American Airlines, the world's largest airline, is getting ready for the arrival of a $250 million, 600-room hospitality wing at its headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas, that is expected to host thousands of its employees as airline travel ramps up.
The new hospitality addition to the 1.7-million-square-foot campus, called Skyview 6, was unveiled to American Airlines employees this week in preparation for a scheduled completion early next year. The new hotel-anchored campus that was delayed because of the pandemic is being built to support American Airlines employees who visit the campus for training and business meetings, the company said in a statement sent to CoStar News.
The upcoming arrival of the new hospitality complex is the culmination of a multiyear project to create "one campus for one team," company officials said, with a vision focused on sparking collaboration. Construction on the hospitality campus, like other major projects, was put on hold in 2020 when the pandemic blindsided the industry before work was picked up again last year.
"Each year, thousands of team members from across the operation come to campus to learn — spanning from new hire and recurrent training to team members in new roles," according to company officials. "We’re hoping to simplify team members’ visiting experience by building a modern hospitality complex at the heart of our campus. A place where visiting team members can lodge, eat, socialize and work out."
The benefits of the hospitality campus also extend to corporate employees at the Fort Worth headquarters with expanded dining options with breakfast, lunch and dinner being served, as well as meeting spaces and sports courts, including basketball, tennis, volleyball and pickleball. The airline isn't alone in seeing the appeal of bringing sports, like pickleball, to the office.
"It’s a space for learning and development, for us to care for each other and for us to grow stronger as a team," according to the statement from American Airlines.
Those employees visiting — or working at the airline's headquarters — are expected to benefit from the outdoor amenity spaces. Along with courtyards available to employees who want a break to enjoy nature or be outside, the campus will also have art installations that are influenced by team members.
American Airlines is also adding a tavern serving up light bites, drinks and games to give those visiting for business meetings or in a training program access to an evening social space, officials said. The campus also includes a 10,000-square-foot ballroom to host the airline's events, including the "State of the Airline." The airline's customers have returned in record numbers since the pandemic, as American Airlines had predicted last fall.
The airline, which recently posted a profit for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, saw its revenue for the second quarter surge to $13.4 billion, up 12.2% from the same period in 2019, and a record for any quarter in the company's history, CEO Robert Isom said in the airline's last earnings call with investors.
The hospitality campus includes a more than 73,000-square-foot fitness center with exercise pool for the use of employees. And each guest floor has lounges for visiting employees to use for studying or meeting with colleagues.