NYT's Article about the Value of America's Airport Lounges: Worth it or Not?

The author of the article seems to have an entirely different relationship with airport lounges from my own. I want a place to chill and drink free booze between business class flights. Nothing more than that. As such, my experience over the past 15 years has changed very little.

I find airport lounges to be more spacious and quieter with more comfortable seating than waiting at the gate, but I have become increasingly frustrated because even though I have access, I can't always get in.

Last week I had a six hour layover in Dulles before my flight to Vienna. As I don’t have a credit card or enough miles to get into a particular lounge, I went lounge day pass shopping. My top three were Lufthansa (cheapest), Turkish (middle price and highly rated) and Emirates (most expensive at $100 but highest rated. The Emirates staff said it wasn’t worth the money unless I was planning to drink a lot (I was not). The Lufthansa food looked sad. I went with Turkish for $59. This got me a peaceful table with a nice view of taxiing aircraft, unlimited drinks (I had a mimosa and lots of Turkish tea), unlimited access to the buffet which featured Turkish food but also had good brownies and Mac n cheese. There were also showers. I figured I would have easily spent $40 on concourse food so it felt worth it. I felt it was money well spent. In hindsight, I might have picked the BA lounge but it wasn’t open when I did my shopping.

Occasionally, when he knows a lounge will be one of the sad ones where the buffet seems like “a feeding trough,”...

It's a buffet, of course it's a feeding trough. No matter how nice the set up it is just a trough. Why is anyone surprised?

The author of the article seems to have an entirely different relationship with airport lounges from my own. I want a place to chill...

Exactly. My lounge experience is United at LHR & IAD. Never had an issue getting in or any crowding, and easily find a table with a comfortable seat.

Thanks, Lindy for the link. Interesting!

I have limited experience with Airport lounges. I only get in when I am flying Delta One to Europe. I always have a layover in a hub before my international flight and this is where I use it. I've been in the Seattle one a number of times and find the food good with plenty of options for a vegan. I have never not gotten in and they are not sticklers about only letting you in for 3 hours (I have seen some of the Delta lounges have limits) as I've had a 5-hr layover between my flight arriving from Spokane and my international flight.

I was in the Sky Club in Concourse E in Atlanta in June when I was flying to Edinburgh and the BEST thing about it was the terminal was very hot and muggy (inside!!) whereas the Sky Club had the air cranked down so it was cool and had some of the humidity pumped out of the air. The food here was dismal. Almost nothing out, empty bins/platters where food had been and very little choice. It was late evening - around 9P but I liked being in the cool and less crowded area before my flight.

I'm flying thru SLC next month on the way to France so I will see about their Sky Club. I'm pretty sure I've been in there before but can't 100% remember.

I'm not much of a drinker and don't drink before a flight because it will probably keep me awake, lol. I like the less crowded atmosphere and what seems like might be better air circulation (that might just be me wanting it to be so, lol). As a solo traveler, I also feel like my luggage is slightly safer to nip up to the buffet. I would not leave my personal item with my $$/passport/cards but I'm OK leaving my suitcase for a few minutes.

I don't fly enough to justify a card that is more expensive than the Delta AMEX card I've already got!

I don't drink during or between flights as it dries me out so much and I feel like crap later on. I do drink a lot of water an feel much, much better being hydrated without the come down from alcohol.

We've got all sorts of airport lounge access through various means, but what I usually find is that we're rarely in a situation where it makes much sense to use them. We try to fly direct for all flights (if possible) and we also try to be economical in our time - arriving to a flight with the wiggle room to check-in, check bags, and clear security, but then we will have around an hour to kill before take-off, and we often just want to use that to WALK the concourse rather than SIT in the lounge as we know we're about to sit in a plane for a few hours.

But when we do use the lounges, it is definitely just for a little bit of relative quiet while we kill a longer bit of wait time. Not too long ago, we got dropped at LAX by my BiL and his work schedule required him to drop us with a couple hours more than we normally would need for a domestic flight. We checked bags, and popped into the United lounge and just chilled. A nice oasis but not one we required but did enjoy.

Worst experience was in the Miami airport a few years immediately post-COVID where it was a sardine can of folks as crowded (or more?) than the regular gate area, and we took advantage of coffee and a few snacks before heading out again. I think Miami airport was just a mess in general, so the lounge was a reflection of that at the time.

What I do know is the airports and credit card companies are simultaneously in an arms race to make better/fancier lounges, but also fighting to trim costs & maximize the profits. It's gonna shake out a LOT over the next few years, and we're gonna see larger airports develop further the "first/business/coach" model in their lounges. In the end, for non-elite and/or non-very frequent travelers, the cost/benefit will probably drop off significantly.

"In the end, for non-elite and/or non-very frequent travelers, the cost/benefit will probably drop off significantly." I agree and I think that's already happening.
We've always enjoyed whichever lounge we qualified for. The last few departures from the US, though, all the lounges were full. We fly out of either JFK or Newark. I know that Priority Pass is currently receiving complaints because it is dropping benefits and closing some of its lounges or just not being open. It sounds like from others here that they have no problems getting into lounges from other US airports, though.

I've been following The Points Guy (TPG) who has reported more and more lounge development. It has me wondering how many thousands of square feet go to those lounges, total! (Not a complaint just curiosity and a Wow!)
I used to have a "method" in which I had a glass of prosecco and whatever food was offered in a lounge and then, nothing on the flight so that I could try to sleep when it was "wheel's up". First world problem. . . I can't complain.

