What is that image, you ask? It’s what pops up when I prompt the AI image generator with “cranky on the web.” So, welcome to this week’s stories…
Airline Lounges Are a Crowded Waste of Time – Fodor’s Travel
I talk to Scott Laird about my stance on lounges, and this turned into an article he wrote. I do not find lounges worth it in most cases, but come take a read through this longer piece and see how you feel about it.
Newark Flight Disruptions Still Causing Travel Chaos—Here’s How Travel Advisors Are Handling the Situation – TravelPulse
I haven’t written about the Newark fiasco here, but I do have two, two, TWO things for you on this topic. First up is this article looking at it from a consumer perspective. And then…
This week on The Air Show, Jon Ostrower and I dissect what’s going on in Newark both from an airport perspective and from a United/JetBlue partnership perspective. But don’t worry, we didn’t do this alone. Jon brought in The Air Current’s resident expert Will Guisbond to talk us through it all.
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19 comments on “Cranky on the Web: Newark Pain, Lounges Aren’t Worth It”
The Air Show this week is very well done. Will adds great color to the conversation.
This was obviously recorded before the FAA came out yesterday with its plan to reduce delays, starting w/ meetings of all airlines and the PANYNJ in Washington DC next week. They believe that flight levels that exist now or what Scott Kirby has proposed are well in excess of what the airport and ATC system can handle both during the remainder of the current runway construction phase but also outside of that period until the end of the IATA summer period.
The FAA along with the DOJ will be “voluntarily” looking for offers from each airline to reduce their capacity and will repeat the exercise until they get to the levels that they believe need to be reached. Since international airlines are not subject to the same type of arm-wrestling, the FAA will direct the US government to negotiate with foreign governments if necessary in the future; this phase will involve domestic airlines.
This is what happens when you try to run a hub from an airport with way too few runways.
People complain about DFW and ATL, but both regularly have 5 active runways at any given time. Same with ORD and DEN.
This is also why AA bailed on NYC as a major hub. Not enough runway capacity to do it right.
Lol! Runway capacity is so far down on the list of reasons American has no hub in NY that if you printed that list, you’d need to add paper to your printer. Several times.
The new graphic is cool, or hot, depending on one’s perception. LOL
The guy has six fingers.
Oh yeah, creepy!
MK03 – I find it so funny how bad AI is at getting appendages right.
Airline lounges are good for connections and delays or a nicer place to pee. They are never a reason to get to the airport early unless it’s one of those fancy business class lounges (and this means we’re not in the USA).
You need to see Delta One at JFK. It’s fancy and in the USA. Loved it and would absolutely get there 3 hours early if there’s a next time.
At one time lounges were a nice escape from crowded and loud gate areas but not as much now. I would be extremely upset if I was paying for access and then was told it is too crowded and I’d have to wait to enter.
I was in Phoenix for a flight and just exploring the airport and came across the Chase lounge and was going to walk in but was told the wait list is about 20-40 minutes.
At times lounges still come in handy but thankfully I don’t fly much anymore. Internationally they can be nice but the reality is too many people have access, often free, and there is too little lounge space.
Often you can walk around the airport and find a quiet space to sit down and relax.
Lounges at one time seemed like you were a VIP but now everyone is just a “P”.
Airline lounges have increasingly been leveraged as a key incentive to attract branded credit card signups, resulting in a surge of eligible users. However, this strategy has not been matched by a proportional investment in lounge infrastructure, leading to overcrowding and a diminished premium experience. As credit card partnerships continue to grow, airlines face a critical need to increase capital expenditures not only to expand lounge square footage but also to enhance the quality of amenities, service, and design. Without this investment, the lounges risk losing their appeal as a premium offering and may ultimately undermine long-term brand equity and customer loyalty. To truly drive growth among high-yield, premium passengers, airlines must realign their capital strategy to ensure lounge capacity and exclusivity scale appropriately with demand.
People complaining about lounges reminds me of Louis CK’s bit on how we live in the most amazing times, and everyone’s miserable. “Ugh, my exclusive area isn’t exclusive enough!”
I’ll make it easy for you. I had 45 lounge visits last year. Let’s say each one saved me $15 in food and drink I didn’t procure by other means. That’s a $675 value that I received from a card I pay $525 a year for that has a multitude of other direct and indirect benefits, and for which they allow me to pay that fee off with $300 worth of miles.
