With a big aircraft order and a new commitment to seat back video screens, including retrofitting existing aircraft, United Airlines is trying to capture the mantle of a premium carrier that customers will choose to fly.
However they’ve been slow to re-open their club lounges. Among major U.S. airlines, Delta re-opened the most most quickly. American Airlines followed including a schedule to re-open its international business class Flagship lounges and most Flagship First Dining facilities. But United has been mum so far on most of its clubs, and largely silent on business class Polaris lounges.
Fortunately the airline is feeling the pressure, has started to re-open more of its clubs outside of hubs, and has a plan to re-open more over the summer. Reportedly the following non-hub clubs have been opened:
- Austin
- Honolulu
- Orlando
There’s also a passenger report that the San Francisco terminal 3 club has re-opened. And throughout the month of July United should be opening Cleveland, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, New York LaGuardia and San Diego clubs.
Then in August we’ll see Atlanta, Boston, Washington National, Dallas – Fort Worth, Raleigh, San Antonio, and Orange County.
And in September we can expect United Clubs to re-open in Minneapolis, new Orleans, Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle. Construction will also start back up on the Phoenix club.
United Polaris Lounge Dining Room, Newark
As far as Polaris lounges, under competitive pressure from American’s Flagship lounge re-opening plans, United’s plans are “being developed” to re-open international business class lounges as well as international United Club locations. Since the airline is profitable again it’s harder than before to justify taking customer money for club memberships but not actually operating clubs.
Gary Leff…you can probably take some of the credit for the Austin lounge reopening 🙂
Gary as a fellow Austin traveler and United 1k and alaska mvp gold 75k, everytime i went to the Admirals Club in AUS i slipped a note through the doors of the AUS united club saying #freebritneyandtheUnitedClubAUS. Someone was picking them up since they would be gone the next week
I do wonder the dynamic of reopening some of these clubs right now. Not saying it is the right or wrong decision, just curious.
On one hand there is way less international travel, so folks normally eligible because of those flights is down. On the other hand, members are probably flying with their families way more, so you have the average person bringing in more guests than they would if they were flying solo on a biz trip.
I miss Flagship Dining and Polaris Lounging pre-flight. Doug and Scott – please open these special places ASAP.
San Francisco – the regular club in terminal 3 has been open for a couple of months. The Polaris lounge in International is still closed ;-(
Are the O’Hare clubs open?
as a 1k member and have for over 20 years paid for my dues for the presidents Club for Continetal and now United i have been complaining every trip since back on the road in early March still nothing and no one has any explaination on why so slow reopening the clubs. It is not because of customers, as every flight i have been on is full or overbooked.
If it is staffing issues then that is bosses at united falut as they were quick to take the goverment monies and furlow their team members at the same time. did not see any of the management team missing any pay checks !!!
HNL has been open for many months, and SFO E Concourse has been open for several weeks.
EWR, one of the biggest/most important hubs, and they can’t be bothered to re-open the pop-up club…SMH
Not much point in renewing my Chase United Club card when most of the clubs are closed. Club access was the reason I signed up in the first place.
I would not have kept either the UA or AA club cards had they not given credits for about half the cost. And it s about time the AUS UA club opened. But I have not flown UA international yet, and doubt I will until the Polaris clubs reopen. The onboard F&B and service are just too inferior for a long flight.
The terminal E/F club at O’Hare is open, though United’s website map was indicating it was closed. It was nice to have a quiet place to sit, watch the Cubs, have a sandwich, and relax between flights. Glad they are opening back up now.
United Club CLE will re-open on Thursday, July 8 according to the local team. Of course @united had no idea and doesn’t have a schedule for any of them.
If they want business travelers to return they really need to re-open the services business travelers need, want, and pay extra for.
Disgraceful that United takes fees for club members and keeps clubs closed. Ultimately this will hurt the airline. When most restaurants in the city are open, many without masks why is the LGA lounge closed? So poorly managed.
FINALLY! We’re Austinites and United PresidentialPlus Card holders, the latter meaning we’ve been paying for club access via a hefty annual fee for over a year despite the closure of all clubs. This made our recent departure on June 18, 2021 out of AUS especially frustrating. Texas has been reopened for months and flights have been jam packed since February . . . but United’s Club at AUS was still closed!!?? Competitors clubs were open – Delta’s Sky Club and American’s Admirals Club, but not United; the Admirals club’s opening is immediately opposite doors to the then-still-closed United Club making this closure all the more inexplicable (assuming United still sees itself as a competitor with American & Delta). Good to hear that United has finally opened our home airport’s Club!
Too many spoiled whiners…SMH…
Did anyone here get any form of compensation for the continued closure of the Polaris lounges? The UA club at Newark is really tired and very oversubscribed.
Thank you