70 New And Expanded Airport Lounges Are Coming—The Credit Card Arms Race Promises Better Food And Less Crowding

There are 70 lounge projects in the pipeline that I’m currently paying attention to. This list is not comprehensive! There’s only a couple outside the United States for instance – I have them included because they’re an Amex Centurion lounge, and one of the new Mastercard dining lounges (current locations in Hong Kong and Sao Paulo). It’s an incredibly impressive amount of airport lounge space that’s going to be coming online in the next few years. Airport lounges have become incredibly popular. They’re not just for business travelers to grab a drink and take a call between flights anymore. They’re used to sell premium credit cards – both a bank’s own cards and airline cobrand cards. So there’s robust competition to open these lounges and attract premium card business. The combination of premium leisure travel, resilient affluent credit card spend, and air travel uncertainties that have passengers spending more time in airports leads to this strong demand for lounges. American Airlines Admirals Club, Washington National E Concourse But lounges also get very crowded. Where a project opens a lounge in an airport for the first time, that’s not going to solve for lounge crowding as such, but it’s an improved experience at that airport. Where new lounges open as add-ons in an airport, that means both more passengers gaining lounge access (moving from terminal to lounge) and also spreading out some of the existing lounge demand across more space. That helps with crowding. Airports are building aggressively – new concourses, modernizing, this is driving up airport costs and will make travel more expensive (and means they’ll be pushing more high end shopping). It used to be that lounges took up the space that nobody else in the terminal would rent. Travelers would schlepp to wherever the lounge was. And those spaces were often small. Now, airports are adding purpose-built space into their construction plans from the start. Lounges have become an integral part of building out an airport. United Club, Denver B Concourse Here’s my current list of 70 lounge projects that I’m excited to see. Lounge Status Estimated Opening American — Los Angeles Flagship First Dining reopening Closed since 2020; Will re-open to long haul American Airlines business class passengers and some partner first class. Late 2026 American — New York JFK Provisions grab-and-go lounge Near gates 12–14 in Terminal 8; planned as a Provisions grab-and-go concept with hot food and barista coffee. Late 2026 United — Washington Dulles Concourse E United Club approximately 40,000-square foot club with roughly 650 seats in the new Concourse E; construction is well advanced. Fall 2026 Capital One — Washington Dulles Lounge renovation Partially closed for ventilation and infrastructure work; grab-and-go food and the coffee bar remain available while the main seating, dining and bar areas are offline. Early fall 2026 Chase — Phoenix Sapphire Lounge expansion Permit-backed expansion that should roughly double the very small existing lounge; construction was expected to run through at least September 2026. Late 2026 Amex — Newark Centurion Lounge Approximately 18,000-square foot Terminal A Centurion Lounge; American Express continues to list it as coming soon. Late 2026 Amex — Amsterdam Centurion Lounge Approximately 6,000-square foot Centurion Lounge in Schiphol’s E/F area; public materials still target 2026. Late 2026 Mastercard — Mexico City Taste by Priceless Dining-focused Mastercard lounge project at Mexico City; announced as a new Taste by Priceless location. Late 2026 Escape — Philadelphia Terminal D lounge 1,500-square foot, 50-seat Escape Lounge planned for Terminal D By end of 2026 Cathay Pacific — New York JFK Terminal 6 lounge Move from Terminal 8 to Terminal 6 with Cathay’s first dedicated New York lounge, expected to be nearly 10,000 square feet. Late 2026 / early 2027 Qatar Airways — New York JFK New Terminal One lounge Approximately 15,000-square foot premium lounge in the New Terminal One; Qatar’s first dedicated U.S. lounge. Late 2026 / early 2027 Chase — Los Angeles Sapphire Lounge 9,234-square foot lounge in the Tom Bradley International Terminal near gate 148; Chase describes it as coming soon. Late 2026 / early 2027 United — Houston Terminal B mega-club 50,000–55,000-square foot United Club in the rebuilt Terminal B program Late 2026 / 2027 United — San Francisco Terminal 2 United Club 25,000-square foot club plus a roughly 4,000-square foot terrace in Terminal 2; work is tied to United’s terminal realignment. Late 2026 / early 2027 American — Chicago Concourse L Admirals Club Replaces Concourse L Admirals Club, expanding it beyond 10,000 square feet; renovation activity is underway. 