SFO777

Dealing with the City of Chicago is probably the biggest obstacle.
An ORD LH CS agent confided to me that LH wanted their own ORD lounge but has been frustrated trying to deal with the city.

Shareholder

I think the OP is dreaming if he expects UCs to meet the same standards as the Amex Centurion Clubs. It would be nice but hardly viable for UA. Amex operates these prestige clubs at a loss, but also as a promotional tool for their two premium cards. Similarly, UA's margins are not as fat as those of its overseas competitors whose limited lounge systems are of higher calibre...but they are catering to primarily premium fare-paying customers, certainly not the case with UA...even though it charges $300++ per year for UC membership (but also gives free access to its non-members flying outside the US as STARGolds).

UA and AA both have upper tier clubs for their overseas F customers which come close to the calibre of the Centurion Clubs but that's not going to percolate down to the UCs.

dank0014

This. ORD is under the authority of City of Chicago Department of Aviation which falls under City of Chicago, and also includes the County of Cook and DePage, thus approval for such things are very difficult to obtain for anything. It took them long enough to move the T5 reno which was years and years of approval to get food items airside.

Plus, for Amex to get a lounge there, where would one propose? Space is extremely limited. I can't find exact article, but the Tribune had something in late 2014 about the space currently being 98% occupied with a number of prospective tenants awaiting opportunity to open in either T1/T2/T3.

Overall, I am actually pleased with was the UA clubs do offer at current state. I use them for the Wifi, small snacks, and a place to sit - I am able to achieve each of those things. If I wanted a higher level of service, there are other options available to me that can serve that at many large airports.

Shareholder

Admirals Clubs are still doing a booming business at DFW and LGA where there are Centurion Clubs so little likelihood of that happening if new ones are co-located in UA terminal areas.

SFO777

Not sure how you know that they are doing "a booming business". They might be occasionally crowded but what does that really mean?
There are all sorts of ways to gain access that don't involve paid AC membership.

SFHokie

If you're trying to compete with other domestic airlines, especially for top dollar last-minute business fares, having a more distinguished lounge should be easier --and cheaper-- than improving the onboard product. (Though both could/should be enhanced.)

Agreed! Though I've only been to the Int'l F lounge at HKG :-D Can't say much about the business class lounge, expect they share the same lav.

For its next location, if they further expand, AMEX will likely look to see where a majority of their Platinum and Centurion card carrying/paying members live. It wouldn't make sense to open a club at a location with no members.

Personally, using SFO as my "home" airport, I really am glad about this new lounge. I'll continue to have both memberships, mainly because of the Chase United Club credit card benefits (club access, low apr -- mine is 5.28% and has never changed in 4+ years, delayed trip benefits) and access to the Centurion lounges where over the course of a year I'll easily drink my share of the annual fee in good wine!

Baze

But what about locations where a lot of their members connect through? A lot of people from SFO connect through ORD/DEN/IAH on the UA side of things. Don't you think they would like a nice Centurion lounge while they wait for their connection. If they only limit it to cities where there are lot of members they would be missing out on a lot of traffic.

SFHokie

You have a valid point and the only way they would know that information is data from American Express Travel data; it's unlikely UA, DL, AA, etc., would share that with them. Not sure how reliable that data would be compared to the home addresses of their card members.

bldr1k

If Amex opens a few more (especially DEN) I would consider switching. Internationally I get into one of the Star Alliance lounges for free, so I only care about the UC for domestic flights.

mre5765

We are talking about UCs. Every AC I've been in, especially the ones at DFW, are superior to UCs. Regardless, ...

I haven't found the D concourse AC in DFW to be crowded.

Stop flying ex-DEN and start flying ex-COS. Free lounge access to 1Ks, EXPs, and Diamonds.

krazykanuck

They could go far beyond the Amex Travel itineraries and look at the amex transaction data for merchants whose addresses coincide with an airport terminal (IIRC merchants at IAH are all XXX N TERMINAL DR or something similar). In the era of big data, that hardly seems like an insurmountable task.

But back to the thread, I think you'd really have to look at the cost/benefit of United upgrading the UCs. We've seen nothing but cuts for years and when I go into them now, they are just as packed as ever, if not more so than before.

mduell

If only the Amex lounges were available at a variety of airports and terminals I actually fly to in a given year.

I dumped both my UC membership and Amex plat this year due to lack of value following declines in the offering. I'm now a kayaker within the airport for food and drink, with free wifi or Tmo tethering for internet.

Sure, domestic airlines like United operate quality lounges in locations like HKG.

Suggestions for improvement are easy:
- Replace all the furniture, especially at PMPC locations
- Add showers to the PMRCC locations at hubs
- Expand the size in locations with constant overcrowding
- Add quality paid food options, like seriously even a decent sandwich or salad
- Bring the complimentary drink options back up to drinkable
- Faster wifi without the logon annoyance

The brand has followed the product - fix the product.

elCheapoDeluxe

I keep my UC membership for one reason: expedited re-routing assistance during weather / mis-connects / adverse events, etc. I can get the 1K line to do some of the work, but some things at the end often require a person in front of you - particularly if you are getting rerouted on another carrier and need a ticket endorsed over. 80% of my trips I don't even bother going in - that's how appealing they are. But... can Amex do better? Back to that one reason....

SFHokie

The Amex Centurion lounge is definitely better than the UC clubs at SFO; it's not even a fair comparison! The only big difference is in the case of re-routing as you mention. The Amex agents might be able to help, but the UC staff would be better equipped and likely be faster at it.

demkr

It's amazing how much effort AA and DL have put into their lounges. Quite frankly, the UC's at SFO are nothing to write home about, particularly the older one. Crowded, uninspiring decor, indifferent staff.

Amex Lounge is fantastic.