Category Archives for Lounges.
Last month I broke the news, based on an Austin city permit that Chase would be opening a space in the Austin airport. Then I shared further details that it would be an indoor-outdoor space next to the Delta Sky Club taking over the public outdoor deck, opening in March and likely offering grab and go food.
Chase is now offering more details on the space. The “Sapphire Terrace” will open March 20.
The old Flagship First Dining space is now part of the Greenwich lounge, re-opened as the Tasting Room to take advantage of the bar there.
U.S. Virgin Clubhouses won’t be closed for long. They’re downgrading service providers to Sodexo. Eligible Capital One cardmembers still retain access.
The San Francisco Clubhouse is already closed. Three Virgin U.S. lounges will temporarily close starting Tuesday, February 28.
Sometimes the easiest route to serving alcohol in an airport club is just to… change the law. That’s what’s happening in Virginia. And it’s going to get you served in new Capital One spaces at Washington Dulles and National airports, and at the Chase ‘The Club’ collaboration at Dulles.
Virginia’s legislature has passed an ’emergency’ law (i.e., goes into effect right away rather than waiting until July 1), to extend “mixed-beverage carrier licenses to financial institutions, their subsidiaries or contractors.”
American Airlines seems prepared to raise the price of access to its Admirals Club airport lounges, but this will make sense only if they improve the lounge product. I alluded to this in my explanation of how each of the major U.S. airlines is at a crossroads. Fortunately the lounge product is improving and this will make a higher fee worth it.
It appears that Chase is taking over the outdoor deck that had been open to all passengers next to the Delta Sky Club near gate 1 at the East end of the terminal – and could be finished as soon as next month.
Food is “most likely pre-packed grab and go.” and “[w]ord on the street is that it’s a high end local taco spot that will be serving food.”
San Francisco is getting a The Club lounge, a brand owned by the same company as Priority Pass. It will be in terminal 1, which serves American Airlines, JetBlue, and Southwest. It will be located airside near security.
I frequently write about the things that airline lounges need to do for customers. They need to be more spacious and less crowded. They need to offer better food. They need to stay open until an airline’s last flight.
But what about the things that customers need to do for airline lounges? And… for each other?
Since Friday, February 3 Delta Air Lines employees are no longer permitted to use Sky Clubs when traveling as nonrevs – even if they purchased a club membership or have the American Express co-brand Reserve card that comes with access.
Now there’s a petition with over 7,000 signatures asking Delta to restore access. It’s an open letter to airline CEO Ed Bastian, ‘let my co-workers in!’
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 »
