fnaime23

I finally made *G and was doing a layover in ORD. I grabbed a sandwich from famous tort as fronteras and headed for the lounge to enjoy my sandwich while i waited for my flight. When I get to the lounge front desk I'm told outside food is not allowed because we contract. I wasn't too sure what that meant since I had read that there is only snacks and drinks inside.

Apparently I had to go back up stairs to eat my sandwich, I wasn't allowed to eat it on the waiting seats outside the lounge. After I finished my sandwich and headed back into the lounge, I went looking for the food they contract, expecting a restaurant counter or a some food that I may have to pay for. But nothing.

My question, if there really isn't any food you can buy in there, or any real food, why is an outside sandwich not allowed??

this is in the lounge by gate B18

daniellam

Perhaps this policy was left over from the days when the RCC probably still served real food?

Maybe next time you should bring a fancy shopping bag to hide your outside food.

AirMiles2001

Because someone is going to always abuse it and bring in some gawd awful stinky food.

dimramon

I personally don't think it's a bad idea... I really don't want someone stinking up the place with their McDonalds...

WineCountryUA

Look at any food court seating area and ask if this is what you want the lounge to look like. While you might clean up, there are plenty who will not. And yes the staff can do the cleanup but probably means more staffing and costs.

mbluecpa

This. I was stopped at one of the IAH clubs as I was entering with a small shopping bag containing a sealed plastic container of pastries (not intending to consume en route). The agent offered to keep the bag behind the desk. At first, I thought it a little heavy-handed, but then I figured they must see the works trying to come through and thus make no exceptions. Can't really blame them.

worldtrav

One of the best policies out there, I only wish the contract lounge staff could challenge the ones that sneak in food, or at least get someone from UA to kick them out. Tired of seeing them spill this stuff all over the chairs/table/carpet and just walk away. The clubs aren't staffed to clean up this mess they leave.

Bttc

My money is on liability issues; if someone gets sick, they don't want to risk getting blames.

Plane-is-home

I do agree with the no food policy, but I disagree with this comparison for the DEN UCs. The local food court has way cleaner seats and overall appearance than the 2 UCs.

halls120

Back when ATL had a very small RCC, one of the matrons used to look the other way when her customers brought outside food in. ^^

mrswirl

Was just at the east DEN RCC a few hours ago and some of the tables were literally mounded with trash, empty plates & glasses, etc. It was really quite disgusting. Some people can be absolute pigs - makes me wonder what their houses look like.

For this I pay $350 a year?

User Name

You pay $350 a year to use a lounge with snacks so crap that people want to sneak McDonalds in?

OskiBear

All you need to do is watch an episode of Hoarders to see their houses.

I do find the staff in the RCC at LAX to be very diligent. More often than not, if I'm slow in consuming my beverage or snacks, someone's already about to take it away.

Phil Level

Often I bring outside food to eat on the plane since what they serve is, more often than not, terrible. A NYC deli sandwich is, more often than not, better than the meal served in PS C/F.

Often that same food is in my carry on when I get to the UC. If my flight is delayed for over an hour or two, I'll consume it in the UC, but discretely, and I clean up after myself. The only evidence would be in the garbage pail.

mikew99

When I moved over from UA to AA, I was surprised to find that Admirals Clubs do not seem to prohibit outside food -- at least, I've never seen any rule stating so. In fact, the ACs themselves actually sell food (real meals, not just snacks) and provide a proper dining area for enjoying it.

I have not encountered any issues at ACs due to this policy, but it has left me wondering why bringing in outside food presents a problem for UCs when it clearly is not a problem for the ACs I frequent.