Originally Posted by
rylan
You know, some people are never going to be pleased with the skyclub unless its turned into something akin to a country club where you walk in and there are only a dozen other members and the staff knows everyone...
Its a US airport, what do you want? I think DL has done a pretty good job overall with the skyclubs. Sure there are locations that at times are rough and can be handled better, but most arent' like that.
Getting away from an environment that is crowded and busy is like at least half of what makes a lounge. Airlines know this and hence they advertise lounges with phrases like:
"Looking for a retreat before your flight?" (Delta)
"While waiting for your flight, recharge in a relaxing environment" (United)
"When you enter our lounge you are greeted with calm and tranquil surroundings..." (BA)
To achieve that type of experience you need to restrict access a bit to keep the crowds under control. Credit card deals make that a lot harder because those numbers aren't as easily calculated as premium class flyers on a given day at a given time in a given terminal.
At the moment these U.S. lounges often say "same atmosphere as the rest of the airport but more yuppies and less poor people". In fact, the JFK T4 Sky Club may be louder and busier than some other parts of the airport in mid afternoon. That can't be the goal, can it?