Category Archives for Lounges.
Delta has a new option to entice people not to take up space in their New York JFK lounge: a grab and go where you can get food and drink, but this requires a ticket that you get by agreeing to forego use of the lounge.
Delta’s biggest customer is American Express, generating over $5 billion a year from the financial services giant. Their contract with American Express runs through 2029. And lounge access sells credit cards.
As a result, the airline isn’t in a position to do anything about the true cause of crowding. And crowding tends to be worst in major markets with the greatest concentration of premium American Express cardholders… like New York.
America Express has had a huge conundrum with its Centurion lounges. They promote access to acquire premium credit card customers, but customers show up and have a subpar experience because the lounges are too crowded. They’ve been battling this over the past half dozen years and nothing has worked.
In airport lounges people shovel food and drink into their bags, and stick their feet up on the furniture, going to sleep on couches, and generally acting as though these ‘nicer’ spaces are U.N.-administered refugee camps.
One airline passenger saw another’s behavior, and decided to take reform into their own hands.
Everyday passenger behavior in lounges has gotten worse, from being draped over couches asleep (lounge couches aren’t nap rooms) to simply sticking bare feet up on the furniture. Would you do this at the home of an acquaintance – someone you know, but not well? Why do this in front of other passengers, and on furniture that doesn’t even belong to you? United Clubs don’t allow outside food, surely clubs can impose minimum standards like ‘no shirt, no shoes, no entry.’?
American Airlines has just re-opened its international first class lounge at London Heathrow, after closing at the start of the pandemic. And I’m not sure why. London Heathrow terminal 3 already has some of the best lounge options in the world.
Chase’s new Sapphire Terrace is now open in the Austin airport. It’s the bank’s first airport space in the U.S., though not officially a ‘Sapphire Lounge’. That’s because it’s unique, not a full lounge and mostly outdoor space. It’s also open to Sapphire Reserve cardmembers but not a part of Priority Pass.
The space has been really transformed compared to just a week ago when I looked in on it.
One thing that most people miss when visiting the Admirals Club on the E concourse at Washington National is the VIP Room. It’s tucked right behind the checkin desk on the right as you get off the elevator.
This space is unique among clubs, built because the airport sees a large number of Members of Congress, Supreme Court justices, heads of Executive Branch agencies, as well as visiting dignitaries from abroad. You and I aren’t be invited in (usually).
A Delta Sky Club in Charlotte will be great for Delta passengers but could also be good for American passengers as well as a result of competitive pressure, and would add to a Centurion lounge, The Club, and two Minute Suites locations at the airport.
American Airlines is getting a huge new Admirals Club lounge in Charlotte. In fact, it will be the airline’s largest lounge, but it will take a couple of years to come to fruition.
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 »
