United Announces Ambitious Plans to Upgrade United Club Lounges
Jeff Edwards March 04, 2015
United is promising a brand new United Club experience, complete with more free menu options, expanded and remodeled lounges, and a renewed focus on customer service.
United Airlines has outlined plans for a series of bold improvements to United Club lounges around the globe, including a new menu with healthier options, redesigned spaces with a contemporary look and a more hospitable staff.
“We’re making major changes in our United Clubs to give our customers the elevated, hospitality-centric service and experience they deserve and expect,” said Jimmy Samartzis, United’s vice president of customer experience. “This year will be transformational.”
Many of the changes will be seen right away. United Club lounges will begin rolling out fresher and healthier snack choices starting this month, including trail mixes created with healthy eaters in mind, freshly made hummus and a selection of Mediterranean inspired salads. Clubs will also begin offering free Wi-Fi-based printing for members over the next few weeks.
The extensive building and renovation projects will also be coming online soon, with renovations to take place this year at Chicago O’Hare international Airport (ORD), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT). United will also begin construction of new clubs at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in 2015.
The upgrade that might signal the most dramatic improvement in the United Club lounge experience is the airline’s promise to implement a “hospitality-focused approach to customer service” across the system. United says it will put all of its United Club employees through an extensive customer service training program this year. According to the legacy carrier, the training “will reflect standards of the hotel and hospitality industry to better match club members’ expectations.”
[Photo: United Airlines]
It is probably just UA advertising itself .... but if it were true and UA would indeed massively upgrade its lounge quality, then this would mean the end of lounge access for 'elites'. It would be GS, C, F, staff, and friends & family only from thereon.
Third world countries have better lounges than UA. Glad they found out they are far away from Star Alliance quality.
And please, a quiet zone that actually is quiet. And prominent signage that makes clear, no cell phone and no conversations. Many club visitors have been on the road and/or in meetings for 18-hours-plus and need a place to decompress . In the invitation-only American Airlines customer forum two years ago, with something like 400 participants and that went for over a year, one of the key requests was for a truly quiet zone at their clubs, and where staff would politely ask people to stop their conversations or move to another area of the club. If Amtrak can do it, you'd think United could do it as well.
How about just put in a few showers and call it a day? When I'm flying, I may not always have the chance for a shower before I get to the airport, so a shower in the lounge makes a world of a difference. Food, I can get in the terminal if I want, so why don't you, United Club, differentiate yourself and offer me things that the other guys in the terminal can't offer me and then, you'll have my $$$
To be fair, their new lounge at Heathrow T2 is very nice.