Originally Posted by
LAX_AUS_DL_FLYER
Still trying to figure out the food situation in the restaurant. If you order off the menu, is the food also comped as well and all you have to leave is a tip? For me, I really don't like pigging out on the ground before getting on the plane and then being served more food on board. I'm sure many others are like me as well. I wonder if the bean counters have looked at food catering expenses because it truly seems like there could be a lot of food wasted at the end of the day inside the lounge.
You do not have to leave a tip but generally in the USA you are supposed to. I do not, unless the bar is making a complex drink or something and I'm on my 3rd or 4th. I, or my customer, are paying good money for the ticket so I should feel welcome as a guest in the company's lounge without having to worry about anything but my own damn comfort. And the staff and their professional service in the polaris lounges reflect this mantra.
Sure, many are like you when it comes to eating reheated food v. made to order food on the ground, but I would say the majority of frequent flyers would rather pig out on the ground where the food is more fresh and delicious and one can choose from dozens and dozens of items at an airport, than the 3-4 that you would get reheated to you on the plane. Plus this allows for more sleep/work/drink/recline and watch a movie time. Plane food makes me bloated and constipated. Further the polaris lounge is also for arrivals, so it's nice to have a meal made to order after a sin-sfo or something.And based on a recent trip, the breakfast was nice! Fresh-ish.
Finally the cost of preparing a meal in an airport terminal kitchen is much cheaper than catering one in a commissary then putting it on the plane. Maybe someone else who knows more can explain whether that meal you did not consume would be re-cycled onto another flight.
Pay for Polaris access only makes sense if you pay for a business class flight PERioT this has been the plan from the very beginning. It's an amenity for their top tier customers.
Also if, for example, an SQ customer comes in, SQ pays UA for that lounge use.