While JetBlue is in severe cost-cutting mode, eliminating cities and routes, dropping hot meals from long haul economy, and scaling back its fleet ambitions, they’re planning to add business class lounges – having gotten Barclays to pay for it.
It’s no coincidence that American Airlines tied the announcement of a revamped Citibank Executive card with higher annual fee and a pullback on authorized user generosity with their announcement of food improvements in the lounges.
Until then, it was mostly guacamole and avocado toast, which Mastercard had been funding, also a part of their co-brand deal. They still go to lengths to curtail costs, not spending any more than they have to, and offering less in their lounges generally than Delta or United – though more than they used to.
American Airlines Admirals Club Buffet, DCA Airport E Concourse
Brian Sumers‘ The Airline Observer covers Air Canada’s investor day and explains that lounges for them, too, are a profit center.
- “[L]ounge revenue from third parties doubling between 2019 and 2024. Air Canada airline expects it to be 1.5 times larger in 2027 as it is today, as it adds nine new lounges and renovates eight.”
- “A key is Air Canada’s premium credit card, a portfolio that has grown more than 300 percent since 2019, far outpacing the growth for Aeroplan’s other credit card segments. A big reason for this growth: Air Canada added lounge access to the card after it acquired Aeroplan in 2019.”
- Lounges drive higher-revenue ticket sales, “because lounge customers tend to be very loyal, and spend a lot of money. Customers who visit a lounge generate 20 percent higher spend per booking, even though many fly in economy. [Executive Vice President Mark] Nasr said about twice as many customers use the lounges as fly in business class.”
Air Canada Signature Suite Vancouver
For banks like American Express, Chase, and Capital One, lounges sell credit cards. For airlines, lounges bring in revenue. They sell tickets. They keep customers loyal and spending more to do so. They also bring in revenue from… selling credit cards. And they bring in revenue from partners (unless they’re in oneworld, where partners don’t pay each other for lounge access in the same way).
Delta Sky Club LAX
Airlines don’t just build lounges to cater to flyers, they build lounges to earn a return. And those lounges need to be high enough quality to keep customers loyal and to sell credit cards.
How do OneWorld airlines pay each other for lounges (if at all) as compared to lounges in the other alliances?
This sort of ties into the other article just posted about first/business class food. If I know I’ll have a nice lounge before I board and if I’m transferring have yet another one upon landing, I feel somewhat disincentivized to purchase a first or business class seat as I psychologically wouldn’t feel like I’d be getting the full value out of it.
Credit card issuers should raise the membership fee on their lounge access cards to the $5,000 level. At the current $500 level it’s a no brainer for any millennial who likes to travel (which is 99% of millennials).
Millennials are much more wealthy than the older generation when it comes to ability to spend on discretionary. The cash freed up from not owning a home and not having kids goes a long way.
The food was supposed to improve in early 2024. It’s just a little better, still worse than the average airport concession, at those prices , the only reason for AC is in case of IRROPs.
Flagship Admirals Club has spoilt this Economy Class frequent flyer. Makes it hard to justify any other domestic lounge expense, (I’d rather cozy up in a quiet corner with a Burger King Whopper, etc.) International lounges for Economy Class flyers are another story, and more competitive among the alliances,
@Eileen
You must be a Boomer, because I’ve noticed that people of that age group enjoy generalizing (and often complaining) about other generations. See, there we go, promoting stereotypes, again. Such age discrimination, like other forms of prejudice, harms the people you are referring to, even if you are critiquing your own group. Besides, it’s always been a class war, not a culture or generational war, so thanks for perpetuating this problem.
It is undeniable that no group is a monolith. Sure, *some* Millennials may be independently wealthy and can afford credit cards with $500+ annual fees that include lounge access, just as any other age group. But when I look at who is at these airport lounges, it’s always a mix of people, no clear majority of any age group. If anything, it’s slightly older, not younger. Good for those that choose to pamper themselves, I guess.
This has nothing to do with owning a home or not, or having or not having children. That is absurd. As with every generation, some ‘thrive’ because of luck or merit, others struggle often by little fault of their own. It’s a case by case situation. Many Millennials as with other generations cannot afford to travel as they still pay off student loans for degrees that did not really help them; others are buried under medical debt, which at least they can ‘start over’ through bankruptcy, unlike the student loans which are still non-dischargeable. Just saying, it’s not all champagne and First Class for any group.
That said, I agree with Gary, and do appreciate how the airlines and other companies are trying to offer innovative and competitive products and services before and after flights. It has enhanced the experience of travel for those willing and able to pay for such luxury. Lounges like Chase Sapphire (specifically at LGA), DeltaOne at JFK and LAX, AA Flagship (Soho, Chelsea at JFK), and United Polaris (EWR) are notable domestic lounges that do this quite well in my opinion.
Personally as a person who travels a great deal I am looking forward to a credit card or a facility which allows me access to aircraft lounges whatever the aviation organisation is but sadly particularly in Singapore the price of accessing lounges has become ridiculously expensive what was previously and enjoyable five hours for 38 dollars
singapore is now become three hours at 78
@Ashley Vincent King
You are doing this wrong if you pay-as-you-go with airport lounges, especially in Asia. Changi (SIN) has loads of lounges (like, literally 10+ included with Priority Pass alone). You should get a credit card that includes membership. I will admit, nothing beats T3 SilverKris Business or First. Even if my flight departs from T2, I will go to T3 because it is so much better.
I think Delta is testing their customers like victims and not valuable customers
They. Raise the lounge prices for credit cards and to keep diamond orcPltnum status
I took 4 flights this past week.
Two were 4 hours late; the flight to Japan did not have wireless and the lounges were jammed
I won’t buy$700 delta cards just to get into their lounges when I already have annAmex Platnum card when they are now limiting
IM GLAD THEY ARE SOING SO WELL with their greed
after many years of being a Diamon
D or Platnum, I am now flying other airlines than Delta,