The Mayo Clinic will get its own employee lounge at the Rochester, Minnesota airport. That’s interesting because as best as I can tell it will be the only company-specific airline lounge in operation.
A building permit was filed on July 25 for a new “Mayo Clinic Lounge at RST.” The permit described the lounge as a Mayo Clinic project with an estimated job value of $80,000.
Construction is expected to start in the fall. The lounge will be built inside the security perimeter, near the Gate 1 seating area.
Credit: RST Airport
The Mayo Clinic actually opened the city’s first airport in 1928, and manages the current city-owned airport. According to the airport,
RST will soon feature a dedicated Mayo Clinic space to support staff travel. Designed for quiet work and meetings, the space reflects Mayo Clinic’s commitment to maintaining staff travel through RST.
Increased staff usage strengthens RST’s ability to attract more airlines and improve travel options for patients, staff, and the Rochester community.
Airplane! (1980): Captain Oveur While Speaking To Dr. Brody At The Mayo Clinic, “Give Me Ham On Five, Hold The Mayo” And Notice The Shelf Contents In The Background
This would be, as far as I can tell, the only airport lounge dedicated to a single company’s employees.
- Big corporate accounts sometimes get dedicated check-in desks. Amazon and Microsoft have dedicated Delta and Alaska desks in Seattle. Amazon got dedicated check-in with American Airlines at Washington National airport. But they don’t get dedicated lounges.
- When Georgia bid on Amazon HQ2 they promised an exclusive company-only lounge at the Atlanta airport. However, Atlanta wasn’t chosen and no such lounge was built.
- The Houston – Luanda “Houston Express” (SonAir/Chevron oil traffic) was a corporate shuttle for Angola’s oil sector, and there was a SonAir‑branded lounge that opened just for that departing flight. That service ended March 28, 2018, however.
- Some private terminals are company-owned, and are effectively employee-only lounges, but those aren’t lounges in commercial terminals. (E.g. IBM Hangar W at White Plains is a company‑owned FBO)
The Mayo Clinic has required employees to use the airport to boost local service, and this will make that a little easier for them to do so.
(HT: @mipo777)
Good for them? Currently, RST hardly has any regularly scheduled commercial flights… American to ORD; Delta to MSP, which is odd because it’s literally just an hour and a half drive between RST and MSP. Pft.
Didn’t Midwest Express have something similar back in their “Air Kleenex” days?
Mayo Clinic isn’t the only one. The USO is for the military. Anchorage has one.
RST has a stupid name. Why don’t they change it to Rochester International Super Duper Galactic Spaceport?
Rochester Airport would be a good name. Or how about do something different and call it Pumpkin Airport. Instead of a person, it would be a kind of food as a name.
Budapest Airport also had one, by Tungsram (lightbulb company).
https://airportal.hu/megnyilt-a-budapesti-repuloter-elso-vallalati-varoja/
@derek — That’s an interesting comparison as both Mayo and the USO are technically ‘non-profit’ 501(c)(3) organizations, but few would think of the military as a ‘company’ with mere ’employees.’ The United Service Organization was founded by Congress in the 1940s, and opened its first airport lounge at RDU in 2004; there are about 50 airport lounges today; access is open to active duty, retired, Guard, Reserve, and their dependents. So, I’d say USO is a different category unto itself.