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Are airport lounges getting too crowded?

Waiting in line at the entry to United’s new Club at SFO Terminal 3 (Chris McGinnis)

Frequent travelers love airport lounges, but do we love them too much? Maybe.

Overcrowding is becoming a serious issue in airline clubs- so much so that members are rethinking annual memberships, or considering newer options.

During busy morning hours, the United Clubs and the American Express Centurion Lounge my home airport (SFO) are frequently more crowded than airport terminals. Club staff have difficulty keeping buffets stocked and tables cleaned.

Last time I was in New York-JFK, I had to squeeze onto a stool between two other travelers and peer out at the tarmac to mentally escape from the crazy-crowded Delta Sky Club where I’d just waited two-deep for a glass of chardonnay at the bar. In Istanbul last May I saw business class passengers wait in bathroom lines for 10-20 minutes at Turkish Airlines’ massive (but crowded) business class lounge.

When American Express announced that it was raising its annual fee for the Platinum Card from $450 to $550, I thought, “hmmm could Amex be taking a page from airline play books and jacking up fees to reduce crowding at Centurion Lounges?” Maybe. UPDATE: Amex has restricted the number of family members to two only.

And then yesterday, I heard from a reader reporting that Alaska Airlines clubs at Sea-Tac were turning away Priority Pass cardholders due to capacity issues.

Delta Sky Club San Francisco

Watching the sun and the planes from a pretty perch at Delta’s exceptional Sky Club at SFO (Chris McGinnis)

At one time, high fees and lack of publicity kept most airline clubs cozy, quiet and comfortable refuges from crowded airport concourses. But that started to change a few years ago, when airlines began offering one-time passes for $50. Then credit card companies got in on the act, offering membership or day passes to card holders. That started to swell the ranks of club visitors.

Then American Express saw a need for better airport lounges for its top tier Platinum and Centurion card members, and started to build lounges of its own. These Centurion lounges wowed members with chef-prepared meals, top-shelf bars, wine tastings, sophisticated design, and showers. The travel media fawned. But then Centurion lounges became overcrowded, too.

Club at SJC

The main room of The Club at SJC (Photo: Scott Hintz)

One solution to overcrowding has been the growth of airline agonistic lounges like The Club, which charges $40 per visit and has locations at 9 airports  in the US. In my experience, these lounges are rarely crowded, and relatively nice. There are also Escape Lounges in the U.S. and the U.K.

Technology can also help. For example, the LoungeBuddy app helps travelers determine which lounges have availability, how much they cost and if they have a “pay as you go” option for as little as $25. Founder Tyler Dikman credits much of his company’s recent growth to travelers frustration with with crowding, which he says has become worse in the last three years.

I don’t know about you, but with the help of PreCheck and Clear, I now feel that I’ve honed my travel skills 🙂 so well that I usually get to the airport without ample time to fully enjoy the airport club experience, so the perk is less valuable to me. Plus, many airports terminals are as nice as airport clubs these days (hello SFO T3E or T2 or Newark Terminal C, Los Angeles TBIT or Delta’s new C gates at LGA)

What about you? Have crowded conditions forced you to reconsider club memberships or credit cards offering lounge access as a perk? Please leave your comments below.

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Comments

  1. I think that if you do not have access due to a membership or flying business class, paying $45-$50 for a 1 time entry is not worth it, since you could spend that money at a great airport restaurant & have that nice ambiance instead of paying that much $ to get into a very crowded airport lounge & then only getting ‘free’ (included in the entry price) soup, crackers & cheese, & dry veges & dip… & it’s not good to get drunk on ‘free’ alcohol & then get on a plane : I agree with you.

  2. The United & the Centurian lounge staff told me that they would appreciate feedback on their websites. I do not know where on their websites you provide feedback, but they said they would appreciate any feedback that members have.

  3. i totally agree. On United, boarding group 2’s line is so long now that if you do not queue up 15 – 20 minutes ahead of time, you are in the back of the long line. Also, group 1’s lines are now getting longer. That was a shock. I thought it was only for business & 1st class people. There are numerous flights where spending much more on 1st or business class might not be worth it. Things are becoming more common & equal. ; (