I am not seeking "luxury" in a lounge, my needs are more basic. I have the unenviable situation of flying from a regional airport, to a hub, then overseas. Even when I travel domestically, it is nearly always two flights, so some length of wait is always expected at an airport, for an overseas flight, a layover in MSP or ATL of 6-8 hours is almost expected since covid.

So to me, lounge access is worth quite a bit, comfortable chairs, great wi-fi, quieter than the terminal, maybe the chance to sit in the open air. I figure a meal and a couple drinks at the airport will run me $50, and a lounge gives me plenty to eat and drink over the entire layover. One benefit not often mentioned is help with flights, if there is a problem, you can get a real person to help, with little or no wait, while out in the terminal lines at customer service counters are measured in football field lengths and the app does not always offer the best options. Being able to get timely help saved my last trip, otherwise we would have been delayed at least a day.

My lounge access is included in my credit card, free entry, though admittingly, the yearly fee keeps going up, and rules changing. So far the fee pays for itself through benefits. They have limited visits in a year, reduced access times, set up a priority order for who gets in first, have reduced access to partner airline lounges, so far not much access, but what is next?

My husband is a fan of airport lounges but in ATL I much prefer the food options outside the lounge-Chik Fila or pizza and Savannah Candy Kitchen.

"One benefit not often mentioned is help with flights, if there is a problem, you can get a real person to help, with little or no wait,"

Paul, this is an excellent point! I've never had an issue but staff at the Seattle Sky Lounge seems very accommodating.

Another overlooked minor point is the bathrooms have bigger stalls in the Women's restroom + lotion, lol. I try not to put on lotion before arriving at the airport and seldom will give space/weight to even a small hand cream so I appreciate the ability to slather on a nice hand cream before boarding.

I have lounge access for international trips through status, but not for domestic trips. However I rarely fly domestic only - and then my layovers are normally short. They are definitely more comfortable in the event of a flight delay, though.

I love my lounges when I have them, but I don’t think I would pay extra money for them normally.

"One benefit not often mentioned is help with flights, if there is a problem, you can get a real person to help, with little or no wait". . . That's interesting, Paul. Where does one find such a person?

“One benefit not often mentioned is help with flights, if there is a problem, you can get a real person to help, with little or no wait". . . That's interesting, Paul. Where does one find such a person?”

At the Delta lounge in Seattle they have several people at the check in desk but they also have a separate desk, usually staffed with 2 people, who will assist if there are flight problems. As mentioned this is the lounge I’m most familiar with.

The author of the article has failed to make a distinction between paid access lounges and airline lounges. The latter pretty much do not offer paid access. Entrance is available only for those flying business or first class with the airline or one of its partner airlines and also for those with high status in the airline loyalty program. As such, these lounges offer a more premium product particularly those at the airlines home base and at major airports (JFK and Heathrow both contain a number of excellent lounges).

Having said that, my experience with airline lounges in the US have been pretty poor. Lacklustre food and drinks, drab interiors, cramped seating and often overcrowded. I've never used a paid lounge in the US so I can't make any comparisons.

Thanks Pam, good to know.

That's interesting, Paul. Where does one find such a person?

I fly Delta as well, been to a number of US lounges, and they always have staff available to help with ticketing.

Someone above mentioned the different types of lounges, my experience is mostly with Delta lounges and partner airlines, mostly KLM and Virgin. Many airlines also have premium lounges (Delta is just starting to roll them out) reserved exclusively for only the top tier travel class (ie: Delta One, United Polaris), and from what my Son says, those are much more deluxe.

There are also other lounges, AMEX is expanding it's Centurion Lounges, one in ATL now, they are roughly equivalent to the Delta lounges, except without as many services, but the ATL one is nice. Then there are the independent lounges, I probably have access to some through other credit cards, just never looked into them.

Maybe the best lounge I was in was Virgins Heathrow lounge, that was back when I had status, very good food, made to order, lots of options,

My experience over the last few years has been fine, I have always been able to walk right into a lounge (except the ATL Centurion lounge last trip), not overly crowded, food changes, but generally fairly good. The only nit I have is they seem to all have gone to disposable plates and utensils, I like a real plate and silverware. Just before covid, things were getting very crowded, but Delta at least has limited access quite a bit, and continues to do so, in many places, not sure if you can even buy a day pass except for a guest. Of course I fly airports like MSP, ATL, and Detroit, so not the nightmare airports, and Atlanta has like 9 lounges.

I have a domestic flight coming up with my wife, 3 1/2 hour wait each way in ATL, we will go to a lounge each way, she is traveling on a complimentary companion ticket, so the savings from the ticket, and the value of 4 lounge visits for the one trip, go a long way to paying my yearly credit card fee (Not to mention free bags, my TSA Precheck renewal this year, another 7 or 8 lounge visits, mileage benefits that pretty much guarantee some status, etc) But I find I have to weigh the value every year.

The author of the article has failed to make a distinction between paid access lounges and airline lounges. The latter pretty much do not offer paid access.

My experience is that many of the airline lounges do, in fact, offer paid access, at least to passengers who use their affiliate credit cards. This is one factor that leads to more-crowded lounges.

My experience is that many of the airline lounges do, in fact, offer paid access, at least to passengers who use their affiliate credit cards. This is one factor that leads to more-crowded lounges.

Certainly in the UK and elsewhere in Europe where I've flown predominantly BA there is no option to pay for access to the airline lounges.

Lounge access via credit cards is very much a US thing. In the UK credit card 'bonuses' are fairly limited in comparison.