quantumslip

I think the thread makes it pretty clear that YMMV depending on your home base, frequently visited airport/hubs, flight times, etc. I think it's incorrect to paint such a broad brush on the entire UC network based on the experience of a singular location; granted though as the major hub the situation should be better than one experienced. But all signs should be pointing to things getting better especially in the hubs identified with issues (DEN and EWR with renovations and reopenings coming online).

cur

I would like the record to reflect I have no hate I am impressed you got what you deserved. UA clubs in hubs are very crowded (outstations like MSY and DFW are dead/normal) and all lounges in all sectors in all airports around the world outside of Africa are just nuts right now. As a UA premier I just walk in but very very busy. But I always get a seat at or near the bar so it's not Bloody Murder in my world yet. In other American nations people who are gold with other oneworld/staralliance network airlines (second highest tier) are waitlisted at their lounges (15-30 min wait) on revenue non-basic tix . And Amex lounges in IAH SFO DEN are inaccessible unless you have 2.5 hours to wait/go thru their process/be shuffled out. Sad. Sad! I hope this is an anomaly and not the future.

No slim jims in united clubs any more . And no more very nice beautiful 80%-protein 18%-cheese 2%-bread wraps that we saw in the hub clubs during April 2020-June 2021. I guess that was an anomaly too.

Outstation clubs like MSY DFW ATL BOS etc are right now are still great 10/10 in that they have tons of room, are not crowded, have nooks and crannies in their layout to create quiet space/oasis if you want that, bars seated at 10-50% and bored bartenders, attentive matrons that ensure the pre-heated food is presented tidly, and just a very nice relaxing quiet lounge vibes. those are, in my opinion, worth an early arrival and therefore are a fantastic use of passes, if you should happen to originate at one these lovely outposts.

stupidhead

I love the UA Club at DFW, especially that back corner by the big windows that face Terminal C. There's never anyone there and my favorite chair in that back corner's always available. Food is meh.

Centurion at DFW is a complete cluster-you-know-what. I'm hoping it gets better next year when the new guest policy kicks in.

Andy Kors

Currently (6:28 am local) sitting at O'Hare United Club Lounge (if you could call it a Lounge) and the only thought which comes to mind is - Cheap Buffet.
Long gone are the days when one could actually relax at an Airport Lounge apparently since everyone with their mother, aunt, and kids has decided that regardless of their loyalty to a specific airline, they are entitled to the same privileges as most frequent Flyers. Can't believe I am saying this but I do miss traveling during the peak of Covid...

UAFAM

but most clubs were closed during the peak of covid

SamOF

It's really fun to watch the mental gymnastics that people use to justify the idea that they belong in a lounge and the others overcrowding the lounge do not.

zombietooth

They are indeed terrible, but it is by design. There is lots of money made by selling memberships and passes. You'll be happier if you stay out of the clubs, unless you're at an outlying station.

enviroian

All the lounges are packed today. Most have lines to get in no matter what club you belong too. It sucks as the old days are gone but it is what it is. You can still manage to find a quiet cubicle here and there but that's pretty much an outlier these days.

Xyzzy

Greetings frm the club at AUS where there is no line and plenty of room.

Boraxo

and why is this day different from all other days??

it has been this way for years, at least for UCs at hubs like ORD, IAH, SFO and even the old LAX lounge. Not necessarily the lines but always tough to find a free seat much less 4.

they don’t make $$ off empty seats.

HNLbasedFlyer

Which clubs have lines - most? Quite frankly, if a club had a line I wouldn't bother going in. I'm in LAS twice monthly - SFO and LAX at least once a month - ORD at least 4 times a year - and none of those have had a line when I go in. I guess DEN has a line but to be balanced one of the clubs is closed for renovations.

PTahCha

Exactly. There may be a short line, but not as crazy or insane as the line for DL hub SkyClubs.

Kacee

While I've read about the DL lines, I've never seen one. No problem accessing SkyClubs in LAX or PHX within past weeks, nor at JFK, SEA, SFO, and SLC within past year.

Also have not seen capacity control lines at any UC, though some clubs frequently have lines due to slow check-in process and/or not enough agents (e.g., LAX, and this was often an issue at IAH when I used to transit there).

nomad420

Not sure of what people are refer to as a line. At pretty much all clubs (maybe not CLE) there is almost always a line of some sort to check in. It usually moves fast (well most of the time). But I have more recently been to clubs where you can't find a seat, the bar is full, the food looks like a pack of dogs went through it, and you can't even access the bath room. Yeah, then I leave. The last time I was at the "new" E club at SFO you could not get a seat anywhere. I was a busy Saturday AM. I had to wait for someone I was meeting and by the time they arrived some seating opened up. Sadly that is becoming more the norm with UC's these days.

HNLbasedFlyer

My personal definition of a line is the Club is at capacity and nobody gets in until people leave (such as the SFO Centurian Club - which prior to the current remodel was infamous for lines) as opposed to having 2-3 people in front you scanning a boarding pass.