PDXPremier

scubadu

Of course "very well said," since it's in support of your point of view; shocking...

The idea that someone doesn't agree with you and will openly challenge you, doesn't make one a "troll." I'm trying to raise a legitimate question, which you of course always prefer to conveniently ignore when raised by me. The fact that my "previous comments in other forums" don't meet your standard for "non-trolling" doesn't de facto mean I'm not raising a legitimate counter point to your perspective. Now, of course you can simply focus on my tone and call me a troll, or you could actually attempt to compose a logical counter point to support your position.

Over the last several years FT seems to be developing a very strong sense of "entitlement." We should get everything we want, when we want, for almost free. We should all be able to be upgraded to first class, we should all be able to easily obtain elite status, we should all have access to quiet, exclusive airport lounges, etc. The problem is that model simply doesn't scale. If everyone is special, nobody is special.

Airport lounges are fixed size, physical spaces that can only accommodate so many human beings. In the early days, they were not crowed because the entry requirements were high (traveling in first class) or expensive (paid memberships). Then Amex Platinum introduced the concept of lounge access via a premium credit card. For awhile it worked because the annual fee remained high ($450 with no "airline" credit) and thus entry remained somewhat controlled, but the wheels were in motion; a broader segment of travelers got a taste of the "good life" behind closed doors. At that point, other credit card companies began looking for ways to compete with American Express for the "premium" credit card customer. Enter Priority Pass (which had existed, but again, was somewhat expensive as a standalone membership) and the idea of premium credit cards charging a high annual fee, but a reasonably low effective fee via a travel or airline "credit." Now the floodgates opened. Furthermore, the early PP model w/Amex did not even include one complimentary guest, you had to pay $27 for a guest, but the new entrants began offering two or unlimited guests. Return to the first sentence of this paragraph; "lounges are fixed size, physical spaces that can only accommodate so many human beings." We now have an unmitigated crowding problem.

The problem is only going to get worse, not better and the problem is not exlusive to AS Clubs, go read the Amex thread on Centurion Lounges. AS may be giving up some incremental revenue by denying PP entrants at PDX, but that incremental revenue is likely not enough to profitably construct a new, larger lounge at the PDX Airport. If that made obvious business sense, they would already be implementing it.

Rather than engage and have a healthy debate, you want to call me a troll and point to "previous posts as proof" but yet, how about some of your previous posts in this thread? Where you say things like,
but seem to conveniently neglect that these type of exploitations contribute to the challenges these programs and benefits face. Do you really think "free grocery shopping" upon returning is the spirit/intent of an airline lounge program? Seriously? And of course it likely couldn't be just you occasionally, but I assume had to be both you and your wife, every return, using two PP cards each time to ensure "maximization" of the benefit, right?

Whether you like my "tone" or not, can you at all step back from merely labeling me as troll and see how those type of abuses will ruin these programs?

So my question for you, and I assure you it's sincere, not trolling, whether you like my delivery/tone or not, is simple;

What outcome do you want from Priority Pass?

Do you want them to:

1) Kick AS out of PP entirely? (thus denying everyone, any chance at all to ever enter the AS clubs, so I guess just a moral victory against "false advertising")
2) Kick AS PDX club out of PP, since it's one of the most difficult to gain entry to (same parenthetical text as above)
3) Grant you a free AS Club membership?
4) Force AS to build larger lounges?
5) Something else?

So, call me a troll if you must and ignore me if you wish, but I suspect there are many others in this thread, whom you don't consider trolls, that might also be interested in your specific, actionable answer to that question...

Regards

jackal

Hi folks,

Let’s remember that the FT rules require us to debate the idea, not the person. People are welcome to post their views and others are welcome to challenge those views, but impugning the motivations behind a person’s posts is crossing the FlyerTalk rules line. Let’s avoid this discussion getting any more personal than it has.

Thanks for your assistance in keeping the AS forum a friendly place.

jackal
Moderator, Alaska Airlines forum

Jailer

Well, yeah, if by "over the last several years" you mean like 20, but that's half the fun.

Denied: PDX Sunday @ 0800. My only question is if I'm now 0 for 1 or, since Mrs. Jailer and youngest jailette are in towage, am I 0 for 3?

Bretmd

Saturday 4/7 N Lounge in SEA
6:15p- priority pass accepted. Lounge was quiet. Gotta love Saturday night.

ctporter

I was in the N lounge at Sea on Friday (around 4:00pm) it was packed, people were sitting on the curved bench seats across from check in, all other seats were taken. Outside in the N concourse it was a zoo, so I could understand why even sitting there was better than out in the terminal. The lounge at LAX was busy on Saturday (around 1:30pm) but not every seat was taken. Lately, each time I have visited an AS lounge it has been about 3/4 - full, which makes me really appreciate that I have access.

