Airlines lounges aren’t true members clubs anymore, and haven’t been in many decades. The American Airlines club at Washington’s National airport used to store bottles of wine and liquor for passengers, because they didn’t have a liquor license. People didn’t used to be able to buy memberships. These places were strictly invitation only, and if you wanted to stay a part of the exclusive club you behaved appropriately or were important enough not to.

A little over fifty years ago U.S. airline lounges began opening up to the masses for a fee, following government rules requiring clear standards of access replacing invitations in order to avoid the appearance of discrimination. Airlines could let anyone in, or create a path to paid membership. You know which one they chose.

But allowing anyone to join means allowing anyone in who can pay for a membership or get approved for a credit card. Still, many lounges such as United Clubs don’t allow outside food. Surely clubs can impose some minimum standards like ‘no shirt, no shoes, no entry.’

And so we consider the four basic etiquette rules for airport lounges, which unfortunately do need to be spelled out because passengers unfortunately violate them day in and day out.

1. Is there any bigger faux pas than talking loudly, especially on a phone call? Worse still is taking that call on speaker phone. Many newer lounges have built ‘phone booth’-style rooms to cordon off this sort of behavior from being inflicted on other passengers.

   Speaker phone in sky club
   byu/itsstillshea indelta

2. Feet up on the furniture. Your teacher probably asked you – or other kids in the class – whether you were raised in a barn? Don’t put your feet up on the furniture, whether it’s dirty shoes or bare feet, and it’s supposed to be a premium enclave not a refugee camp so sleeping on the couches is verboten. Better lounges at international hubs frequently have nap rooms for that.

   
   United Polaris Lounge Chicago Nap Room

   Sadly, here’s Indonesia’s then-Fisheries minister asleep on the couch in an airport lounge at New York JFK.

   https://t.co/Y9v5OA6aUM : #Picture #Minister – Picture of Minister Susi sleeping at US airport lounge goes viral pic.twitter.com/kTSF2r61hp

   — Ardie Echel (@ArdhieEchel) June 12, 2017

   And then there’s this.

   @AmericanAir I hate that I have to suggest this, but it might be time to add a “no shirt, no shoes, no service” policy to the Admirals Club so employees are empowered to stop guys like this from putting their bare feet everywhere. pic.twitter.com/PCmvd8J2CT

   — Em (@grimgrinning) February 2, 2023

   I love in this photo that another passenger placed the ‘no feet on the furniture’ sign beside a passenger sleeping with their feet up on the furniture:

   
   Credit: Ari

   Finally, if you’re not a member, don’t use the space before you reach the lounge check-in desk for sleeping either.

   
   American Airlines Admirals Club, Austin

3. Don’t shove food into your bag to take with you unless the lounge specifically offers ‘to go’ items, like at Capital One’s lounges.

   The crazy thing is people do this with what’s often “gas station quality” food. It’s even more dramatic when the food is decent! Delta Sky Clubs have more robust food options, and one woman shares video of herself taking salami: “If you get 36 slices of salami per Delta sky club lounge visit, you break even on your annual fee after just 30.5 lounge visits.”

   @meat.slut Delta executives hate this 1 money saving trick #meat #traveltiktok #travel #foryoupage #fyp #meatslut @delta ♬ Little Bitty Pretty One – Thurston Harris

   One passenger at the New York JFK Chase Sapphire lounge was spotted maybe taking what amounts to a record for food removed from a lounge?

   The couple next to me filled up two duffel bags worth of food. They basically shoved entire plates of desserts, prepared food, etc. and ordered six Sapphire Burgers, etc. and put them in their duffel bags inside empty boxes they had brought. There was a huge pile of empty plates they stashed behind a plant.

   And here’s video from the British Airways Galleries First lounge at London Heathrow where two passengers reportedly made several trips to take 20 or more drink cans and five bags of chips.

4. Squatting on too much furniture space like taking up more than one seat if you’re a solo traveler, with your bag on one chair and coat on another still, is verboten because lounges are crowded. People need those spaces!

   Obviously some of the blame here belongs to the lounges in picking their furnishings. They should offer friendly spaces for those bags, and hooks for your jacket. But try not to spread out so much.

   
   Line for American Express Centurion Lounge Las Vegas

I implore you to following these simple etiquette rules. You will be doing your part to ensure that airline lounges remain distinct from the rest of the terminal in feel, not just name.