When do you leave the airport lounge to head to your gate? One couple was overhead in the arguing over whether it was time to leave. The husband was anxious for awhile, and when it was finally 30 minutes prior to boarding he’d had enough.

He was leaving, whether his wife came along or not. She thought that was crazy talk! But her track record wasn’t great. She stayed too long last time – and missed the flight.

About 30 minutes before boarding he finally stood up and said “I’m going to the gate”

She replied “we still have a half hour”

Him “we don’t even know where the gate is”

Her “they are in numerical order and my phone says it’s a 5 minute walk. We will find it”

Him “I’m going and if boarding starts I am getting on the plane”

Her “fine. I will be there in plenty of time”

Him “ I am not asking them to hold to the plane if you aren’t there”

Her “you are overreacting. We have plenty of time. I will be on the plane”

Him. “You weren’t last time”

And he walked off.

Most passengers head right to their gate once they clear security. Maybe they need food, but they’ll check in on their gate first. They need to see that it exists. And they’ll get food near their gate – they don’t want to stray too far – even if they have 90 minutes until departure.

That’s why some airport concessionaires will deliver food to passengers at their gate. It’s not a convenience. It’s because they know so many passengers are anchored to their gate. They won’t stray from the gate and spend money, so the spending opportunity needs to come to them.

I’m the opposite. I know how long it takes to get where I’m going in most airports, even in a worst case. I’ve been at DFW a couple of times recently where the train between terminals stopped running, at least in one direction. I know the walk time, and I know how long the train takes if I have to go in the opposite direction.

So, sure, I’ll work off of a worst-case scenario but I also know the only reason to be at the gate for the start of boarding is overhead bin space. I love traveling with just my laptop bag on a day trip or an overnight (and might even stretch it on a two-day trip, especially if I’m connecting, I hate the bin space fight that much).

I want to stay in the lounge and work as long as possible. I hate that American Airlines has become more like other major carriers and started boarding most domestic flights 40 minutes prior to departure, instead of 35. But I don’t feel the need to show up at the gate 40 minutes to departure, except if I need to battle for bin space.

So when do you leave the lounge? The whole point of a lounge is not to have to wait at the gate. I think you leave the lounge as late as possible to meet your objectives.

• That may be the bin space battle, so to arrive at the gate for the start of boarding.
  
• Or it may be just to not miss the flight, so ensuring you’re there before your seat is released (in most cases, 15 minutes prior to departure).
  
• At Southwest, until assigned seats are in effect, you probably want to be there 30 minutes prior depending on boarding group.

So in this case the two people arguing were probably both wrong. He was probably leaving too early – half an hour to boarding, unless they needed to change terminals and clear security to get from lounge to gate! She was probably leaving too late – her judgment missed the last flight!

But unless this flight was life or death, you know what? Make the travel part of the trip. Enjoy it together, whether you make the flight or not.

One of my favorite travel memories was getting trapped in Dallas during an ice storm a decade ago. My wife and I spent two nights at DFW-area hotels, first trying to get to our destination and then just calling it a trip in vain and getting home. We took advantage of all the airport had to offer. We ate, we drank, we laughed and we worked as we passed the time and kept getting rebooked and cancelled. It was as much fun being together in the airport as we’d have had anywhere else. So enjoy the moment, and the process of getting there!