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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13 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).
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.