Category Archives for Lounges.
John LeFevre, the former investment banker who created the anonymous “Goldman Sachs Elevator” twitter account, laid out the case against airport lounges.
Air travel has been democratized. So have lounges. And that means they aren’t really exclusive. If that’s the complaint, it’s true about many but not all of them. You need to decide whether the value proposition of a given lounge is worthwhile to you.
On arrival at the airport two days earlier I picked up a sandwich from Tortas Frontera, so I skipped it on this visit. Heading straight to the American Airlines Admirals Club it struck me just how copious the food offerings are… at Delta Sky Clubs, where you’ll find beef, chicken, salads, and sandwiches and many more options as well, all complimentary for guests.
American Airlines sells food in its Admirals Clubs and offers a much more modest spread.
I had a 3 hour 50 minute connection at London Heathrow. Normally I’d feel that was interminably long. However I was connecting from British Airways Terminal 5 over to Terminal 4 for Etihad. And it turns out it was much worse than that: three buses and one hour and thirty five minutes from plane to lounge. The good news is that the Etihad London Heathrow lounge is actually pretty good. I just had less time there than I’d expected!
Delta Airlines has increased the price of its Sky Club memberships and limited lounge access for American Express cardholders, leading to creative cost-offsetting tactics by members, including one who calculates breaking even by taking salami slices from the lounge. This behavior, reminiscent of past incidents where lounge amenities were exploited, raises questions about the impact of such strategies on airline policies and lounge experiences.
A recent discussion created online buzz wondering whether it’s necessary to tip the person who cleans airport lounge showers between each use? The poster prompting the discussion tipped $5 at a Delta Sky Club and felt bad for not tipping $10. This seems to be thinking about the issue all wrong.
Lines to get into a Centurion lounge can be just as bad as at a Delta Sky Club. This is what things looked like at 1:45 p.m. on Monday in Las Vegas.
The whole point of an airport lounge is not to wait in the terminal. There’s nothing luxury about queueing.
Capital One opened its first airport lounge at Dallas – Fort Worth in November 2021. Then they opened Washington Dulles in September. Now their third one – the Capital One Lounge Denver – will open tomorrow – Friday, November 3.
Some of the variance is based on how much people spend on airports and save in the Centurion lounge. Others value it as an ideal, a real escape from the terminal and good food and drink and what that might retail for.
The problem is that, as I wrote five and a half years ago, Centurion lounges have gotten so busy nobody goes there anymore. The experience rarely measures up to the ideal where you experience peace, a nice meal, and even a spa treatment.
The new Denver lounge is in terminal C between gate 30 and 32. It’s 6,000 square feet with seating for 114 people, and is open 4:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.
Next week a British Airways lease for new lounge space at the Miami airport is expected to receive signoff. The lounge will be 12,973 square feet on the Concourse E-Satellite fourth floor.
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 »
