The Club MSY at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is a convenient Priority Pass Lounge that provides a comfortable venue for drinks or a light meal before your flight.
The Club MSY Review
I used this club during my April trip to New Orleans.
Location + Hours Access
The lounge is open from 05:00am – 9:00pm daily and located airside (beyond security) in Concourse A. Just past Cafe Du Mondé, you’ll find the an elevator which takes you up to the lounge (third floor).
Access is permitted up to three hours prior to scheduled flight departure. Children under two are not considered a separate guest. Your Priority Pass card, including those issued from American Express, Capital One, Chase, or Citi, will grant you and up to two guests access.
If you don’t have Priority Pass, you can book access for $50.04 here (no idea why that instead of $50 even…). The gate area at MSY can get very crowded, so this might serve as a nice oasis if you have a long break.
Seating
As you enter the lounge, you’ll find a large sitting area with chairs and tables. Beyond that is dining area and bar area, with more seating. On the other side of the main seating area is a smaller room with more chairs that serve as a work and quiet area.
Food + Drink
A limited buffet in the morning included water, fruit juice, whole fruit, muffins, and sweet bread. The espresso machine was “broken” but filter coffee and a wide selection of tea from Tazo was available.
Each table also had a sticker with a QR code, allowing you to order food.
Breakfast included scrambled eggs, fresh fruit, and yogurt parfait.
Lunch and dinner options include:
- Crudites
- Cheese cup with crackers
- Avocado hummus
- Tomato bisque soup by Chef John Folse
- Smoked ham and provolone slider
- Masala Chickpea Rice Bowl
- Crawfish Etouffee by Chef John Folse
- Chef Folse bread pudding
Really, not bad at all.
You can also order alcoholic drinks from the QR menu or directly at the bar. All are complimentary.
The menu:
Cocktails are also complimentary (full list here).
Restrooms + Shower
I was told the shower was not available “due to corona” which may or. may not have changed, but there are private gender neutral restrooms that were clean.
CONCLUSION
At many new airports, the “gate area is better than the crowded lounge” advice is good. I don’t think that is the case here, though. The new airport is still beautiful, but very crowded and I found The Club MSY to be worth the stop and give it a positive review. As a bonus, if you’re hungry, you’ll likely leave satisfied.
Looks exactly like The Club LAS
It’s a bit different layout, but definitely a common plan. I visited the LAS club as well and will put up a review.
Even if the coffee machine wasn’t broken, you have zero reason to use it, considering Cafe du Monde is literally right outside the entrance.
The new in-seat ordering system at all Clubs seems to have made a difference. I stopped by both this lounge and the one at CHS back in December (yeah, I’m behind on trip reports) and the offerings seemed noticeably better than before.
Lines were far too long – though were even worse at the original one. I left NOLA without trying it!
Pro tip for next time. The original at Jackson Square has a takeout window on the side facing Decatur Street. If you don’t mind taking the coffee and beignets back to your room (or to a bench in Jackson Square), you can usually walk right up.
Takeout line was more than 70 people deep. I tried!
So a question for the coffee experts, why not just order some of the Cafe Du Monde coffee and make it yourself?
Besides, it’s chicory and coffee, which seems to have a slightly different taste to it. I enjoy it, sure, but to a real coffee connoisseur is chicory blend considered the most desirable?
I wouldn’t call myself a coffee expert, and I don’t know that I’d consider coffee and chicory together the “most desirable”, but personally I like the flavor. And sure, you can buy cans of Cafe du Monde coffee in the grocery stores here in Texas, along with other coffee & chicory blends like Community Coffee. I bring it to the office and make it here, and it’s perfectly fine. There is something just a little bit – more satisfying? – about going all the way to New Orleans to get it in its native habitat, though.
CHS & MSY are on the higher end of the quality spectrum of The Club offerings. Absolutely would grab cafe du monde beforehand unless the line there is super long or I’m connecting after my self imposed caffeine cutoff time 😉
It’s $50.04 because the area code for Nee Orleans is “504”
My last two “visits” to this location were not good. Early November I was told that the location was full and that I would have to wait an hour to get in. In fact, it turned out to be 1 1/2 hours.
On January 2, 2024, I was told that the wait would be 1 hour. When I boarded my flight 2 1/2 hours later I had still not been admitted. I was told that British Airways passengers had priority. I was flying Alaska.
Priority Pass should not even list a non-accessible “lounge”. I also feel that American Express should de-list this location and provide access to lounges that a Platinum Card holder can actually access. I am a member of American and Alaska’s lounge programs and have never had negative experiences with either of them. I have never had such two negative experiences at any airport lounge as occurred at the MSY “The Club” location. Will not be going through this airport again until they have a functional lounge that respects people who –in theory– pay substantial American Express annual fees for access to a lounge that does not exist.
Very bad lounge, no food at all on the menu
Not worth to visit
Flying through here on a Saturday afternoon. The airport was nearly empty, with nobody else in our security line, but was still told we’d have an hour wait due to British Air having priority.