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Editorial Disclosure
American Express is trying something new with Sidecar by The Centurion Lounge.
Instead of waiting to find real estate for bigger lounges, Sidecar is basically the opposite. It’s a boutique, dining-focused outpost designed for quick visits.
The first location just opened in Las Vegas. It measures around 1,500 square feet and seats just 33 travelers.
Still, Audrey Hendley, president of Amex Travel, believes the concept could help solve one of the biggest friction points in airport lounges: overcrowding.
Here’s how she’s thinking about Sidecar — and what it might mean for the future of the Centurion Lounge network.
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A lounge designed for speed
Most airport lounges are built for travelers who have time to spare before boarding.
Sidecar is basically the opposite.
“Sidecar is designed for customers who have a 90-minute window or less,” Hendley said. “They want something elevated, but efficient.”
Instead of buffet lines and sprawling seating areas, the concept centers on a restaurant-style experience with fast-turning tables.
“You come in, you take your seat, it feels like an elevated experience,” Hendley said. “The food is brought to you. It’s easy.”
Amex says most dishes should arrive within about eight minutes of ordering, allowing travelers to grab a meal without worrying about missing their boarding call.
Faster throughput than you might expect
With just 33 seats, Sidecar is tiny. But that number doesn’t tell the full story, according to Hendley.
The space is designed for much faster turnover than a traditional Centurion Lounge, allowing it to serve far more guests than the seat count might suggest.
“Thirty-three seats at a time,” Hendley said. “But they’re going to turn over faster because the dwell time is less.”
Guests can still join the waitlist — just like at the regular Centurion Lounge — but it should move faster thanks to the shorter wait times.
(Case in point: I placed myself on the Sidecar waitlist several times over the weekend and received texts to enter the lounge in under 10 minutes.)
Why Las Vegas?
Amex says the concept was built with specific airports in mind.
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“We looked hard at the data for Las Vegas,” Hendley said. “The dynamics of Vegas are different than the other lounges.”
Unlike hubs such as New York or Los Angeles — where many travelers are beginning long-haul trips — Las Vegas sees a different mix of passengers.
“People are coming here for conventions, bachelor parties, bachelorette parties,” Hendley said. “What people want here is different.”
Those travelers often arrive closer to departure time, which makes a quick, efficient lounge experience more appealing.
That’s why I’m not surprised to see reports that the next Sidecar could be coming to Charlotte, another airport largely focused on domestic connectivity.
A test for the future
For now, Sidecar is an experiment.
“This is our 32nd lounge,” Hendley said. “Every single one is built on the experience of the others.”
Some ideas start small before expanding across the network. For instance, dining concepts like the coffee bar that debuted in Seattle later made their way to New York after the Equinox spa area closed.
The Las Vegas Sidecar will help determine whether smaller, specialized spaces can complement the traditional Centurion Lounge model, especially in airports with limited space.
“We have to be bold,” Hendley said. “We have to test things.”
Smaller spaces are easier to find
Finding space for a full-service airport lounge isn’t easy.
Even after a card issuer or airline identifies a potential location, it often needs to bid on it — sometimes competing with other airlines or lounge operators for the same real estate.
Sidecar has a hidden advantage: it doesn’t require a sprawling footprint. In Las Vegas, Amex repurposed an old airport office space for the concept.
The room doesn’t offer much in the way of views, but when most guests are stopping in for a quick meal before boarding, that doesn’t really matter.
Bottom line
Airport lounges aren’t getting less crowded anytime soon.
Instead of waiting to find larger spaces (and competing with the other major card issuers), Amex is experimenting with an entirely different type of lounge.
Whether Sidecar becomes a permanent part of the Centurion Lounge network will depend on the data and cardmember feedback.
But one thing is clear: Amex is willing to rethink what an airport lounge can look like.
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