So yeah, for me it’s worth it. But for anyone who doesn’t like occasionally having to wait for a sit to come available, or who doesn’t want to wait for a couple of people to get their coffee before then, then feel free to stay in the terminal, or better yet, fly private!
US Lounges are a victim of IG Culture. It is more important to be in a lounge so you can flex for the Gram than it is to have a nice and peaceful lounge. I rarely bother anymore.
Once again, airlines have completely devalued what used to be a valuable perk for their best passengers into yet another pathetic, tawdry cash grab. Just another reminder that no airline is worth anybody’s loyalty.
Sincerely, a proud FORMER Platinum Medallion (when that was the highest level), Premier Executive, Platinum Pro and Preferred Plus member.
Lounges can be great in the right places. In the US, overcrowded, poor offering and waste of time. However just did an overseas jaunt from my departure point in AUS and used a contract lounge. Fantastic experience with menu breakfast and comfortable seats. On the way home from Bangkok we had access to the Air France/KLM lounge with heaps of space, nice food and French wines. Definitely nicer than the crowds and hard seats of Bangkok airport.
Wouldn’t pay for lounge entry but in AUS with frequent flyer status all of the airline lounges are pretty good – sans a couple that get crowded at peak times.
Even if I had lounge access, I probably wouldn’t visit a lounge just for the “free” food; saving $15 or $20 (or saving $0 of my own money if I’m traveling on business) isn’t worth shlepping to and from a lounge unless it’s a couple of gates away from my departure gate, especially when I can often find a seat a few gates away but still within range of PA announcements made for my flight (or simply watch the airline’s app in my phone to see which groups are boarding). To each their own, but if I’m getting to the airport so early on a departure for a domestic flight that I have 45-60+ minutes to spend at a lounge (or have 60+ minutes to spend at a lounge on a domestic connection between flights), I either didn’t plan things well. got super lucky when it came to traffic & travel time to the airport/gate in question, or there are enough delays on my flights and others that the lounge is likely to be at capacity anyway.
If I had the option to board the plane at the last moment (just before the door closed) and STILL have guaranteed space for a rollerboard in the overhead bin (even if basic economy pax who boarded ahead of me had gate check their rollerboard bags), that would be a huge feature for me in general, and one that would tempt me to buy up to premium in many cases. I’m surprised I don’t see airlines promise/promote that feature more often for the premium seats (even those beyond “first class”) on domestic flights… How hard is it to label overhead bins for X class of seats only and get the FAs to watch/enforce them as they serve the premium seats while pax board, given that the FAs already do that to prevent economy pax from sitting in first class & exit row seats? That “guaranteed overhead bin space” feature would significantly increase the value from using lounges on domestic trips.
The few times I’ve REALLY wished I had something along the lines of lounge access were on a long layover after a transcontinental or transoceanic flight, to help freshen up with a shower, a private room to change clothes, etc (as Brett mentioned in the article, lounges are often most needed/valuable after international arrivals or between longer connections on an international trip).
Some airports have short-stay or pod-style hotels located airside that those amenities + private spaces for naps. Those are what I’d really like to see more of (and which I’d be more than willing to pay for on international trips). Even for those international itineraries, the increasing number of “long, thin” international routes (made possible by longer-legged narrowbody planes that can carry lower numbers of pax 2500+ miles economically) helps, as it means one is less likely to have to do 2+ stops on international trips.
If you’re getting a per diem, it’s still your money, as the $15 you didn’t spend still gets sent to you.
I’m going to play Devil’s Advocate in favor of lounges in two situations:
1) Access to an airline-operated lounge during IRROPS. The lounge agents can often help you without having to wait in line or on hold for 2 hours, and usually with a ton less attitude compared to the counter or gate agents.
2) With the incredible inflation we’re seeing with respect to airport restaurant prices (seriously, a cheese pizza and a hummus plate to go – just the food, didn’t even order a Coke – at Sammy’s at LAX T4 was nearly $50 with the tip a few weeks ago), the ability to grab a quick meal is helpful. Even a mediocre salad and sandwich beats having to pay $50 for something that’s going to be cold by the time I get to eat it on board anyway.
I like lounges. Not because they are great, but because often the rest of the airport experience is so miserable. E.g. lounge food might suck, but the other food at airports usually sucks too, but is expensive and you have to wait for it.