Originally Posted by
Land-of-Miles
I remain unconvinced by this. Surely the lounges are crowded enough with those who fly once in a blue moon?
What strange logic! I have to say its pretty unlikely that someone obtaining lifetime status via years of regular travel (where they would have already had access) and using their 'perk' for leisure travel in retirement / outside of business use would in future clog the lounge - and strongly suspect they don't at the moment.
For most, the novelty of free canteen food and an open bar wears off very quickly. There is a subset of people, whom I would hazard don't actually travel that often, that often clog the lounge by attempting to 'maximise' and 'get the most from' their time in the lounge... arriving hours early, moving around eating and drinking as much as they can.
A topic for another thread no doubt but if you couldn't enter until say 3 hours before your scheduled departure time - I would suspect the lounges would have room for *all* to grab a quick drink and bite to eat before boarding and allowing those who have spent years earning their status to continue some of the benefits they previously enjoyed when they get to a stage in life where they only travel one in a blue moon.