Originally Posted by adamj023

People can spend their money in loads of different ways. If premium food on airplanes or in the clubs is how they want to spend it, Delta will cater to that crowd.

Delta is a corporation which keeps piling on lots of employees. Much like a large hotel chain which has to cater to a wide array of travelers needs to succeed in the marketplace, an Airline needs to service the passenger's transportation needs.

Hotels today are complex and cover a wide array of features. In the same vein, Airlines are more than just basic transportation and Delta knows this. It allows a lot of various employees to be added to the business model.

They will cater to every passenger need in the same way a Hotel caters to their crowd including the restaurants and bars and the like.

But one could get just basic service without assigned seating on Delta if they so choose. Even in Hotels you have the in room bars which charge money for various items.

Obviously on the plane itself, if you need something you have no choice but to buy it through the airline and this differentiation will be important between competitors of how service levels are.

But if you are at the terminal, you have loads of choices for vendors and don't even have to join the club.

I was in the USAirways club on invitation by a guest at LGA. I wasn't a business traveler at the time, and this was in the old days so the clubs really did provide a lot of features for business guests because the clubs had powerports and the like for the generation of laptops back then and conferencing abilities and the like.

But the bar itself was disappointing.

Nowadays even the regular terminal areas are seeing power ports so I don't really see any huge advantages lounges provide unless you want some additional seating area or in the case of the new SkyClub at JFK a nicer view of the airport and the airplanes. It really depends what you are looking for.

Clubs still provide some exclusivity though because you are kept away from the main passengers at the gate so people who have name recognition may want the clubs to avoid attention.