SFOPeter

This is indeed pretty annoying mainly because it is not predictable. You usually have to go out of your way to find a lounge at larger airports, and sometimes you plan on working at a lounge during a layover and schedule thing like a phone call to have in the lounge business area.

For some other lounges priority pass lists the times that members are restricted or has a warning that the lounge gets capacity constricted. For example SFO's KLM/AF lounge is often restricted prior to the afternoon AF and KLM flights and it is listed as capacity restricted on the priority pass page: https://www.prioritypass.com/en/Loun...e---KLM-Lounge. Priority pass also indicates that The Club at SEA is capacity constrained from 10am-2pm daily: https://www.prioritypass.com/en/Loun...-Alaska-Lounge

Priority pass should indicate the same for the SEA boardrooms, ideally with hours.

CMK10

I used the SEA D Alaska Lounge from 10:00 am to 12:00 PM on Friday 4/6 with no issues.

Today at 12:50 PM I was walking by and an agent brought out the sign to the entrance. A passenger was just about to enter and she said said "I was just about to come in!". She was turned away.

pushmyredbutton

If you have AS passes in your account, are agents allowed to cut some slack by swiping your PP card instead of pulling the passes? I figure if you're going to enter anyway...might as well make it free...

BOB W

Went to the AL at PDX right when they opened today. Slept for three hours, then went to Capers for breakfast. Sign was out when I left. The waiter said he had taken at least 20 PP cards already today. Typically pitiful offerings at the AL.

PDXPremier

The PDX Alaska Lounge is basically like the LAX lounge in the sense that the sign is out almost all day, but it's more of a "bummer" at LAX which doesn't have the nearby Caper's options....smart move getting to the Alaska Lounge when they opened at 5am...that's about your only chance for entry anymore. I do miss the pancakes in the Alaska Lounge, but Caper's has so pretty tasty bagel breakfast sandwiches at the Market location so I won't whine (too much...lol).

tom911

Entered the Anchorage lounge with Priority Pass at 10:30 this morning without any issues. Lots of seats available.

bmvaughn

This has been FT since forever... it's not new

tom911

Just arrived at the N gates in SEA and the "full house" sign wasn't out here like it was Friday morning, so entered with Priority Pass on this side versus venturing over to the C side and taking my chances. Don't have a gate assignment for my connecting flight yet to know which terminal I'll be departing from.

MJMLBBtoCPH

In the early evening of Thursday, March 29th, I watched a couple in front of me try to access the PDX Alaska "Bored" Room with Priority Pass. When the Alaska employee told them the lounge was currently closed to PP members due to capacity, they started pleading with her that "we just need to charge our phones" and that was all they needed. She suggested they go to the PP restaurants at PDX (where they can get all kinds of stuff), and the couple repeated that they just needed to charge their phones. When told that there are charging stations in the terminal, the couple just repeated the plea again, as if their life depended on it. The couples' plea sounded like when I stop at a gas station and a person comes running up to me emphatically claiming that they just need 5 dollars and 72 cents to get to Grandma's house (though this doesn't happen in Oregon, thankfully, because attendants pump my gas). After the couple left, I was able to enter the lounge with my Alaska card, and the place was fairly packed, so Alaska's actions made sense to me.

I used to have a PP membership with the citi prestige card (a card I discontinued). There were a few times when Alaska denied me entry under a PP card. And thus, I sympathize somewhat with the disappointment. But, I did not blame Alaska. I blamed citibank and their diminishing card benefits. After cancelling the card, I decided to buy the SUPER CHEAP lounge membership that Alaska offers to MVP Gold elites. I mean, it is SUPER CHEAP compared to other airline lounge memberships. It's a super deal since I fly so much. And, there are lots of Admirals Clubs that I have also used. Would it be better if Alaska had a bigger PDX lounge? Sure. But, Alaska is a smaller airline. At any rate, the people at the PDX lounge are nice, and I often see the same employees there every week. I like it.

For PP members, the entities to direct blame at are both Priority Pass and the credit cards. I once was denied entry to a United Lounge holding a United day pass given out by the United credit card! haha! Apparently, the United Lounge was only letting in paid memberships due to capacity. You get what you paid for. I fully expect at some point in the future for Alaska members to either lose or encounter more restricted access to Admirals Clubs, as Alaska's cheap lounge membership seems unsustainable to me.