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Will Polaris lounge close later due to delayed departures?

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Will Polaris lounge close later due to delayed departures?

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Old Jun 27, 2022, 7:54 pm
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by EWR764
When lounge staff were airline employees, it was easier to authorize overtime and keep lounges open in the event of flight delays. Now that nearly all are vendor employees, their company is unlikely to pay OT in the event of United-operated flight delays.
+1 - there is no longer any correlation between the lounge operations and the airline operations for UA -- I remember the good old days when the UA clubs would remain open for many, many hours in the event of a delay.

Sorry folks -- those says are long gone!
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 12:11 am
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by dkc192

I definitely would've told them "OK noted" and then stayed until 10:00 on the dot.
When they call security it may not result in a good result. Just saying.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 6:46 am
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by goodeats21
Sure you can. That is exactly how it works with Ground staff and Gate Agents.

United may not want to pay the necessary wages to make it happen, but it is absolutely possible.
Not always true. Several years ago, on a delayed flight into JAX, there was no one there to unload our bags, We had to wait until 5:30 AM!
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 7:44 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by zombietooth
Not always true. Several years ago, on a delayed flight into JAX, there was no one there to unload our bags, We had to wait until 5:30 AM!
I am sure there are exceptions, but yours doesn't seem to be equivalent as it was an arrival airport that wasn't prepared. I am sure the ground staff stayed at your departing airport until the plane was boarded and pushed back.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 7:57 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by goodeats21
I am sure there are exceptions, but yours doesn't seem to be equivalent as it was an arrival airport that wasn't prepared. I am sure the ground staff stayed at your departing airport until the plane was boarded and pushed back.
Yes, usually third party ground handling contracts require adequate staffing to be available for any scheduled operations (including delays) as a matter of course. So the handler bears the risk, but that’s just a cost of doing business and baked into the contractual rates per-turn or however each station agreement is written. If the ground staff just leaves before a delayed arrival, there are usually significant penalties for the contractor.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 8:04 am
  #21  
 
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Was at EWR 17 June when many long haul flights were delayed until midnight or later including mine to CPT - everyone booted from the Polaris lounge promptly at 10. I stayed until 955 and there were still a number of people ignoring the now repeated announcements .

At least I wasn't waiting in the line of 500 people at the rebooking desk after 10 PM.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Jun 28, 2022 at 10:29 am Reason: Using symbols, spaces or other methods to mask vulgarities is not allowed.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 8:30 am
  #22  
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Originally Posted by EWR764
Yes, usually third party ground handling contracts require adequate staffing to be available for any scheduled operations (including delays) as a matter of course. So the handler bears the risk, but that’s just a cost of doing business and baked into the contractual rates per-turn or however each station agreement is written. If the ground staff just leaves before a delayed arrival, there are usually significant penalties for the contractor.
Absolutely. In my youth, I was in a "mandatory staffing" environment (not air related) so very familiar with the mechanics behind it. United has decided that the passenger experience of lounge access during delays is not worth the cost of providing it.
Yes another casualty of the outsourcing, cost cutting, running lean culture.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 9:01 am
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by MatthewLAX
Just to add to the chorus, sadly it won't stay open late. That's life in the USA right now. I wouldn't expect any better even from Delta.
During the NYC IROP on June 16th, the EWR SkyClub stayed open until the last (delayed) departure, which I didn't expect to happen!
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 9:15 am
  #24  
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Originally Posted by UnevenGray
During the NYC IROP on June 16th, the EWR SkyClub stayed open until the last (delayed) departure, which I didn't expect to happen!
Somehow, I'm not surprised.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 9:51 am
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by UnevenGray
During the NYC IROP on June 16th, the EWR SkyClub stayed open until the last (delayed) departure, which I didn't expect to happen!
Originally Posted by MatthewLAX
Somehow, I'm not surprised.
Though I think it is much easier, and more common, for outstation lounges to stay open for delayed departures.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 9:58 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by goodeats21
I am sure there are exceptions, but yours doesn't seem to be equivalent as it was an arrival airport that wasn't prepared. I am sure the ground staff stayed at your departing airport until the plane was boarded and pushed back.
Yes, no problem with staff at the departure airport. However, trying to sleep in your car while waiting for baggage handlers to arrive was very unpleasant and ruined my whole workday because I was beat after being up all night. I never even complained to UA, you just jogged my memory by bringing-up the mandatory staffing requirements in this thread.
I guess it just goes to show that humans are good at minimizing/burying bad memories.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 11:53 am
  #27  
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This has nothing to do with contracts as UA is free to negotiate what it wants. It is entirely related to UA’s attitude to customer service.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 11:55 am
  #28  
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Originally Posted by lhrsfo
This has nothing to do with contracts as UA is free to negotiate what it wants. It is entirely related to UA’s attitude to customer service.
It's all about the money. I'm sure UA could find people to stay if it paid them generous overtime and sent them home in Ubers. But that costs too much money and United reasons that it is spending so much money on new planes and interior retrofits, it has no money for decent onboard food or things like this.
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 12:04 pm
  #29  
 
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where exactly is the bad weather expected? a quick check on weather.com shows hot / mostly sunny skies (but no T-storms) at Newark and Sterling, VA (IAD).
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Old Jun 28, 2022, 12:14 pm
  #30  
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Originally Posted by DarkHelmetII
where exactly is the bad weather expected? a quick check on weather.com shows hot / mostly sunny skies (but no T-storms) at Newark and Sterling, VA (IAD).
The thread started a week ago in the middle of weather issues at EWR.
Since then the thread has morphed into a general discussion on the issue.
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