American Airlines is doubling down on its second-largest hub with plans for its biggest Admirals Club ever. The new facility at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) will span more than 40,000 square feet on the mezzanine level overlooking the airport’s central atrium, with construction beginning later this year and an opening targeted for early 2028.

The project is only part of a much broader premium push at Charlotte. American has already announced CLT’s first Flagship Lounge, while last year it debuted its first-ever Provisions by Admirals Club grab-and-go concept near Gate A1. Together, the projects will give American very different lounge products for travelers with long layovers, premium international tickets, or connections measured in minutes rather than hours.

American’s Biggest Admirals Club Is Coming To Charlotte

Credit: American Airlines

The new Admirals Club will occupy the atrium’s mezzanine level, giving visitors views across the concourse below. At more than 40,000 square feet, it will leapfrog the 37,000-square-foot Terminal C club that American announced at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) in July — a facility that, at the time, was itself billed as the largest Admirals Club in American’s network.

Inside, American is promising distinct spaces for relaxing, dining and working, along with spa-style shower suites, bars and multiple serveries. The design will draw on Charlotte’s tree canopy and textile heritage, continuing the more residential, locally influenced aesthetic American has introduced across its newer premium facilities. Chief Customer Officer Heather Garboden said creating a lounge with more space that caters to the distinctly different needs of passengers is the airline’s priority.

“Designing a lounge that gives our customers more space to relax, work and recharge is our top priority. We’re incredibly excited to bring our biggest Admirals Club lounge yet to CLT, where millions of customers pass through every year.”

Passengers will still have access to the existing Admirals Clubs in Concourses B and C/D and Provisions near A1 while construction takes place. Importantly, the new 40,000-square-foot club is separate from Charlotte’s planned Flagship Lounge, which will bring American’s higher-end international lounge proposition to CLT for the first time; American has still not announced its location, size or opening date.

Credit: Wenjie Zheng | Shutterstock

Charlotte is not simply another large American station. It is the airline’s second-largest hub after DFW, with more than 650 peak-day flights linking over 180 destinations in 27 countries. American and its subsidiaries accounted for nearly 90% of CLT passengers during the 2025 fiscal year, making the airport overwhelmingly dependent on the carrier’s connecting operation.

That connecting role provides the strongest explanation for such an enormous lounge. CLT handled 53.6 million passengers last year, and just 35% began or ended their journeys in Charlotte; the other 65% were connecting. Millions of passengers therefore spend time between flights inside the terminal, creating unusually strong demand for somewhere to work, eat or escape crowded concourses. Provisions addresses passengers racing between flights, while the huge Admirals Club targets those with considerably more connection time.

Nor is American investing against a static backdrop. CLT’s new 10,000-foot fourth parallel runway is scheduled to open in fall 2027, while longer-term plans call for another 10 gates on Concourse B and 12 on Concourse C. Lounge competition is increasing too: Delta Air Lines has opened a 14,000-square-foot Sky Club at the heart of its rival’s hub, while Capital One is planning another 14,000-square-foot facility. The new Admirals Club is therefore being sized for a Charlotte hub that is expected to become considerably larger.

The Race To Build America’s Biggest Airline Lounges

Credit: United Airlines

American is hardly alone in supersizing its lounges. Alaska Airlines‘ forthcoming Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) complex is an exceptionally close comparison: the nearly 41,000-square-foot, two-level facility will combine a 500-seat Alaska Lounge with a separate 200-seat Aurora Lounge for premium international passengers when it opens in late 2027. It forms a central part of Alaska’s attempt to transform Seattle from primarily a domestic hub into a much larger global gateway.

United Airlines is going even bigger. The rebuilt Terminal B at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is scheduled to include a roughly 54,000-square-foot United Club when the terminal project is completed in fall 2026, making it the airline’s largest. Meanwhile, the new Concourse E at Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) has been designed with another 40,000-square-foot airline club, putting both facilities in roughly the same scale category as American’s Charlotte project.

The broader trend is that lounges are increasingly becoming an extension of the premium cabin rather than simply somewhere to wait for a flight. Delta’s 39,707-square-foot Delta One Lounge at New York JFK Airport (JFK) brought premium restaurant dining, wellness facilities and showers into its ground product; Alaska is tying Aurora directly to its expanding international strategy; and American is simultaneously building enormous Admirals Clubs and expanding its higher-end Flagship network. Charlotte’s record-breaking Admirals Club is therefore another substantive move in an escalating US premium-lounge race.