2027 American — Washington National Concourse D Admirals Club renovation 10,000+-square foot club, adding about 50% more seats 2027 American — Austin new Admirals Club 12,000+-square foot club with American’s first outdoor lounge terrace; construction is scheduled to begin in 2026 while the current club stays open. 2027 Southwest — Austin interim “Project Oasis” lounge Permit-backed roughly 20,000-square foot lounge project; documents point to March 2027 construction completion and Southwest has targeted roughly June. June 2027 Southwest — Nashville lounge 30,000-square foot lounge project at Nashville June 2027 Delta — Los Angeles remaining Terminal 2 lounge work The initial Delta One space is open; approximately 11,000 square feet of remaining Terminal 2 Sky Club work is due next, followed by final Delta One reconstruction. Sky Club H2 2027; final work 2028 Amex — Charlotte Sidecar dining lounge 4,641-square foot American Express Sidecar lease for a sit-down dining concept adjacent to the existing Centurion Lounge. 2027 Virgin Atlantic — New York JFK Clubhouse refurbishment refurbishment program for the Terminal 4 Clubhouse; Virgin has not announced a closure plan or precise completion date. 2027 Escape — San Diego Terminal 1 common-use lounge 9,844-square feet, west-side portion of the new Terminal 1. 2027 Alaska — Seattle Global Lounge Two-level, more-than-41,000-square foot flagship lounge for roughly 700 guests, with showers, multiple bars and à-la-carte dining. Late 2027 United — Seattle Concourse B United Club 7,181-square foot club in the former Amex location; Seattle approved the $15.5 million reimbursement agreement and a $21.252 million total budget. Q4 2027 Amex — Dallas Centurion Lounge expansion Expansion to approximately 18,619 square feet, about 55% larger than the present lounge. Late 2027 San Francisco — Hotelzo Wait N’ Rest rooms, showers and speakeasy Final 12-year Hotelzo lease for locations near gates E3 and B6, adding private bedrooms, showers and a Nikkei-inspired speakeasy. September 2027 American — San Antonio Terminal C Admirals Club Admirals Club planned for San Antonio’s new Terminal C H2 2028 Delta — San Antonio Terminal C Sky Club Sky Club planned for Terminal C; Delta has sought materially more space than the initial allocation, reportedly around 10,000 additional square feet. H2 2028 Alaska — San Diego Terminal 2 East Lounge expansion Expansion to approximately 13,300 square feet; San Diego awarded the airport-built shell/core work, with construction expected to start in early 2027. Early 2028 Alaska/Hawaiian — Honolulu flagship lounge Approximately 14,022-square foot combined Alaska/Hawaiian lounge Early 2028 Air India — New York JFK Terminal 6 Maharaja Lounge Terminal 6 move with a dedicated flagship Maharaja Lounge 2028 Delta — San Diego Terminal 1 Sky Club Planned west-side Sky Club associated with Delta’s move into the completed Terminal 1 program 2028 Escape — Omaha common-use lounge Omaha’s first airport lounge, located in the new concourse created by the terminal modernization. 2027 / 2028 Southwest — Honolulu lounge First Southwest airport-lounge lease, covering at least 9,577 square feet plus potential adjacent space; no firm opening date announced. 2028 Southwest — Denver lounge Southwest has said it is leasing lounge space at Denver 2028 Delta — Honolulu Sky Club 12,280-square foot lounge under a 10-year lease 2028 Capital One — Charlotte Lounge 14,000-square foot project, expected to be Capital One’s largest airport lounge 2028 Amex — Houston Centurion Lounge expansion/replacement Texas filing for a privately funded $35 million, 23,000-square foot renovation July 2028 Amex — Philadelphia Centurion Lounge expansion Expand from roughly 6,300 to about 12,000 square feet into the former British Airways space 2028 Escape — Memphis lounge 12-year Escape Lounge lease for approximately 3,200 square feet, expandable to 4,900 square feet 2027 / 2028 Phoenix Terminal 3 — unassigned common-use lounge Airport-led approximately 10,000-square foot lounge with an outdoor deck and Camelback Mountain views 2028 Nashville — 20,600-square foot bank/common-use lounge 20,600-square foot premium common-use or bank lounge 2028 Bozeman — 8,000-square foot common-use lounge Airport RFP for an approximately 8,000-square foot common-use lounge 2028 Spokane — 1,860-square foot common-use lounge RFP for a 1,860-square foot common-use lounge; proposals are due October 29, 2026 and the airport targets occupancy by January 1, 2028. January 2028 Tampa Airside A — 15,000-square foot airline club (likely United) Airport-led 15,000-square foot airline-club project in design-builder negotiations (United is the likely tenant) 2028 Tampa Airside C — roughly 4,000-square foot common-use lounge Airport-led common-use lounge project of roughly 4,000 square feet, currently in the design-builder/early delivery stage. 2028 San Francisco Terminal 3 East — video-game lounge Active airport RFP for a video-game lounge/concession concept in Terminal 3 East; proposals are scheduled for November 17–24, 2026. 2028 American — Nashville Admirals Club 17,400-square foot replacement club with terraces/balcony; airport financing is approved and construction is expected to begin in 2027. 2028 American — Miami new Flagship Lounge and expanded Admirals Club New Flagship Lounge, converting current 29,000-square foot space into expanded Admirals Club 2028 American — Charlotte Flagship Lounge and Admirals Club expansion Charlotte’s first Flagship Lounge plus a substantially expanded Admirals Club 2028 / 2029 Delta — Atlanta Delta One Lounge 39,210-square foot lounge planned above Concourse E; Atlanta approved the lease/project action in July 2026. 