(bolding mine)

"Not needed", I'm sure, as the LARGE, NEW and IMPROVED permanent club "is about to open".....sometime........eventually....

"As to why it’s taken so long for United to ramp up its club operations, Dorow explained that it’s because of how the carrier consolidated its hub operations so quickly." This is a very weak explanation for why United specifically is somehow in a different state of affairs and having more difficulty opening lounges vs. Delta and American. Sounds like poor planning, lack of agility in ramping up operations and an unwillingness to add back cost or invest a bit in accelerating reopening.

Honestly I don't think I know what that quote means. To me it reads like a grab bag of handwave-y business buzzwords.

Of course I agree that the fundamental issue is stingy cost-savings, but he isn't going say that.

I suspect it all comes down to cost. UA initially took a very different approach from AA and DL, which were willing to eat the cost of paying to staff nearly empty lounges because they saw value in continuing to provide lounge access to their most frequent flyers. Now I suspect UA is starting to realize that while its approach saved cash in the short run, it has resulted in an ongoing competitive hit. But it's still ruled by the bean-counter mentality, which has been the airline's defining characteristic ever since the CO acquisition).

Looking forward to the LAS UC being open when we go there in late July, returning on the redeye from there. How is the size of that club compare to let's say IAH terminal C or the DEN clubs?

I agree completely and United has always been overly optimistic with dates and has missed quite a few......I remember just how painfully slow the rollout of Polaris Lounges was and updating aircraft with Polaris seating was almost a joke for several years. I still recall United’s promises at the Polaris Brown Palace event in Denver some time back......between the delays, cutbacks, COVID and cost reductions, there is not many of those promises left. My extended - extended United Club membership expires in June.

This just confirms my move to Delta was right for me. The grass isn’t necessarily much greener at Delta, but at least there is grass......

I am reminded of the comment I read years ago and have quoted here a number of times: “ I am always amazed at how much a company will pay in advertising to get me to come to their store...when, if they had just treated me right, i would have never left”

DEN

SIze doesn't matter - the question is; "can it handle guests at that airport w/o overcrowding?". LAS can, and without conventions in full gear, there will be zero overcrowding. Even with big conventions pre-pandemic, the LAS club could handle all eligible guests. If your sole interest for whatever reason is square footage w/o any tie to demand, the Club is smaller than IAH C or DEN's, and more the size of UA's SFO E-gate Club (currently closed). Actually, now that I think about, those two Clubs are a perfect example of wondering about Club size alone is useless. SFO E can get super crowded and LAS never gets to that point. About same size.

I'm aware, but the article says "Gate C3" multiple times.

Thanks. That's pretty much what I was asking, in not so clear English words. As long as it can handle the crowds, that's great. My flight out is at 1am, so my plan was to stay there a few hours before it closes, whenever time that will be.

"it’s because of how the carrier consolidated its hub operations so quickly."

In regular speak, he is saying they drastically cut flights and spending and are reluctant to bring any spending back, such as by reopening clubs or restoring services, such as F&B on long haul flights. And since UA has never competed on quality, only route network, no one would expect otherwise.

Those Polaris lounges will never open. He said that “they take far longer to get prepared than a United club”. Something like that. He said they will start preparing the. In second half of 2021. That means they Will done being prepared in 2024.

Has anyone ever heard Scott Kirby talk about "expanding" or "increasing" anything? I don't think Kirby cares about pax, demand or club lounges.

Kirby talks about "reducing", "removing" and "culprits" in the anti-air travel predeparture video.

If UA increases the number of open clubs and expands the number of flights, carbon emissions will increase.

Kirby says the #1 culprit is jet fuel, which is very clean compared to ship diesel and train diesel.

Maybe Kirby should work for Amtrak, where billions of dollars can be spent on a few pax and a handful of club lounges. Or he could be CEO of a cruise line. Ships and trains pollute far more than planes.

UA needs a CEO who cares about customers.

Very astute point in terms of their priorities. I suspect as they prioritize things that executives' ears are wide open to the route planning teams and nuance there, and very minimally focused on the United Club or on-board experience.
In theory it's not off base because they generally seem to have a very good route planning team but in the current time period when leisure travel is significant and many frequent flyers may be returning first for leisure travel, I actually think the soft aspects are more acute pain points for frequent flyers. When I'm traveling a ton for work, I honestly often didn't have time to use clubs (though if I had a need the current overcrowding would be appalling) and I really wanted convenience out of flights, not really caring about food or beverage aspects. I'm only doing leisure travel right now and value lounges (especially with the reduced number of non-stops), and at least some semblance of beverage service or buy-on-board and yet they can't deliver any of it.

"....Dorow explained that it’s because of how the carrier consolidated its hub operations so quickly....", if this is true the way he has described it, they did a terrible job of that too. Having to walk from the end of F gates to E gates at SFO and B/C gates to F gates at ORD does not sound like "consolidating operations to a portion of the airport" the way he has described it. I'm chalking this up as another excuse. UA isn't the only airline that uses multiple concourses at hubs. DL and AA seem to be doing just fine given the same parameters at different airports where they have hubs.

In either case, May 18-21 I'll check out these locations and be able to report back on the status of the ORD, IAH, IAD, and SFO lounges and then LAS at the end of the month. I expect no reopenings in this time frame but who knows.

While this is partly true, I think that route (i.e., nonstops) remains perhaps the key determining factor in selecting carriers, which is why we have many posters here who are continuing to fly UA despite their complaints about an uncompetitive soft product.