A_Lee

I've been in the F lounge on a number of occasions where it was crowded enough that I could understand if some paying F customers complained about why there were so many people there. For instance, the business center, with I think about 5 computers, was completely full. The dining area also was completely full. There was once or twice when I saw all the showers occupied. The entire lounge is never close to being full, but certain resources were being used to their full capacity. IMHO, the benefit should only be made available if it doesn't affect the paying F passengers. If OZ allows too many people to utilize those benefits such that it negatively impacts the F passengers, and they take their business elsewhere, OZ will end up eliminating F alltogether, and that won't be to anyone's advantage, and all D+ members will be left without F lounge or F checkin.

Now granted the F resources are not used to capacity most of the time. But there are times when they were. So I fully understand OZ's position in wanting to adjust the program to alleviate any concerns of the F passengers. I don't agree with the details of how they handled it, being they technically eliminated some promised benefits for those already in the queue, working towards that status. But I have to disagree with the other members that the lounge wasn't full and that they did nothing but create badwill by this move. Badwill was created, but it was likely the result of an attempt to quickly reverse badwill on the part of some F passengers.

As for me, I'm still able to access the F lounge when flying Y, and expect to be able to do so until November, being I earned my status before the change in the benefits were announced. After November though, I don't expect to, unless I make it to 500K status miles by then.

One note I should add about certain F lounge resources being overused. Those observations were some time ago, when I believe the JFK route was operating in the evening, and if I recall the LAX flight in the evening also had F. I'm not 100% of those details, being I didn't really pay too much attention at the time about what time the F flights left. At the moment, I believe 16:30 is the last F flight of the day for OZ. It was in the evening when the F lounge was most crowded, with the majority of the passengers being D+ (or Platinum) but flying in Y or C. Being I believe they no longer have any F flights departing in the evening, this overusage situation likely doesn't exist anymore. I haven't seen it for quite a while, even on peak days. But the change in the rule was implemented back when it was a problem. If I'm correct in my analysis, perhaps there is room for OZ to re-evaluate that rule change. But should they ever need to add F flights in the evening again, or change existing F flights back to the evening, they'd be right back in the same position, and couldn't quickly reverse it.