Category Archives for Lounges.
After my brief stop at the Air France lounge I continued my tour of Washington Dulles airport Priority Pass lounges. Next stop: the Virgin Clubhouse by gate A32.
This lounge was renovated shortly before the pandemic, and while I guess it is… different than before I also wonder, given what it’s like now, why did they bother?
The Chase Sapphire lounge is small, but I was there in the morning – from around 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. it wasn’t super busy and there was plenty of available space. The lounge is well laid-out, food is good, and staff are friendly. The exterior of the lounge is branded Etihad (it’s a joint Etihad and Chase lounge but the exterior signage doesn’t mention Chase) and I wonder if that limits awareness and thus crowding.
AirTipping is an insidious practice, and no you shouldn’t be doing it in airport lounges. Airport workers aren’t paid a ‘tipped wage’ and tipping lets employers pay less. At airline lounges, offerings are included in the price of your ticket.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changed the tax treatment for business entertainment expenses. It made airline club lounge memberships no longer deductible to a business. But a bit of financial engineering would seem to make lounge access still deductible.
It’s not very good! But it’s free food! Of course the schnorrers are going to come out in droves and take the food, even if they don’t eat it.
Delta has been addressing lounge crowding by taking away access from their most frequent passengers, devaluing SkyMiles elite status and their premium credit card, and those Sky Club access for those buying memberships.
Why not just ban the passengers who behave badly? And if it’s families with children you get the geometric benefit of four or more bans for the price of one.
With plenty of time, I went straight to the D terminal which has the best lounges. My first stop was the American Express Centurion lounge across from gate D12. I saw a line to get in.
According to a manager at Virgin Atlantic’s Clubhouse at London Heathrow airport, people are trying to sneak in “all the time.” One recently fellow “ran in and locked himself in the toilet.”
JetBlue crewmembers have been told that the airline will open club lounges at New York JFK and Boston. They’re currently expected to be called Mosaic Clubs.
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 »
