWI
Posts: 7,390
I think you are wrong on both accounts.
The once or twice a year I am in there, it is a bunch of suits.
As for the city, while I wouldn't say it is booming, it is doing quite well. Between Harborcenter (massive hockey arena where the Aud was), Ford Plant at max capacity, 3 Universities at highest enrollment ever, a construction backlog, Pegula buying the Bills and the Sabres and 2.4 million passengers a year at BUF, the city is not depressing at all. No, it is not booming, but, not sad either. And certainly not a struggle.
Probably not enough traffic to support an AC in Buffalo, but someone will fill the space with another club.
Unfortunately, GSO will probably be next on the closure list. (Less than 1 mln passengers last year.)
The once or twice a year I am in there, it is a bunch of suits.
As for the city, while I wouldn't say it is booming, it is doing quite well. Between Harborcenter (massive hockey arena where the Aud was), Ford Plant at max capacity, 3 Universities at highest enrollment ever, a construction backlog, Pegula buying the Bills and the Sabres and 2.4 million passengers a year at BUF, the city is not depressing at all. No, it is not booming, but, not sad either. And certainly not a struggle.
Probably not enough traffic to support an AC in Buffalo, but someone will fill the space with another club.
Unfortunately, GSO will probably be next on the closure list. (Less than 1 mln passengers last year.)
6.9% unemployment rate and job growth only advanced .12%
Buffalo population shrank 3% since 2000 and around 55% since 1950
30% residents are below the poverty line
24.4% population has Bachelors degree or higher
Third highest percent of vacant housing in the nation only behind Detroit and New Orleans (vacant houses and structures appears to be their #1 issue)
Only six billion dollar companies are headquartered in Buffalo
Per Capita income is $20K; median household income is $30K
There is a lot more information in this link (albeit a little old)
http://www.ppgbuffalo.org/wp-content...rlds-apart.pdf
Another article about Class A vacancies in downtown Buffalo
http://www.buffalonews.com/business/...-woes-20131117
Those data might be slightly outdated, but those kind of things take years to really turn around.
I truly think Buffalo has kind of bottomed out somewhat a few years ago and it only can go up from there. Honestly, I truly hope the trend does shift (not just in specific places in the city, but the entire area) and things start to improve at the same or faster pace as the state of NY.
My point is, Buffalo does not have a lot of economic activity and the AC traffic most likely reflects that. You said there is a bunch of suits when you visited there and I believe you, but in a given week how much corporate traffic or high yielding leisure traffic goes through Buffalo? Very little and traffic through the airport has shrunk (8%), which probably put some strain on the BUF AC revenues.
Last edited by golfingboy; Jul 30, 2015 at 4:33 pm
Jul 30, 2015, 4:15 pm
#133
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: YYZ/YHM/BUF
Programs: AA Plat, HH Gold, MR Plat
Posts: 4,212
BUF lounge closure
The wonderful ladies working at the Club have been there forever and it's sad to see them go. 
Buffalo is actually undergoing a nice gentrification of the downtown area. There's a lot of redevelopment in progress and many brand new hotels keep opening downtown and near the airport.
I suspect the decision to close the lounge was motivated by the loss of revenue from the large number of AC *G FFers that used it when flying US/UA from BUF. This would explain the comment on the BUF lounge having been "more profitable" than the LGA location.
Perhaps there's enough demand for the lounge space to reopen as a third-party lounge affiliated with a program like Priority Pass or Amex?
Buffalo is actually undergoing a nice gentrification of the downtown area. There's a lot of redevelopment in progress and many brand new hotels keep opening downtown and near the airport.
I suspect the decision to close the lounge was motivated by the loss of revenue from the large number of AC *G FFers that used it when flying US/UA from BUF. This would explain the comment on the BUF lounge having been "more profitable" than the LGA location.
Perhaps there's enough demand for the lounge space to reopen as a third-party lounge affiliated with a program like Priority Pass or Amex?
Jul 30, 2015, 5:24 pm
#134
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,809
Lack of an MCO club led me to create a new game when I transitioned from DL to AA called, let's see how late I can get to the airport and still make the flight. At this point, my record is pulling into a parking space in the garage at T-28 minutes.
With that said, an AC would be nice in MCO. I expect a new club of some sort to open at MCO soon, maybe not an AC though. EK will need some sort of lounge, and it seems unlikely to me that they would send their guests to the SkyClub how many of the other international MCO airlines do at this point. Couple that with the high number of S. American, Canadian, and European flights which don't get lounge access in Airside 1 and MCO is due for a lounge in that area. My only hope is that AA and US condense to Airside 1 and not Airside 3 where US is. I hate that side.
