Adelphos

On a Sunday morning, most of these guests are probably leisure travelers looking for a quick coffee or breakfast sandwich or something before a flight.

1) All airlines should work with airports to make sure that airport food outlets are back to full staff and hours of operations as quickly as possible
2) Clubs should incentivize grab and go. Let customers come in and get a bottle of water, to go coffee, a wrapped breakfast sandwich or bagel, cup of yogurt, whatever. Critically encourage customers to bring it onboard
3) Expand food and drink offerings onboard. Every seat, not just F, should have a small bottle of Dasani upon boarding. Offer attractive options like granola bars and such throughout the cabin for purchase

jetsfan92588

I just got my second Reserve card and my wife recently got a Delta Platinum. Credit cards, even those with high annual fees, are pretty sticky. I don't foresee Amex losing customers in droves because of SC crowding.

Justin026

We all know that the clubs in 2019, at a time of record travel demand, had no lines. I don’t think cards and status have much to do with the current situation. What is different is that the club food offerings are much better, and free of charge. And the other airport offerings are much worse, and much more expensive than they were.

This is why we have a jam at a club on Sunday morning at 9 am. Airport concessions are still half-closed down, short-staffed and also have horrible lines at their peak times. Not too many years ago, there was a trend for airports to require that concession charges be the same as their outlets in adjacent, off-airport areas. Over time, concessionaires have instead brought in mystery brands that don’t exist away from the airport to avoid comparison. And familiar chains have simply dropped their lower cost menu items. And raised prices for what is left.

lindros2

Glad I reinvigorated the thread.
Note that what makes this worse is ATL Terminal D. It's super narrow, and now starting a ~$150m+ renovation/widening (Reporter Newspapers said "$40m" which is incorrect - that's only the Fed part; AJC hasn't provided an update).

Not sure how they're going to manage the ramp areas (i.e. if they'll widen outside, which moves D closer to C and E)...
https://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta-air...J5GX2AOIJOHZI/

VFR

It's a multi-factor problem. I agree that airport concessions being either expensive or closed drives people to the clubs. I'd also add the increased proportion of leisure travelers compared to 2019, and the need to arrive at the airport earlier due to variability in security (and check-in for some folks).

Anecdotally though, I haven't seen a line at the Admirals Club (excepting when the CLT club was under construction), and they have the same issues noted above. I am not sure that I believe the elevated food offerings over the Admirals Club is the main reason the Sky Club is comparatively more crowded. If you compare the Sky Club access policy with the Admirals Club access policy, the main difference seems to be that DL allows access to Amex Platinum cardholders. AA is more liberal in access to other groups: their base membership and co-brand credit card both allow 2 guests, they allow non-AA/AS alliance elites access on any itinerary, and they have free additional cardmembers on their co-brand card who also get access with two guests.

I don't think Delta is going to get rid of Amex Platinum Sky Club access though; it's a way to capture people who are not engaged enough with the brand to get their co-brand credit card, and the additional revenue from Amex is probably significant (e.g. ~$60 worth of Sky Club admission on a $100 RT BOS-LGA ticket is a nice bump to revenue. The per-swipe payment structure and reimbursement amount are both conjecture).

Full disclosure: I access the Sky Club with an Amex Platinum.

ijgordon

They could also offer free on-board food (the snack boxes or whatever) for members/Plat card holders. Oh wait, they do give a $200 annual credit that can be used for BoB.

El Boocho

That must’ve been a long time ago at LAX. I’ve been flying in and out at LAX regularly since 2001 and I don’t recall a premium section or lounge in that time period. The area in the back by the showers was sometimes roped off, but I don’t think that could’ve been the premium area. It was quite small and had no windows.

I do recall the BE lounges in ATL, CVG and JFK, and I think maybe even Dallas.

CMK10

A line to get into that truly miserable basement Club should be illegal.

NYC Flyer

Yup, that was the location in the early/mid '90s. Just open in the hours prior to the NRT flight (and maybe FRA when that operated). I never got a look inside, as I was generally flying to/from SFO or LAS, and don't know what kind of exotic amenities were provided--there was definitely a rope and sign indicating the area was for Tokyo-bound first class passengers. Presumably business class passengers were stuck in the main Crown Room section, although at the time, maybe they didn't even get that invite.

xliioper

BusinessElite was announced in 1998. Archive snapshots of delta-air.com from that period only mention ATL and JFK locations. They had a "Business" class before then, but it was nothing truly special and certainly not "Elite" when compared to First Class and they didn't have separate lounges dedicated solely to Business (Medallion) class -- https://www.deltamuseum.org/exhibits...ervice-classes

NYC Flyer

They opened one at CVG as well. With only the FRA flight, I doubt DFW ever had a BusinessElite lounge, but I can't say for sure.

Flyertalk: CVG BusinessElite Lounge

TommyD2

If only we knew a lawyer

AvalancheDog

Based on my call to Amex on Thursday, absolutely not. I'm up for renewal on Reserve, so I was curious if they'd do anything because of the lines. The agent simply did not care to discuss it with me. He said I could file 'incident reports' that he could pass on to his supervisors. I said: 'You've told me everything I need to know.' If Amex reads the results of the online survey regarding the call and reaches out, I'd be surprised.

Fraser

Saw this earlier…

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cfcce...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I was at the JFK Centurion Lounge on Friday around 5pm and there was a line of about 10 people. Annoyingly it seemed a lot of people were chancing it or not aware of the entry requirements. The guy ahead of me had a Green Card! Because the Amex people are helpful he spent some time trying to figure out how this guy could get in a lounge (I heard them mention Sky Priority) and that backed the line up further. It’s almost as if they need someone to comb the line to ensure passengers are eligible.

Adelphos

I think I mentioned this earlier but almost every time I am visiting a SkyClub they are turning people away for lack of access. The most common issues appear to be some Amex cards that is not eligible, Delta status alone, and an ineligible first class international ticket (Caribbean, etc)