Category Archives for Lounges.
Capital One has signed a lease for a new lounge at Charlotte, and at roughly 14,000 square feet it would be the biggest Capital One Lounge yet. The space will sit on the mezzanine of the Concourse A expansion with tarmac views, locally inspired food, a full-service coffee bar, and work areas—though with only a concessions agreement in place, an opening likely isn’t soon.
She got an Amex Platinum because she’d heard airport lounges were where you “network with rich people”—then walked into a room full of travelers eating, scrolling, and napping. Her verdict: “0 connections were made,” a neat reminder that credit-card lounge access isn’t exclusivity, and most people behind that door are just trying to kill time before boarding.
A flight delay sent one American Airlines passenger to the Flagship Lounge at DFW for a quick shower. When they finished, they returned the key, said “thank you,” and started walking away—until the employee stopped them cold: “Where is the tip?”
Photos from Delta’s Sky Club in Atlanta Terminal F show a coffee dispenser/thermal server so grimy that “skip the coffee” feels like rational advice. Even if it’s just insulation foam in a non-food-contact cavity, it shouldn’t look like this in active service—and if seals fail, contamination risk gets real fast.
I got into the Capital One Lounge at DFW quickly, but the experience felt noticeably different: the grab n go area was closed and items were only available “on request,” while the hot food lineup was weaker than what I remember from early visits. The company says a temporary maintenance issue is to blame, but the overall drift—less selection and less polish—has been showing up more than once.
Chase’s new Sapphire Lounge in Las Vegas has just 87 seats, a wait list at the door, and still managed to be the best place in the concourse to have breakfast. I tried it during regular operations, sampled the food, found the good champagne, and came away thinking it’s worth the surprisingly short wait I experienced.
JetBlue shared the first renderings of its long-awaited New York JFK lounge at the Skift Aviation Forum, revealing a compact 8,000-square-foot space with a Grand Central–inspired ceiling and a residential design aesthetic. A photo booth sits in the back, though it may not be active on day one. Fort Lauderdale could follow!
The new Chase Sapphire Lounge Las Vegas opens today in Terminal 1, a compact two-level space anchored by a champagne parlor upstairs and seating for just 87 guests downstairs. It’s the first Sapphire Lounge with a dedicated champagne welcome, and the most convenient option for Southwest flyers at the airport — but its small footprint means it’s likely to fill up fast once travelers realize it’s there.
United Airlines has closed its DFW Airport Club after reports of serious sanitation problems. Photos from inside the lounge show roaches, mold, standing water, and kitchen conditions far below acceptable standards.
A toy dog was spotted walking the buffet line inside Delta’s brand-new Sky Club in Salt Lake City, even though airline policy requires pets to remain inside carriers at all times. Utah’s food code is even stricter: live animals are prohibited in food establishments. Yet staff made no inquiry about service-animal status and allowed the dog to roam directly in front of the hot buffet.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
