LlamaJesus

32 must be half capacity, right? I'm guessing normal 'full' capacity is ~80, then they need to use a few of the spots for staff. (I'm completely guessing on this so could be way off.) My bigger question is why so many people are flying out of PHL at 7am on a Tuesday, lol. Even if people are getting there 3 hours before their flights just to get a free breakfast, I'm still surprised given the lack of European flights (not like any are leaving that early anyway) and the fact that, well, it was a Tuesday!

RedSun

I thought the capacity would be much higher. But if your numbers were true, then we get serious issues. Maybe folks have to wait outside the lounge a couple of hours waiting to get in. To some people, it may worth the wait.

chewy3

Does anyone know if the hours have been extended yet? Pretty ridiculous that flights are now full at all hours and it still closes at 4:30p.

iahphx

No, but I queried them closely and they told me I was "number one" on the waitlist. Since I had only 20 minutes anyway, I stood in the hallway outside the lounge and waited for someone to leave. As soon as they did, I walked up to the desk, pointed out the departing pax, and they let me in.

To my knowledge, the PHL hours have NOT yet been extended. Some of their other lounges have similar strange hours, but they do seem to be extending them. I think LAS is now to 6 pm (which, obviously, is still too early).

The current system is obviously going to lead to much unhappiness. Unlike most cardholders, I've been using the Lounges throughout the pandemic (at least when they've been opened). And now I'm unhappy because the rules -- at least in Philly -- now make it almost impossible for me to use the Lounge. For most cardholders, though, this will likely be their first opportunity to use the Lounge (for which they've paid a lot of money to use) and they will be surprised and unhappy to be turned away.

SP03

Stopped by the CL this morning and was told there’s a 30 min wait. This means that you have to arrive at least 30 mins in advance if you want to use the lounge. Most airlines board at least 30 mins before departure, and if you add some walking between CL and the gate that means you have to arrive an extra hour early to enter the lounge. I’m just not sure if it’s worth it. It’s no longer a relaxing lounge before flight but more of a grab and go experience now.

iahphx

Any recent experiences with the capacity? I have a morning flight out of PHL next week. I won't have time to wait on a Centurion wait list. Unless they've increased capacity, I (sadly) guess I'm headed for a bagel at the Admirals Club.

Flying Machine

LAX is only open for grab and go, do they offer anything like that instead of going on the list. I know the club is quite small and seating is being distanced. The staff is so nice there, I would assume they have something like that for those who don’t want to wait.Keep us posted, I won’t be in the lounge until sometime in July

iahphx

Unless something has just changed, there's no grab and go at the PHL lounge. They did offer that for a brief period when they weren't allowing people to eat in the Lounge. That said, it's a brilliant idea for this lounge, especially with the severe capacity restrictions. I would think there's nothing worse than an infrequent Platinum cardholder showing up and being told "no, you can't actually use your lounge benefit, because there's an hour wait to get in." If they handed them a nice grab and go bag (like they were offering before) that cardholder would likely be much happier. And there might even be room in the Lounge because some of the people sitting there would have taken the grab and go instead. Seems like a good way to deal with their perennial overcrowding problem.

Flying Machine

For some reason I think you’re going to be discussing this with them next week at PHL

Spac3d

They were not limiting entrants when I was there this week. There were a handful of seating locations that were restricted for social distancing, but it was maybe 10%

Flying Machine

That’s a good sign, how was the food offerings?

golfingboy

Echoing the 4:30pm closure time is ridiculous. The airport is bustling and there are hundreds of flights departing after 5pm.

iahphx

So the capacity controls have gone "poof"? Wow, that would be big news. I guess I'll stop by this week and confirm.

Ridiculous airline lounge closing times are a nationwide problem. In PBI this week the new AMEX Escape lounge closed at 3:30 pm. We've got 1.8 million daily flyers now. Maybe everyone is short staffed?

iahphx

Sadly, there' still is a capacity limit at the PHL lounge. It has been raised from 32 to 50. I was able to get in midweek at 8:00 a.m. without waiting. At the moment, they have eliminated the pre-check line at terminal a. You need to go to terminal c.

Flying Machine

That’s a bummer about the pre-check in terminal A. I’ve always been a big fan as I’ve never waited it in the morning, once your out short walk to the Centurion Lounge