  4. I use the lounges every time I go to an airport that has one. I like TSA-Pre-check & Clear so I can get to the airport, wiz through security, & then relax in a lounge, but unfortunately, the Centurian & the United lounges at SFO are too crowded all too often. I like the United 1st class lounge at SFO, since it’s not as crowded as their regular United lounge. The nice thing about the lounge is that when the planes are late to board, it’s nice not to be in the overly crowded stressful boarding areas. I can barely wait till SFO gets their Polaris lounge, but it’s unfortunate that, according to their website, you can only enter it when traveling abroad. That does not seem fair, but it will make them much less crowded. Eating the full meal in the Polaris lounge prior to a night flight will make going to sleep on the lie flat beds soon after take off much more easy on international flights. At LHR, in terminal 2, in the United area, I liked the Singapore lounge best, then the Canada Air lounge, & finally the rather crowded United lounge. The Singapore Sling ice cream in the Singapore lounge was tasty. I wish ROC (Rochester, NY) had a private lounge, but perhaps it’s too small? If ROC’s airport planners are reading these posts, I hope they make the soon to be cleared out retail area into a private lounge that would be included in Priority Pass, the platinum AMEX program, or the United lounge group. Wishful thinking?

  5. It’s not only the lounges that are a problem. Priority boarding has been so widely democratized and offered for sale that the value has declined to make airline status less valuable.

  6. Yikes. Not good and all too common. Which I think is why we are going to see many policy changes in the coming year re lounge access– Amex just amended its guest policy this week for Centurion. Stay tuned!

  7. Especially in the USA, I don’t see the benefit anymore. Mostly a long walk, then you get the attitude from the girls at the counter and then when you enter the “lounge” you’re flat out finding a spot to sit. And if there is one there is usually some loud individual doing business on a phone. Or someone who has no control over their brats. The places were meant to be a respite from the hub-bub of the main terminals, instead thy are not much better than a cafeteria. I was in JNB last week, I walked into the Slow Lounge, took one look at th snouts in the trough and turned around and walked out. So bad.

  8. I’m not a frequent flyer but have a United Plus Explorer Card. It entitles me to two United Club admissions each year. On a Tuesday in early December of this past year, My wife and I had a connection with a 2.5 hour layover at IAH. We decided that this would be a good time to use our club passes. When we entered at around 11:30 am, the Club was completely filled with people. The only way to get seats was to hover near seated patrons who looked like they might be departing soon. Once we found seats, I left my wife there and went out to forage for some food and drink for us. After waiting through a long line at the food bar, I found that it was out of some delicious looking items that had been available a few minutes earlier. I brought what ever food was available and arrived at our seats just in time to watch two guys in business suits almost get into a fist fight over an available chair across from us. Unbelievable! I left the lounge wondering why anyone in their right mind would pay to have this sort of experience.

  10. Centurion Lounges are now a joke. At all hours San Francisco, Dallas, New York are all stuffed to capacity. Half the space in each appears to have been leased to Gymboree. Food always runs short. Chairs are hard to find. Table are dirty. Bar lines are long. If Centurion Lounges were all the Platinum card had to offer I would not carry the card. Many Priority Pass lounges are superior. In fact, because of smaller crowds I usually end up in the American of Delta lounge.

  11. Coming soon: Reservations for Lounge seats, with descending fees based on outside view (“Lounge Window Seats”), ease of access to Bar and Snacks (“Lounge Aisle Seats”), at the Bar itself (“Lounge Businessman Seats”), in the area where everyone passes you *(“Lounge Premium Economy Seats”), and finally in that section in the corner near the two broken recliners and those table lamps that never quite work (“Lounge Credit Card Benefit Seats”).

    One of the Big 3 US carriers will be test-marketing a new airport product called “The Waiting Room”, which is described as “an intimate space for transitioning” while waiting for Lounge access. These “Waiting Rooms” will be located typically at the entrance to each Lounge, and will be equipped with “ceiling-anchored, Italian calf leather support systems” so that Waiting Room patrons can hang on with one hand and take some of the load of their feet.

    Additional amenities expected include wall-mounted “Fresh Air Naturalizer Systems” to create a gentle tropical-breeze effect in the Waiting Room.

    The carrier has not yet decided on the pricing strategy for this product, and expects that “it will be somewhere between a little and a lot”, but is quick to point out that there will be many credit card and other partnerships which will allow access for a reduced fee.

    When asked whether these might also become overcrowded, the source we spoke with expressed confidence that were this to happen, there are additional products ready to roll out including “The Foyer”, “The Verandah”, and “The Little Corner in the back of the Duty Free Cheese Shoppe”.

  12. The Centurion Lounge at SFO has been incredibly crowded every time I’ve been there. It’s so crowded that the rest of the terminal seems like the wide open spaces of the plain. Amex should either double its size or reprice it so it’s an actual amenity and not just an overcrowded little buffet.

