The largest Admirals Club in American’s network is coming to Charlotte Douglas as a new airline lease heads to City Council

American Airlines will build the largest Admirals Club in the airline’s network at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, a lounge of more than 40,000 square feet on the mezzanine level overlooking the airport’s central atrium, the airline announced on October 6. Construction is scheduled to start in 2026, and the lounge is expected to open in early 2028, Axios Charlotte reported.

The announcement came a day before the airport outlined the next big piece of the airport’s relationship with American and the other airlines that use Charlotte Douglas: a new lease package that includes new Concourse C gates and a passenger tunnel. City Council members will hear a presentation on the package on Monday, October 12, Axios Charlotte reported.

The new lounge at a glance

The details released so far, from American’s announcement as reported by Axios Charlotte and the travel site The Bulkhead Seat:

• The lounge will cover more than 40,000 square feet on the mezzanine above the atrium, making it the largest Admirals Club in American’s network and the largest lounge at CLT.
• Plans call for spa-style shower suites, several bars and food service areas, with separate zones for working, dining and relaxing.
• The design will draw on Charlotte’s tree canopy, textile history and Southern hospitality, according to Axios Charlotte.
• Construction is set to begin in 2026, with an opening expected in early 2028.

Heather Garboden, American’s chief customer officer, said in the announcement that the lounge will give customers “more space to relax, work and recharge,” The Bulkhead Seat reported. CLT is American’s second-largest hub, with more than 650 flights a day at peak and service to more than 180 destinations in 27 countries, according to the airline’s figures in that report.

What happens to the lounges CLT has now

American runs three lounges at Charlotte Douglas today: Admirals Clubs serving Concourse B and Concourses C and D, and Provisions by Admirals Club, a grab-and-go lounge near Gate A1 that opened in 2025, according to One Mile at a Time. All three stay open during construction, according to The Bulkhead Seat. Once the new club opens, American plans to keep Provisions and the Concourse B club, and has not set a date for closing the C and D club, Axios Charlotte reported, which would leave the airline with four lounge options at CLT.

The fourth is a Flagship lounge, American’s premium international brand. The airline first announced plans for a Flagship lounge and more Admirals Club space at CLT on August 28, 2025, and still has not announced a timeline for the Flagship lounge, according to Axios. The travel blog One Mile at a Time noted that the October announcement gave no size or location for it.

Other companies are adding lounges too. American Express plans a Sidecar by The Centurion lounge in Concourse A that is expected to open in 2027, and Capital One plans a 14,000-square-foot lounge in Concourse A near gates 21 through 29 with no opening date announced, Axios Charlotte reported. According to American’s August 2025 announcement, Admirals Club entry requires a membership, qualifying oneworld status or the Citi AAdvantage Executive World Elite Mastercard, and a one-day pass cost $79 or 7,900 miles at the time.

The lease package heading to council

The airport calls the package CLT Beyond, and it is tied to a new Airline Use and Lease Agreement with the airlines that sign on to the airport’s fee structure: American, Delta, Frontier, Southwest and United, according to Axios Charlotte. Negotiations on the agreement were extended earlier this year for up to one year.

The projects in the package, according to Axios Charlotte:

• New gates on Concourse C, and a passenger tunnel connecting the main terminal to the expanded concourse.
• A renovated international arrivals area.
• Planning and design for a future atrium expansion and new international gates.
• Airfield work to prepare for the fourth parallel runway, plus electrical and other infrastructure upgrades.

An airport spokesperson declined to share the estimated cost of CLT Beyond, Axios reported, and the article did not give a number of new gates. A 2024 plan called for 10 to 12 Concourse C gates over 10 to 12 years. In September, the airport’s chief infrastructure officer described a plan to add 12 to 16 gates for more than $1 billion over seven years, as covered in our September 24 report on the airport’s next phase.

The lease matters because it sets what the airlines pay and which projects get built. When talks began in 2025, WFAE reported that the new lease was expected to start in the summer of 2026, that the current lease ran 10 years, and that American, as the dominant carrier, would largely decide whether to pay for new projects through higher fees. WFAE also reported at the time that a tunnel to a possible midfield terminal, similar to the underground walkways in Atlanta, had been discussed as a longer-term idea that might never be built. The October package, as Axios described it, calls for a tunnel from the main terminal to an expanded Concourse C.

Where the current construction stands

CLT Beyond would follow the roughly $4 billion Destination CLT program, which finishes in 2027, as covered in the September 24 report. The near-term dates, according to Axios Charlotte:

• The Concourse D renovation is expected to finish by the end of 2026.
• The Concourse E renovation is expected to be done by March 2027.
• The $1 billion fourth parallel runway is expected to open in the fall of 2027.

What happens next

The council presentation is part of the Council Action Review on Monday, October 12, at 5 p.m. in Room 267 of the Government Center, and the city will stream it, according to Axios Charlotte. Council members will vote on the agreement at a later meeting. For travelers, nothing changes yet: the existing lounges stay open, and the new Admirals Club is more than a year away from opening. The guide to how Charlotte Douglas works covers the concourses, parking and connections in the meantime, and the city’s Charlotte page lists more around town.

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