Originally Posted by
FlyingBeanCounter
The lounge dumpster fire probably started about 5 years ago. That is when many airlines had capacity and they got the bright idea to sell it. Remember the day passes for $69 for a family in MCO? Flying out of there was AWFUL at certain times as there were 60,000 kids in the lounge.
If you look at UA, their lounges are still paid (I know because I pay for it). I am not awarded access for being a 1k. About the only thing I get from them is a cut rate on the lounge annual fee because of my status. Those lounges actually kick credit card pass holders out at certain times due to crowding. Sure, there is still crowding but honestly it is less stressful than a DL lounge. It is also a much shorter line.
The amex comment about DL is interesting. UA and AA survive and they are no where near as entangled with credit cards (but they do have them). Maybe DL should focus on delivering a quality product at a reasonable price. Honestly, if they have to rely on a credit card company to survive they probably should not.
Airlines have been selling day passes to lounges for far longer than the last five years. Hyatt used to give away United Club passes with status. AMEX Platinum cards used to get you access to Continental, American, and US Airways lounges at one point or another. Continental lounge access was available with Priority Pass as recently as 2011. Do a quick search and you'll find people complaining about lines and overcrowding at DL lounges in 2015, which is eight years ago now. DL *eliminated* day passes five years ago. This is nothing new.
I'm not sure what "DL should focus on delivering a quality product at a reasonable price" means. DL just posted their most profitable quarter in company history. For whatever frustrations many (myself included) have with their post-COVID product, it seems like they do quite a good job of pricing their product and earning revenue from non-airline related activities.
As for "relying on a credit card company to survive,"
every major airline in the Americas has had to rely on some source of funding and/or bankruptcy post-9/11. I'm not sure why DL relying on AMEX in those moments by selling them billions of miles in advance and then continuing to make money from a successful relationship while further entrenching customer behavior is a bad thing, but you may want to do more research into this topic.