2028 / 2029 Delta — Tampa Airside D Sky Club 18,000-square foot Sky Club in new Airside D, with direct-to-aircraft capability described in airport plans. 2029 Tampa Airside D — common-use lounge 5,000–7,500-square foot common-use lounge included in the new Airside D terminal program; operator not yet identified. 2029 Chase — Miami Sapphire Lounge 13,793-square foot lounge above gate E7, including a new passenger elevator and a Cuban-coffee-window/rum-bar concept. 2029 Amex — Boston two-story Centurion Lounge 20,000-square foot, two-level lounge with a rooftop bar/terrace; the delivery schedule keeps slipping 2029 San Francisco Courtyard 4 Connector — 24,000-square foot lounge Airport-planned approximately 24,000-square foot premium lounge in the Courtyard 4 Connector; tenant/operator has not been awarded publicly. 2029 Miami Concourse K — VIP lounge Concourse K program includes a VIP lounge, but no operator has been publicly identified. 2030 American — Dallas Terminal C Admirals Club + Terminal F Provisions Approximately 37,000-square foot Admirals Club in rebuilt Terminal C plus a Provisions grab-and-go lounge in future Terminal F 2029 / 2030 Delta — Detroit Delta One Lounge Reported in Delta’s internal premium-lounge pipeline; no public lease, footprint or construction award located yet. 2029–31 Delta — Minneapolis Delta One Lounge Reported in Delta’s internal premium-lounge pipeline; no public lease, footprint or construction award located yet. 2029–31 Delta — Salt Lake City Delta One Lounge Reported in Delta’s internal premium-lounge pipeline; no public lease, footprint or construction award located yet. 2029–31 Southwest — Dallas lounge space Love Field’s redevelopment includes premium lounge space 2030 / 2031 West Palm Beach A/B–C connector — future lounge spaces Airport connector project includes future lounge space and will ultimately displace the present Escape Lounge Early 2030s Southwest — Austin permanent Concourse B lounge Airport documents reserve roughly 40,000 square feet of space in new Concourse B in addition to West Infill lounge space. This is labeled ‘crew lounge’ for subterfuge. 2031–32 Delta — Austin lounge program Airport plans show a new roughly 30,000-square foot tunnel-interface Sky Club while Delta retains its existing lounge; a Delta One conversion of existing club by international gates remains inference. 2031–32 Austin — replacement bank/common-use lounges Airport planning contemplates one or two replacement bank-card/common-use lounges after Southwest took the originally reserved space 2031–32 Washington National old Terminal 1 — likely Southwest lounge Airport redevelopment plans include roughly 10,000 square feet of lounge space in old Terminal 1; Southwest is the logical user. 2032 Seattle S Concourse — four future lounge spaces S Concourse reconstruction includes four lounge spaces totaling approximately 45,000 square feet 2034 United — Washington Dulles giant future Polaris Lounge MWAA’s authorized transformation framework promises one of the world’s largest United Polaris Lounges plus additional United lounge space Mid-to-late 2030s Many airport lounges are far nicer than they were when I first started visiting them when I traveled for work at the start of my career. They were often just packaged Tillamook cheese and crackers. I’d say the best lounge opening this year so far was the Capital One Landing at New York LaGuardia, a José Andrés tapas restaurant that’s complimentary for Venture X cardmembers. Capital One Landing, New York LaGuardia American Express really kicked off an arms race in lounges with the first Centurion Lounge openings in Las Vegas and then Dallas. That was the result of Amex losing lounge partnerships to airline consolidation. When United and Continental merged, Chase got exclusivity over credit card lounge access at the combined carrier and Amex lost Continental’s lounges. The American-US Airways merger cost them Admirals Clubs and US Airways clubs. With premium cards driving lounge, attracting cardmembers, there’s been an incredibly ramped up investment in the spaces and the products. There can be spas and sit-down dining. Chase Sapphire Lounge New York LaGuardia Although many lounges are also still very basic – either because the market the airport serves isn’t viewed as warranting the investment; available space; the long time horizon for airport capital investments; or because of the economics of access. A Priority Pass lounge getting about $25 per visit isn’t going to be able to deliver top shelf liquor, complimentary spa treatments and gourmet meals. I think the most impressive U.S. lounge openings of 2026 so far are that Capital One Landing, followed by Chase Sapphire Dallas – Fort Worth and then the Alaska lounge in Portland. Amex’s Sidecar in Las Vegas is notable, though only 33 seats. Chase Sapphire Lounge DFW Airport Which ones will be the most meaningful for your travels? Which are the ones you’re most excited to see come to fruition? Topics on this page