Originally Posted by
Alpha
I think these concerns about outside food trashing the place or degrading the experience are overblown. If they were realistic, one would expect to see considerable problems in the Admiral's Clubs, but that isn't the case. Moreover, I don't understand where this idea comes from that outside food inevitably leads to it being left all over the club. In my experience, the vast majority of club-goers simply put it in the trash (myself included). I also disagree with the idea that one needs to be protected from the constant threat of food odors-- it's silly. You'd think from these descriptions that people were sitting around eating durian and kimchee all over the place. Lastly, I think I should have the right to eat in the relative quiet of a club that I pay $400/year or more for the privilege of using.
By the same token though I think I should have the right to relax in the relative quiet if the club I'm paying $400/year for, without having random food odors everywhere, and while it's not durian or kimchee, airport pizza/fast food/fries can be equally obnoxious to smell. The aroma lingers on long after the food is gone. Stale fryer oil isn't aromatherapy. And I don't think they can come up with a rule like "outside food is allowed but only if it smells nice."
If you and I are each paying for the privilege, we have equal claim to an enjoyable atmosphere; because we will define that differently, sometimes you'll be inconvenienced and I'll get what makes me happy, and sometimes it will be reversed. Of course that doesn't apply to folks who like to go barefoot, change babies on tables, or crank the iPhone till the death metal bleeds past the ear buds. Some things are universally annoying. But when your desire to eat in comfort clashes with my desire not to smell your dinner, one of us will be disappointed.