The most critical need at DCA is upgrading the food offerings. IMHO, they could put in a self-service bar! I haven't seen the bar crowded all that often but the club could use more room. Apart from that it's a good club.

I've seen twenty people in line to get drinks with the line stretching back halfway across the club at DCA.

Some of this crowding is DL's fault, sad to say. Those of us who don't (or in my case, rarely) drink alcohol still have to grovel up to the bar in most clubs for a soda in those clubs without a dispenser.

However, the longer lines cause less soda and less alcohol to be consumed, saving DL money. Maybe it's deliberate.

Dang it! I booked DCA>MSN this Friday partially because of the direct flight and partially because of having some time before the flight to enjoy a sip in the lounge. My work is in Baltimore so it's a bit of a hike to DCA for the direct. I probably would have flown BWI>DTW>MSN if I had known.

If you're DM you can try to SDC onto the BWI connection using the (unpublished?) co-terminal benefit. Note that SDC from a nonstop onto a connection is allowed but not the reverse.

IIRC BWI has (re)opened a lounge that accepts either PP or the AmEx Plat charge card.

I never know what I'm doing. Of course BWI has a PP lounge and I've used it. I just forgot. They have Freixenet for free at the bar which is a tolerable affordable sparkler. It's a bit small but big enough. My main problem with BWI is the fitness facility (paid) which I feel compelled to use to compensate for my PDB and in-flight indulgences, and then I get on the plane and start cramping because I'm running late and don't stretch lol.

This is why the new Sky Club designs that require lounge patrons to stand in line for a non-alcoholic Coke or Diet Coke are stupid and poorly thought out.

No. The plan is that the longer lines will save DL money on Coke as well as alcoholic beverages.

Fountain beverage pop costs maybe a penny a glass.

One cent times a very large number of people can be a significant amount of money to save.

Taco bell manages to stay in business despite having thinner margins and having their soda fountain out in the store where people can get unlimited refills on demand.

I seriously doubt this is a cost saving measure. The labor of having a human handle every soda plus the extra glasses that need to be washed (usually they give you a clean glass rather than just refilling the glass you already used) would more that outweigh any savings from frustrated customers giving up and skipping a 2nd glass.

There is already window seating facing the city. If you moved the bar to the windows, the bar would block the view, wouldn't it??

I've been in the DCA SC more than any other club and have never experienced this. The worst I've ever seen is ~5, where people usually form an orderly line in the middle of the bar stools.

Are you familiar with the phrase penny smart dollar foolish?

I'm nearly certain that saving on quantity is not the reason. If there is a cost reason it could be that having 2-3 soda machines per club is more expensive than having 1-2 both from a capital cost and a maintenance standpoint. The actual cost of the soda is so negligible that the labor to distribute it manually is certainly more.

It goes with the aesthetic to not look like McDonald's lobby with public soda fountains, it goes with the service ambience to have staff dispense it since they need soda anyway for their mixed drinks.

The cost of a fountain soda is roughly $0.12 per drink. I have no doubt that those cookies which taunt me or the pimento cheese I can't stop eating in the ATL clubs costs more per serving.

The iced tea costs roughly the same and is freely available but that's because it looks classier in a glass container and the bartenders don't need it.