American expects Philly Flagship Lounge opening in May, logs ‘historic’ first-class bookings — and big losses

17 hours ago 3

American Airlines' new business-class lounge at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is on track to open next month, the airline's top executive confirmed Thursday.

Philly's Flagship Lounge is expected to open sometime in May, American CEO Robert Isom said on the company's first-quarter earnings call.

The premium outpost, which was first announced last summer, will be in the airport's A-West terminal — not far from where many of the carrier's international flights depart.

The new club will be more upscale than American's Admirals Club portfolio and will offer premium-cabin passengers and higher-level elite-status members a place to relax before one of the airline's many flights from its Philly hub to Europe.

It'll be a welcome addition. This summer, American's total number of seats from the airport to Europe is set to increase nearly 15% over last year, according to data from aviation analytics firm Cirium. That includes new nonstop routes to Milan and Edinburgh set to launch in late May, on the Friday leading into Memorial Day weekend.

The Philadelphia Flagship facility will be the ninth premium lounge for the Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier, but "with more to come," Isom said.

American technically operates Flagship-branded lounge locations at four airports: O'Hare International Airport (ORD), Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Miami International Airport (MIA).

It also offers what it considers an international first-class lounge inside Terminal 3 at Heathrow Airport (LHR), along with a trio of more upscale facilities operated in conjunction with British Airways at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) Terminal 8.

Notably, the airline's Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) hub remains its biggest international gateway without an open or planned flagship facility.

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How to get into the American Airlines Flagship Lounge

As a reminder, a standard Admirals Club membership won't get you into a Flagship Lounge.

Generally speaking, you need a Flagship-branded ticket in first or business class on a long-haul international route or on a select number of premium domestic routes. Plus, AAdvantage members with Platinum status can enter when flying on an eligible same-day, long-haul international trip.

American Airlines elite status: What it is and how to earn it

The airline also extends benefits to Oneworld alliance members with a comparable status or ticket.

Big losses, but premium and international resilience

The impending opening of American's new premium-focused lounge comes as the carrier, like top competitors Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, reports continued strength in its international portfolio and suite of premium seats — despite a general slowdown in travel demand amid economic uncertainty.

A recent downturn in sales

American lost $473 million during the first three months of 2025, the company revealed Thursday.

Like competitors, American reported a sizable drop-off in its coach sales on domestic routes.

"Domestic main cabin is weak, and that's what's driving, I think, the overall demand numbers that you're seeing," Steve Johnson, American Airlines vice chair and chief strategy officer, told analysts Thursday.

If the slowdown continues, the carrier could cut routes, retire aircraft early, or push back deliveries of new planes, Isom said.

Silver linings: frequent flyers

Still, American's most loyal customers continue to book high-end seats and international flights. They haven't pulled back much on overall spending, either, the airline reported.

The portion of premium-cabin seats booked by paying customers remains "historically high," Isom said.

I wrote about this industry-wide phenomenon last year, which is good news for the airline's bottom line but is a less welcome trend for frequent flyers hoping their complimentary upgrade clears.

Specifically, American travelers with an AAdvantage loyalty account made up more than three-quarters of the revenue the airline earned on premium cabin seats during the first quarter of this year.

Meanwhile, AAdvantage members with a cobranded American credit card spent 8% more between January and March than they did last year.

The revenue American pulls in through that card program — and from its AAdvantage members when they're flying — is a reminder of why American (like its competitors) made a loyalty sign-up the lone requirement to access its soon-to-be-free Wi-Fi, starting in 2026.

A longer wait for the XLR?

One additional nugget that came out of Thursday's earnings call: It appears travelers may have to wait several more months to see American's new long-haul capable aircraft sporting lie-flat suites.

In answering a question about American's stance on paying tariffs on new planes, Isom seemed to suggest it could be late 2025 before the carrier receives its first Airbus A321XLR. This is the long-range, narrow-body jet that will sport lie-flat Flagship Suites with sliding privacy doors and a bona fide premium economy cabin.

"We have deliveries at the end of the year that would potentially be subject to tariffs, the [A]321XLRs that are built over in Europe," he said.

The airline had previously only said it would get the jet at some point in 2025, which itself was later than initial projections when the carrier ordered 50 of the XLR planes.

"We can't get it soon enough," American's top network planner, Brian Znotins, told me last October.

American plans to deploy its XLR on premium transcontinental routes, replacing its current "A321T" jets that sport Flagship First, business, premium economy and economy — the latter of which offers a heavy complement of extra-legroom Main Cabin Extra seats.

Eventually, though, the aircraft could be used on routes across the Atlantic and deep into South America, the airline has said.

About tariffs...

The question of tariffs is a key source of the economic uncertainty that loomed over Americans' forecast for 2025 amid President Donald Trump's global trade war.

"Certainly, this is not something we would intend to absorb, and, I'll tell you, it's not something I would expect our customers to welcome," Isom said, alluding to the notion of companies passing along the cost of tariffs to consumers.

"So, we've got work to do on this," he added.

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