  13. I would pay to use an airport lounge if it wasn’t crowded. But now they seem to be available to the masses, as long as the masses have the “right” card. sigh…It’s a lot like the boarding process…Along time ago people used to board by row starting at the back and working your way up…But then there started boarding creep….depending on what ticket you bought, what miles plan and plan level, be you disabled, with kids,elderly, military service…etc….all of which could let you board early…I just wish for old days of first class, those needing assistance…and board by rows.

    regards DanC

  14. Some input from the Western European side:

    AMS – seriously, are there ever seats available? Maybe it’s just a time of day thing (e.g. usually transferring between transatlantic and European legs) but the KL/SkyTeam lounges are almost always jammed with people.

    CDG – varies by terminal. 2F lounge is invariably full to bursting but 2E can be quite serene.

    FRA – actually I’ve generally found the *A lounges to be relatively spacious and un-crowded. The SkyTeam lounge is small and busy before the transatlantics leave.

    LHR – usually not too crowded but at peak times it’s standing room only. The LH/*G lounge in T2 has the best breakfast but BA in T5 has the best champagne. Special mention to the VS club room in T3, surely one of the best airline lounges in the world 🙂

    ZRH – all the lounges seem to be highly utilised, most of the time. The LX lounge sometimes has a line of people backed out of the door. And it’s not worth the wait.

    I could continue but those are the main ones. Conclusion: it’s as you said, Chris, lounges are in general becoming very crowded. And these examples above are mostly full of status passengers rather than paid-for members.

    Priority Pass or Amex lounges I use in the case of flight delays, when travelling short distances with easyJet but again as you note, arriving “just in time” at the airport means no time and no need to go to the lounge at all.

  15. Yup, they are generally waaay too crowded IMHO. As a direct result, I elected not to renew my United Club and Admirals Club membership this year, despite being a member in each one for 25+ years. They’ve let every co-branded credit card member in. The airlines obviously feel that the credit card business is more valued than the paying members business.

  16. The only time I use a “club” is when I fly business or first class to Europe. The first class lounge is always nice and not very crowded, but the business class lounge’s look like standing room only at a World Series game, way too crowded. I don’t know an answer to the problem other than they have built these lounge’s too small for summer time, high capacity seating.

  18. I like the food at the Delta Sky Club at SFO… and among the lounges that I visit somewhat regularly, it’s rarely crowded to the point of discomfort. But that’s likely because it’s not in a Delta hub.

  22. I am delta DM member but even with them taking away that perk in 2018 of free lounge access, I still believe if you have the AMEX Delta Reserve Card you will get to have continued complimentary access right??

  23. Domestic US lounges are fairly crap so I usually don’t bother with them anyway. Even some of the international lounges for US airlines aren’t that great.

    But if you have a premium ticket on a foreign airline, it continues to be a great experience and I will get to the airport early to enjoy it.

  24. Resisting the temptation to make cynical comments about airlines caring more about lounge use revenues and less about lounge use comfort being not dissimilar to their attitude towards the in-flight experience.

    Resisting the temptation to make pompous “old hand” comments about how lounges would deny entry if you didn’t meet a dress code, served caviar and champagne, and would even freshen up your suit coat.

    Resisting the temptation to post this….

    failed, sorry.

  25. As a Delta DM I get club access at no charge. I would not pay for it no way! It isn’t that the SkyClub’s are bad but the crowding. Delta built the new lounge in ATL at concourse B. The first moment I went in (which was right when it first opened) I knew it was too small. Way to small. I travel on Sunday so I can’t imagine what it is like Monday.

  26. I use the Delta clubs when transiting; my home airport (Orange County) doesn’t have one, although it has American and United clubs. Recently I’ve had trouble even finding a seat at some of the Delta clubs at the hubs. In 2018 Delta is taking away the complimentary club membership for Diamond members, and making it one of the options for their Choice Rewards program. I think that will help with crowding. I used to value the club membership mostly to get wifi, but that’s ubiquitous now and I can use my phone, so I don’t need that anymore. The food is somewhat of a draw, but I eat gluten-free and the choice of those kinds of snacks is quite limited anyway. So I think if I had to pay for a membership I would be inclined to skip it, and maybe pay the single visit fee on the rare times when I had a long wait. And I’d rather have the upgrade coupons as choice rewards than the club membership. I suspect there are many others with similar priorities, so Delta clubs may become less crowded in 2018.

  27. Despite your experience, The Club locations can be crowded, too. Some (all?) locations also serve as business class lounges for airlines without their own club. Clubs will crowd up for an hour or so before international departures and then empty out.

  28. The problem is the damn Priority Pass Program that is given away like candy. Alaska Board Rooms are jammed with PP trying to get it, Now they are posting a sign denying PP when packed.

    It has gotten totally out of hand and their raising the cost of the card, really?

    I just got back from a quick trip and saw this for the first time.

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