From The Archive – Dec 2 2009 – Two New York Landmarks Turn 70 Today…AA’s Admiral’s Club & My Dad

It isn’t often that I repost old blog posts from my archives but today it only seems fitting. On the 2nd of December 2009 my Dad turned 70 years old, and so did the very first airline lounge.  This is the first time I have known my Dad’s birthday without my Dad among us, as he passed away nearly a year ago, this past January. As I probably wouldn’t be the airline geek I am today without my Dad, despite him having not been airline or airplane person at all, which I wrote about here, it seemed only fitting to me that I share the blog post I wrote for his 70th Birthday with you all today.

Happy Birthday Dad! It just isn’t as fun without you, your jokes were unrivaled, your potato latkes were the best and in my mind you’re at the beach swimming in the ocean.

So … without further delay, from the December 2 2009 archives … Today two New Yorkers turn 70 years old…We’ll start with the airline related 70th birthday.

If you have ever enjoyed an airline lounge then you should probably thank American Airlines who launched their first Admiral’s Club on the 2nd of December 1939 at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.   The launch of American Airlines’ Admirals Club could be seen as the forerunner of passenger loyalty programs, as membership to The Club was by invitation of the airline, primarily for loyal passengers, and its place in the history of the airline industry is significant.

Each time you walk into an airline lounge anywhere in the world, know that those lounges have a history, and that history started in an upper-level room at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

…the other New Yorker turning 70 today? My Dad!  My Dad made his way into the world one Boro away from the Admiral’s Club in Brooklyn. Like the Admirals Club he has stayed in New York with no intentions of moving away.

Happy 70th Birthday Admirals Club…and Happy 70th Birthday Dad!

Happy Flying!