Originally Posted by
d00t
In HKG, the CX lounge revenue business is huge. This is one reason why Qantas improved their lounge a couple years ago despite only a few daily flights. It's to prevent anyone flying Qantas preferring to visit CX lounges where QF would incur a fee.
With only 2x daily flights, it's unlikely that AA generates enough traffic where that approach makes sense.
Originally Posted by
d00t
Pax can be valuable to an airline in a number of ways, either through paid J/F, Bank miles transfers/co-brands etc. There is no right or wrong way where the airline should be actively reverse-discriminating against any form of high-value pax.
I mean, think about it. If lounges are crowded. That is a good problem for the lounge owner.
HKG has no shortage of lounge options, either. Sure beats the heck out of most other airports around the world.
I tend to agree and was more engaging OP as a thought exercise of "well, this is how CX could do it..."
If anything, at a time where CX is trying to cut expenses to try to make a profit, being paid straight up for lounge access instead of having to fold it into the cost of a ticket or elite program as an indirect cost makes the cost/benefit straightforward. It could possibly save CX more money and possibly reduce crowding were they to put THEIR elites in Y into an SQ-style dumbed down lounge. Be careful what you ask for...