Frederick W. Smith International Airport is getting its first lounge open to travelers regardless of which airline they fly, after the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority approved a 12-year lease with CAVU Experiences to build a $2.9 million Escape Lounge in the airport's main rotunda. The new space is expected to occupy around 3,200 square feet to start, with room to expand to nearly 4,900 square feet if usage triggers are met.
The deal, first reported by Memphis Flyer, marks a notable shift for a terminal where the Delta Sky Club in Concourse B has long stood as the only dedicated passenger lounge. That lounge is a holdover from Memphis's days as a major flight hub for Northwest Airlines and later Delta Air Lines, according to American Express, and access has largely been limited to Delta's top-tier passengers or premium cardholders since the airline closed its Memphis hub in 2013. American Airlines is now the airport's leading carrier, controlling roughly 31 percent of total seat capacity across eight nonstop destinations, per the Anker Report — but like the airport's other eight commercial carriers, it has no dedicated branded lounge space of its own in Memphis.
Unlike a traditional airline club, the Escape Lounge will be open to the general public with no membership or credit card required, though it functions much like American Airlines' Admirals Clubs or Delta's Sky Clubs in terms of amenities. Entry starts at $45 per person when booked in advance, rising to $60 for walk-up guests, per pricing listed on the company's website, and children under three get in free. Guests can expect complimentary hot and cold food, alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, seating, wifi, charging ports, printing, and restrooms, and the lease calls for a Memphis-flavored food and beverage program featuring local producers and vendors.
A Bigger Company Behind the Brand
CAVU Experiences, the England-based company behind Escape Lounges, already operates or has lounges planned in about 22 U.S. airports, and runs locations across the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia. The company is owned by Manchester Airports Group, which is majority-owned by local governments in Greater Manchester, England, and reported $1.3 billion in revenue last year. The closest existing Escape Lounge to Memphis currently sits at Northwest Arkansas National Airport in Bentonville.
Airport officials told Memphis Flyer that the project is in very early stages and that they could not yet share a construction or opening timeline. The Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority said the initiative represents its continued commitment to enhancing the travel experience for all.
How the Airport Gets Paid
Under the 12-year lease, the airport will receive 8 percent of the lounge's gross revenue as a baseline, rising to as much as 11 percent if annual revenues exceed $4 million. That risk-shared structure fits the funding model of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, which operates as an independent, self-financing public agency that uses no local tax dollars, instead relying on airline landing fees, tenant rents, concession revenue shares, and federal grants, according to MEM's own airport authority reports.
The lounge lease slots into MSCAA's ongoing $650 million “MEM on the Move” capital improvement program, the multi-year master plan that has already set Concourse A demolition in motion alongside outer departure drive replacement and Terminal B modernization. The timing also follows the airport's official renaming in a dedication ceremony on August 11, honoring the late FedEx founder Fred Smith, who died in June 2025 and built the airport into FedEx's primary global cargo hub after founding the company in Memphis in 1973.
Context for a Changing Terminal
The airport processed 4,751,026 passengers in 2025, a 2.6 percent dip from its record 4,878,919 passengers in 2024, though volumes remain well above pre-pandemic levels, per MEM's own reporting. An airport authority economic impact study released in 2025 found that MEM operations and visitor spending generate $10.7 billion in annual regional economic output and support 67,550 jobs, underscoring the stakes behind facility investments at what remains North America's busiest air cargo hub thanks to the FedEx World Hub.
MSCAA's board, which approved the CAVU lease, now operates under a nine-member governance model established by Tennessee's Public Chapter No. 978, effective July 1, 2024. The same board has moved on other fee changes this year: in February, it voted to double pickup fees for taxis and rideshare operators effective April 1, alongside relocating ground transportation pickup zones to the lower baggage level. CAVU itself isn't limited to Memphis — the company has also been expanding its Escape Lounge footprint at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, where it's betting on a much larger lounge in Concourse B.
