Originally Posted by TheViperOne

I also sent in an email about boarding/Lounges to Mark Nasr and got this reply from Scott O’Leary today (VP loyalty and product). I’m curious if anyone else that sent a message in got a similar reply.


Thank you for your email. I was discussing the topics you raised today with Mark (copied), and I hope you do not mind that I’m responding to you directly.



First, on the topic of our hub lounges, you are right – they are overcrowded. This is an industry-level phenomena, and we have studied this quite a bit. You may find it interesting that our overall visits are actually lower vs. 2019, and premium credit cardholders continue to be an insignificant minority of visits. Our main driver of overcrowding is actually dwell time -- meaning our customers are spending more time in our lounges than ever before. While flight delays can add to this, most of our increased visit durations come from much earlier arrival times at the airport and longer flight connection times. We’re hopeful these behaviours will return to normal over time, but we’re not banking on that alone. For now all I can ask is that you please stay tuned, because you’re going to see us focusing efforts on a number of fronts in the year ahead to ensure our lounges are more consistently available to eligible customers. Especially for our Super Elites.



Next, on the topic of boarding, we agree with you that one of the top benefits of being a Super Elite is boarding in Zone 1 (and having Zone 1 really mean Zone 1). At the same time, we are continually looking at ways to make the process of accommodating families travelling with small children more efficient and less stressful. It’s a noble task -- maybe impossible – but we’re committed to finding a way to do it that does not degrade the top tier Elite and Business Class customer experience. This is something we will test extensively before ever considering a permanent change, and to that point, please know that your feedback is very well noted.



Thank you for your loyalty, and for taking the time to share this feedback with us.



Best,

Scott