Category Archives for Lounges.
A social media influencer is getting a lot of attention for her advice to steal food from airline lounges to save money and eat well when you travel, declaring “If you’re not taking takeout or to go containers with you to the airport lounges, you’re getting ripped off.”
Despite draconian rules that limit passenger access to its Sky Clubs, Delta still has problems with overcrowding in lounges and long lines to get in at some locations.
The Philadelphia airport has arguably the worst American Express Centurion lounge. It’s small. The food isn’t very good or attractively presented. There’s nothing relaxing about the space.
I did manage to find some place to sit in the dining area when I first arrived there, or so I thought. There was an empty table, so I put my belongings down and went to check out the buffet. But when I returned a couple of minutes later, my bag had been moved by a man probably in his 70’s. He began to stand aggressively and told me he was sitting there “he just didn’t leave any bags to mark the spot.”
It’s a place to pick up packaged food, like chips, veggies, fruit and sad salads. What people like best is (1) the barista made coffee, and (2) free food since you really aren’t supposed to take food from United’s regular clubs (but people still do).
The worst United Airlines club lounge is in Austin. It is small, and it is overcrowded. There is just a single window. A legacy Continental Airlines Presidents Club, for a long time it just hasn’t been a priority. United is the number four airline in the city. But finally they have a plan to make things better, and it has to do with the game of musical lounge chairs that will go on at the airport starting next year.
The Chase Sapphire Lounge at JFK Terminal 4 offers attractive views and stylish decor but is significantly smaller than competitors, gets crowded during peak times, and includes a hidden VIP room still controlled by Etihad.
American Airlines now has (4) really nice Admirals Clubs: Washington National E Concourse, Newark, Denver, and Philadelphia A West. However, this club just isn’t large enough. They should have made the whole thing Flagship (since the Flagship side can’t support passenger volume before the evening transatlantics) and kept the A East Admirals Club open. Perhaps they’ll ultimately renovate that space and we’ll have both a nice Flagship lounge and a large enough, nice Admirals Club in Philadephia as well.
I love that they’re refreshing the menu, and I understand they’ll be turning it over further for fall. Some of the plates do seem to be showing wear from use, scratches and design scuffed around the edges. But it’s a really nice restaurant in an airport and Capital One is doing a fantastic job with it – which makes me excited to see the LaGuardia location when it opens. I’d gladly spend time here over just about any lounge in the United States.
I’d take the Capital One lounge over this one in a heartbeat. The coffee here is going to be better than in the Chase lounge or Delta Sky Club. It’s decent as far as airport lounges go but I wouldn’t go out of my way to seek it out or spend extra time here.
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 »
