Lounges Started as Gimmicks to Lure VIPs

The early airline clubs were not really clubs at all. They were merely public relations gimmicks.

Beginning in the mid-1930s, people important to American Airlines were made honorary “admirals” of what American then called its Flagship Fleet. The airline’s field offices were asked to send in names of special customers, celebrities and prominent people who might get a kick out of being an American Airlines admiral. At first, there was no other value to membership.

The first certificates of membership in what were then called Flagship Clubs, each signed by airline Chairman C. R. Smith himself, were simple documents that were also sent to airport managers and journalists.

According to “Eagle AA: the Story of American Airlines,” by Robert Serling, a number of hotel porters were also among the early recipients. They got their certificates as rewards for steering guests to American. One porter at the Stevens Hotel in Chicago was so proud of his certificate that he displayed it in the hotel lobby.

There were no club facilities until about 50 years ago, when American opened one at New York’s La Guardia Airport. It was located in a lounge where Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia greeted dignitaries and the press.

The American Club, whose name was later changed to Admirals Club, quickly became a status symbol. Richard M. Nixon, while he was vice president, asked for membership. He got it, but not all vice presidents were acceptable. To avoid ill-will, Smith decreed that no company vice president could be a member if the company’s president was not.

Before long, Trans World Airlines started its Ambassadors Club, United had its 100,000-Mile Club, which later changed its name to Red Carpet Club, and Pan American World Airways formed the Clipper Clubs.

The second American club was opened at Washington National Airport when the airport was opened in 1941. Since it was in Virginia, which was then a dry state, members had to bring their own liquor. They were charged $12 annually for storing up to four bottles.

At first, membership in the clubs was free and was limited to the hand-picked friends of the airlines. Those policies remained unchanged until 1967, when government pressure forced the airlines to open their club rooms to all applicants willing to pay dues.