American Express just launched an insanely tiny airport lounge with only 33 seats. Here’s why it says it’s worth squeezing in

Airport lounges are getting bigger, flashier, and increasingly crowded. American Express (Amex) believes the next evolution might actually be smaller.

On Wednesday, the company opened the doors to Sidecar by The Centurion Lounge, a new 33-seat speakeasy-style lounge concept at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

The space is designed specifically for travelers who have 90 minutes or less before boarding, offering a quick stop for food, drinks, and a moment of calm before heading to the gate.

The opening represents the first new format for the Centurion Lounge brand since the network debuted more than a decade ago.

According to Audrey Hendley, president, global travel and lifestyle services for American Express, the concept emerged after Amex studied how travelers actually use its lounges.

“When we looked at customers’ behavior of the lounges, there are a lot of customers who come on their own or with two people with shorter time available but they still want to experience a lounge,” Hendley tells Fast Company.

Sidecar was designed to meet that demand.

“We designed the lounge in a smaller space to really suit the needs of those types of customers,” Hendley said. “They want to come, they want an elevated experience, they want something to eat, they probably want something to drink and get themselves on their way.”

A lounge built for quick visits

Unlike traditional airport lounges with amenities like dedicated workspaces and showers designed for longer layovers, Sidecar is meant to function almost like a small restaurant inside the terminal.

Travelers can sit at the bar or at small tables and order restaurant-quality food and drinks through a QR code system. Orders are delivered directly by servers, creating a more restaurant-style experience than the buffet approach typical of many airport lounges.

“We are really trying to lean into restaurants and create a good experience for customers to maximize their time when they are in the space,” Hendley says.

The lounge also operates under tighter time rules than a traditional Centurion Lounge. Eligible cardholders can enter within 90 minutes of their flight departure, which encourages quicker visits and faster turnover.

Hendley notes that if your flight ends up getting delayed while you’re inside, you won’t be kicked out when your 90 minutes are up.

The new concept sits near Gate D1 in Concourse D, a short walk from the airport’s main Centurion Lounge. The two lounges are designed to complement each other rather than compete.

“If you have a longer time, you are probably better off in the other lounge where there is more space,” Hendley says.

A chef-driven menu

Despite the smaller footprint, American Express is leaning heavily on the culinary reputation of the Centurion brand.

Sidecar’s rotating menu features dishes from The Culinary Collective by The Centurion Lounge, a group of chefs whose restaurants span the country and whose cuisines range from Afro Caribbean to Italian.

The lineup includes Kwame Onwuachi, Michael Solomonov, Mashama Bailey, and Sarah Grueneberg.

Dishes on the opening menu include crushed cucumber salad with crispy rice pearls, avocado toast with schug labneh and black sesame seeds, and mushroom and mustard greens egg bites with black garlic aioli.

For Onwuachi, the challenge of designing dishes for an airport lounge versus a restaurant is less about the setting and more about scale.

“It’s definitely different, but we just focus on flavor and streamlining a little bit,” Onwuachi said.

He said his approach to creating dishes does not change much based on the venue.

“We think about good food and we got to figure out how to do it, no matter how big or small the space,” he says.

That often means adapting restaurant techniques to work at airport volume while maintaining flavor.

“We can’t put caviar and truffles and things like that. But we’re able to still inject flavor into it in many different ways,” Onwuachi said.

Recipes are developed in the chefs’ own kitchens before being adapted for the lounge environment.

“We create it in our kitchens, we document the recipes, and we send it over,” Onwuachi said. “At the end of the day, they still have a kitchen. It’s just a lot more volume.”

A curated wine program

Wine will also play a central role in the experience. Sommelier Helen Johannesen, founder of Helen’s Wines and partner in Jon and Vinny’s restaurants, curated the wine list for Sidecar and will oversee wine programs across Centurion Lounges in the United States beginning in spring 2026.

Johannesen said she approached the project with the goal of making the wine program feel as intentional as the food.

“I created over 200 different wines nationwide for the launch,” she says. “The Centurion Lounge and Sidecar are such an elevated experience. The wine should match that and go with the food.”

Her philosophy was to ensure the wines enhance the overall lounge environment rather than simply fill out a menu.

“When you are sitting in a gorgeous space like this and drinking a beautiful glass of wine, you should not feel like someone barely thought about it,” Johannesen says. “You should feel like there is intention behind it.”

For the Las Vegas location, she curated a smaller, tightly edited list of seven wines designed to appeal to a wide range of travelers passing through the airport.

“I thought about how Las Vegas gets a traveler that is more national, so people are coming in and out of Vegas from all over the country,” she said. “I wanted varietals that felt exciting but also universal so there is something for everyone.”

That approach includes familiar grapes like Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, but with distinctive producers and styles. At the same time, she said the wine list is designed to complement the food rather than compete with it.

Designed with Las Vegas in mind

The new lounge is intentionally compact, but American Express leaned into design to make the space feel immersive.

Sidecar’s interior draws on an oasis-in-the-desert concept that combines desert-inspired tones with touches of Las Vegas glamour. The space features natural stone surfaces, greenery, brass accents, antique mirrors, and warm lighting, along with subtle touches of American Express blue.

The goal is to create a speakeasy-inspired retreat inside the airport that contrasts with the bustle of the terminal.

Clark County aviation leadership says the concept also reflects how airports are thinking more strategically about space.

According to James C. Chrisley, airports increasingly need to maximize limited terminal space while still delivering a premium traveler experience.

The airport lounge arms race

Airport lounges used to be a quiet perk for frequent flyers. In 2026, they have become one of the most competitive fronts in the credit card industry.

Premium card issuers are investing heavily in airport spaces as a way to win and retain affluent travelers. Lounges have evolved from simple waiting rooms with snacks into physical expressions of a card’s brand.

Instead of marketing benefits like points multipliers or statement credits on paper, companies are building spaces where travelers can experience those perks before their trip even begins.

American Express has been one of the biggest players in that shift. The Centurion Lounge network, which now includes 32 locations worldwide, helped set the modern standard for credit card lounges with chef partnerships, premium cocktails, and design that feels more like a boutique hotel than an airport terminal. Sidecar represents the next iteration of that strategy.

At the same time, competitors are experimenting with their own interpretations of what a premium travel experience should look like.

Capital One has leaned heavily into chef-driven food and local partnerships in its lounges, and recently pushed the concept further by opening Capital One Landing at LaGuardia Airport in New York.

The space, created with chef José Andrés, functions more like a full restaurant than a traditional lounge, with a large working kitchen and a tapas-style menu cooked from scratch.

Chase is also testing new formats within its Sapphire Lounge network, including location-specific concepts designed to reflect the cities they serve. Some spaces emphasize locally inspired menus or distinctive design elements that make the lounge feel like part of the destination rather than just a stop before boarding.

The common thread is that the competition has moved beyond simply offering lounge access. Now the question is what kind of experience travelers find when they walk inside.

“We learn from all of them,” said Audrey Hendley of the company’s growing network of lounges. “They all have different personalities and different customers who go through them.”

The broader goal, she said, is to continue expanding the role American Express plays in the travel journey.

“Customers want American Express to help them with their end-to-end travel experience,” Hendley said. “We want to continue to innovate in this space and lead in the lounge space as we have been doing for the last 13 years.”