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.
ConocoPhillips has a dedicated lounge/gate at ANC (gate L1 I believe) for its flights to the North Slope. Part of it is because their own company security screens passengers to make sure they have no prohibited items (booze, porn, drugs, prescriptions that aren’t their own, cameras). But they offer nice seating with device charging, free soft drinks/water, snacks, etc. in the gate lounge.
RST airport is close to useless. There are shuttles to MSP airport every 30 minutes and it’s barely over an hour to get there. The only flights from RST are to MSP and 1-2/day to ord.
@NedsKid — Sounds like a good example of why we should NOT revert to ‘company towns.’ Yet, how ironic it is that it’s usually the libertarians advocating for ‘free markets’ that enable this sort of thing (you know, because without regulations, corporations tend to abuse their power over their workers and the society at large, because their only ‘obligation’ is ‘profit’ for ‘shareholders.’) Well, folks, when the ‘free market’ decides you are prohibited from any and all ‘vice’ (as defined by them, alone)… ‘for your own good’… remember, that ain’t freedom or liberty.
@1990: Well, they are going and staying in dormitories where they are essentially being paid round the clock, all meals and necessities provided, etc. No actual towns around, just the work field, the buildings, and the airport. General public can’t get in except for some limited tours that pass through to view the Arctic Ocean. The workers are well compensated and go voluntarily, agreeing to the terms. It’s work where being impaired could easily get yourself and others killed. So… can’t say that I’m against it. People don’t have to work there.
They do let them have two alcoholic beverages served on the southbound 60 minute flight back to ANC.
@NedsKid — Good points. It’s certainly a sacrifice. Cousin used to live in AK; their state’s annual dividend (at least $1K/person) was a nice benefit of residency, even if you didn’t literally work in oil and gas. Tough to be there in winter, though. So dark. And the mosquitoes in summer there were the worst I’ve experienced anywhere. Beautiful state, overall. Grateful to have been able to visit a few times. Never made it further north than Fairbanks.
@1990 – The annual dividend (some areas especially native tribal lands get more due to specific rights they have granted) is a benefit though also has helped fuel some of the homelessness/drug issues in Anchorage especially.
I get your point about company towns… where they also tried to control peoples families, schools, etc. even providing a church… I live near several of such former towns built by mills. This in Alaska, however, is people going for a 1-3 week deployment for work where they work, eat, sleep, and really have no free time. They make a bunch of money, then they go home for a couple weeks. Many don’t even live in Alaska. As far as searching them and prohibited items, I guess I would make it akin to getting on a US Navy or merchant marine ship for a tour of duty.