soitgoes

Something is 'planned'...but just a very vague statement on the ONT website:
"Important Parking & Lounge Update:
Our online pre-book parking and Escape Lounge services are currently unavailable. You can still drive up and self-park in any of our lots. New, refreshed and upgraded experiences for these amenities are coming! Get curb-to-gate in minutes with our close-to-terminal parking and after security, enjoy a bite from one of our restaurants. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for choosing ONT."
https://www.flyontario.com/parking-transports

Robt760

As of June 21, 2021, Both Escape Lounges at ONT Airport are permanently closed, per Media Relations at Escape USA.

I would say don’t expect any contractor like The Club to take over. Also, don’t expect these to turn over to the new Centurion/Escape Studios concept. Ontario doesn’t have enough premium traffic or enough substantial International flights to have anybody open these lounges again for some time.

Here is the message from Escape USA:

We regret to share that Escape Lounge ONT, in both Terminal 2 and Terminal 4, are permanently closed. We would like to apologize to any customers who have or will be inconvenienced as a result. Great memories have been made at both lounges and we will miss welcoming guests through our doors at ONT.

Point of info update 8/18/21- I was told by an employee of the contract company that there was a tie-in for Escape with the parking, and Escape Lounge for the ONT contract. ONT airport management pulled the plug on the contract because they didn't like the terms of the parking aspect of the contract. Unfortunately, Escape sunk a huge amount of money in to make the lounges come together/open. They were not willing to re-negotiate what ONT wanted based on the volume of business the lounges were getting.

As a side note, ONT management in board are on their high horse, stubborn like old post office workers. They have a monopoly on the parking in all areas and nobody wants to play ball with them. Sunrise Parking was my go-to ($9 day). Park n Fly next ( $12 a day). Both said bye bye suckah to ONT.

m907

Has anyone heard when PVD will reopen?

imnotalawyer

It appears as if the majority of Escape Lounges (8 out of 11) are still temporarily closed. I would imagine that this is a policy driven by either low traffic or inadequate staffing, rather than any lingering COVID concerns. I say that because, at least in our neck of the woods (Bradley is my home base), vaccination and infection stats are all some of the best in the country.

As I wondered aloud above, I am curious if formally being brought under the Amex branding will push them towards more harmonized standards (and reopening sooner)?

Kacee

Yeah, ONT's been dying a slow death for years, since LAWA abandoned plans to turn it into an LAX alternative. It served over 7 million pax in 2007 and has never come close to that again.

Steve M

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Escape lounge at RNO open in May. It had just re-opened post-COVID shutdown. RNO's passenger count pre-COVID was 4.5 million a year, so not really a large airport. I was happy to have it available.

dw

I would hope so (re the reopenings), but then again, I’m still trying to figure out why Amex closed the LAX CL ;-)

notquiteaff

I dunno, I got the impression (from Cranky blog mostly) that they were working on a turnaround. Pax numbers had been improving in recent pre-pandemic years. I have family in the area and much prefer ONT over the various other SoCal airports.


https://www.flyontario.com/corporate/statistics

One of the Escape lounges in ONT is one of the few in the Escape system I have actually visited, and I was quite impressed (compared to Club offerings elsewhere). So it’s a bit sad for me personally that they are gone.

MSPeconomist

RNO might get a higher than average proportion of passengers who pay for access after a lucky gambling trip or luxury ski trip.

m907

They might be remodeling now that they're re-branding. American Express has a history of not announcing these things until right before they open (like the DEN lounge).

chrisl137

LAWA was actively trying to kill ONT, not turn it into an LAX alternative. Since the city of Ontario got control back they've been doing a good job of turning it around. It's not quite as convenient to the west SGV as Burbank, but it's bigger and doesn't have curfew issues and is way easier to deal with than LAX. I currently have 7 trips booked for the rest of this year, and 5 of them are out of ONT instead of LAX or BUR (which is the closest airport to me). Getting to ONT is easier than LAX, and sometimes even easier than BUR, and the expensive parking that's 100 feet from the terminal costs the same as off-airport parking at LAX and is more convenient - LAWA has left us without any economy lots since the pandemic started. While LAX and BUR closed their economy lots, you could park in the ONT not-quite-premium lots for $12/day (vs $40 at LAX) and be airside 5 minutes from your car. Now that traffic is picking up, the cheap lots at ONT are about a mile from T2 but still close, and cheaper than LAX. The terminals are more spacious inside than BUR, there's real precheck, and there's actual food airside where AS is in T2, unlike Terminal B at BUR.

kennycrudup

When I used to fly back to the SFBA when I used to live there, every person (and never that many) in the Escape lounge was also on my flight to SJC- I really believe that was their largest source of pax.

TravelingZoomer

Thank goodness BDL is open again! That place is such a small gem the staff are so nice there

bocastephen

ONT has been growing like crazy since it was rescued from the LAWA bureaucrats. I can't think of anyone who prefers LAX over ONT and given the shift in population growth to the Inland Empire and high desert, the ONT catchment area probably rivals that of LAX who needs to share its catchment with better alternatives in Orange County, Long Beach and Burbank. LAX is a perpetual disaster in slow motion and one of the worst managed airports in the country.

I often selected a one-stop ex-ONT vs a LAX non-stop with the expectation of visiting the Escape Lounge which was often busy without being crowded, and the entire experience at this airport and these lounges was 99% less stressful than dealing with LAX.

The loss of these lounges is a major problem. I hope Amex reconsiders this decision. At the very least they could have approached UA, AS and DL about sharing the cost in exchange for admitting those airline's club members at least in Terminal 2, pending the restoration of service from China (Taiwan) Airlines post-virus.

taxare

I was there last week with my wife. You scan the menu on your phone and they take your order and bring it to you. The food was solid, included drinks were fine and the staff were very helpful and nice. One minor item is the restrooms are across the hall, but since the airport wasn't crowded it wasn't a big deal.