As others have mentioned, MCO has a lot of convention demand and sees quite a bit of paid F travel. I would expect that individuals paying for F would likely utilize an AC if it were available. I'd love to see a CL, but I know that isn't going to happen.
With that said, an AC would be nice in MCO. I expect a new club of some sort to open at MCO soon, maybe not an AC though. EK will need some sort of lounge, and it seems unlikely to me that they would send their guests to the SkyClub how many of the other international MCO airlines do at this point. Couple that with the high number of S. American, Canadian, and European flights which don't get lounge access in Airside 1 and MCO is due for a lounge in that area. My only hope is that AA and US condense to Airside 1 and not Airside 3 where US is. I hate that side.
As others have mentioned, MCO has a lot of convention demand and sees quite a bit of paid F travel. I would expect that individuals paying for F would likely utilize an AC if it were available. I'd love to see a CL, but I know that isn't going to happen.
Jul 30, 2015, 7:12 pm
#135
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Global
Posts: 6,001
I did a little research on Buffalo...
6.9% unemployment rate and job growth only advanced .12%
Buffalo population shrank 3% since 2000 and around 55% since 1950
30% residents are below the poverty line
24.4% population has Bachelors degree or higher
Third highest percent of vacant housing in the nation only behind Detroit and New Orleans (vacant houses and structures appears to be their #1 issue)
Only six billion dollar companies are headquartered in Buffalo
Per Capita income is $20K; median household income is $30K
There is a lot more information in this link (albeit a little old)
http://www.ppgbuffalo.org/wp-content...rlds-apart.pdf
Another article about Class A vacancies in downtown Buffalo
http://www.buffalonews.com/business/...-woes-20131117
Those data might be slightly outdated, but those kind of things take years to really turn around.
I truly think Buffalo has kind of bottomed out somewhat a few years ago and it only can go up from there. Honestly, I truly hope the trend does shift (not just in specific places in the city, but the entire area) and things start to improve at the same or faster pace as the state of NY.
My point is, Buffalo does not have a lot of economic activity and the AC traffic most likely reflects that. You said there is a bunch of suits when you visited there and I believe you, but in a given week how much corporate traffic or high yielding leisure traffic goes through Buffalo? Very little and traffic through the airport has shrunk (8%), which probably put some strain on the BUF AC revenues.
6.9% unemployment rate and job growth only advanced .12%
Buffalo population shrank 3% since 2000 and around 55% since 1950
30% residents are below the poverty line
24.4% population has Bachelors degree or higher
Third highest percent of vacant housing in the nation only behind Detroit and New Orleans (vacant houses and structures appears to be their #1 issue)
Only six billion dollar companies are headquartered in Buffalo
Per Capita income is $20K; median household income is $30K
There is a lot more information in this link (albeit a little old)
http://www.ppgbuffalo.org/wp-content...rlds-apart.pdf
Another article about Class A vacancies in downtown Buffalo
http://www.buffalonews.com/business/...-woes-20131117
Those data might be slightly outdated, but those kind of things take years to really turn around.
I truly think Buffalo has kind of bottomed out somewhat a few years ago and it only can go up from there. Honestly, I truly hope the trend does shift (not just in specific places in the city, but the entire area) and things start to improve at the same or faster pace as the state of NY.
My point is, Buffalo does not have a lot of economic activity and the AC traffic most likely reflects that. You said there is a bunch of suits when you visited there and I believe you, but in a given week how much corporate traffic or high yielding leisure traffic goes through Buffalo? Very little and traffic through the airport has shrunk (8%), which probably put some strain on the BUF AC revenues.
- Housing vacancies are a misnomer. There are a lot of vacant homes waiting to be torn down. Rents are up, not down.
- Cost of living is excellent.
- Metro area schools are great. (City schools, not so much.)
- Per capita higher ed is outstanding.
-Class A office is one of those metrics that goes and comes... you build a lot and boost the vacancy rate. A few years ago it was needed. Now too much.
- "Corporate Travel" is a bad metric - it 'technically' has a relatively high corporate travel... Ford alone fills planes every week to detroit. (50+ seats per weekday.) (Granted, not an AA route.)
- Not many billion dollar businesses, but a lot of healthy ones.
- Granted traffic has declined recently. But, I would guess most, if not all, non-hub airports have seen decreases in traffic due to all the mergers.
Net, net, a small mid-market for sure. And given AA priorities, not shocking it is closing. But, AC membership value depends on having clubs where you need them.
DL has a club in PBI. How does it survive given DL small footprint in PBI? (newyorkgeorge added a full list of small DL airports...MSY, PBI, FLL, IND, JAX, MKE and MCO)
So my question remains, what new airports has AA added in the past several years?
Or are we looking at a new trend for AC... more clubs will close.... AC Clubs will only be at focus and hub airports?