PHL Club - smoking?
 

We'll have a bit of a layover in PHL on our way to/from LGW. They have a very nice Envoy lounge there, which is (IIRC) sort of co-located with one of the Clubs.

I know there's no smoking in the lounge, but I recall spending some time in a PHL club which had a large smoking area. I also believe there are at least two clubs in PHL.

Search turned up some pretty old data -- can anyone update me on the status of the PHL clubs re:smoking?

PHL airport is now 100% smoke-free.

-JC

You forgot the <smirk> . :p

The lounge in the B/C club is still there, but the PHL city fathers have forced US to close it and lock it even though it's seperated from the rest of the club by glass :rolleyes:.

So, at the end of the day, if you want a smoke, it's outside or nada. PHL (And every other airport that cannot make one stinking accomodation on the inside of security) is stupid.

Ban smoking from inside all airports everywhere.
 

I say ^ to those airports that have decided not to support that disgusting habit.

Now if only the European airports/govts could get a clue about cigarettes.

Not to let this drift too far off-topic, but had you ever seen the club's former smoking room in PHL?

Entirely enclosed with self-closing doors. It's not like any nonsmokers were actually exposed to the smoke.

Except when the doors are opened and the smoke billows out.

My main excitement about not having smoking rooms is that I when I sit next to a smoker they don't smell like a bowling alley because they've been sitting in an enclosed space with the smelly smoke for hours before their flight then plop down next to me and make me want to throw up. One reason I hate flying through LAS is because the smoking areas and their fabric just soaks up the smell and then releases it for the next few hours of our flight. I once had a FA that just stunk horribly of the stuff. I had seen her in the smoking room and she wasn't even smoking, just chatting with a friend who was. I didn't even want her to serve me as she smelled so bad.

So it's not just exposing others to the smoke and all the health problems that could bring up but having to sit next to someone that smells of it (or any body odor for that matter, however the smoking we can help control) is also a concern of mine.

Lance

As a former frequent visitor to that PHL smoking room, I can assure you that I never saw smoke billowing out when the doors were opened. It was a nice solution to the issue that I thought served the interests of all parties concerned, just as the separate room at DCA once did. Sadly, the CLT club is the last one left at a hub that allows smoking. The secuirty lines in PHL make going outside somewhat problematic -- and I don't relish the idea of having to go up to 15 hours between cigarettes on a trip between LA and Europe. I;ve learned to cope with a steady increase in smoking restrictions, but the whole thing is getting ridiculous -- what ever happened to personal choice in this country?

In any case, the decline of smoking areas in the Clubs was the main reason I dropped my membership and I suspect that I am not alone in that.

As for your sensitivity to the odor of tobacco, my feeling is tough; I don't really care. I've been subjected to all kinds of things I don't like on flights over the years-- from BO to people passing gas to perfume or cologne in quantities sufficient to make you gag, but I accept it as part of what you deal with in a mode of public conveyance. Trust me on this, you'd rather put up with a lingering odor of smoke from me than the crankiness that would ensue from 15 hours without a smoke.

True, I've had to put up with body odor, gas, cologne, etc but there isn't anything that can be done about those, limiting smoking to outside is a way to combat stale smoke smell on clothes. I'm still waiting for mandatory showers before boarding aircraft but oh well. No I'd rather put up with crankiness as I can put on headphones and not pay attention to you but smelling stale smoke is something I can't stop unless I stop breathing and that is pretty important to me.

Also I didn't mean the PHL smoking room on the billowing of smoke as I've never been there when the room was operating. I've seen the LAS Smoking rooms and you have to walk past them quickly as there is quite a bit of smoke outside the room at times. It was more a general statement of closed off rooms. Unless they are constantly sucking the air out and venting it to the outside with a strong push of air when the door opens some escapes. I don't think that small amount is going to kill someone mind you, just it does escape.

As far as what is happening to personal choice...well that is a debate that is well beyond here I'm sure as you have to look at those who do smoke and those who don't and who is "hurt" if there is no smoking and who is "hurt" if there is smoking.

Lance

You still have personal choice, but that doesn't mean the rest of society has to embrace or support that choice. You choose to smoke so you have to deal with any consequences of that choice.

I don't think anyone cares about your crankiness. Noone want's to smell your nicotine drenched clothing for 15 hours.

You gotta work on that, my friend. :)

Over the years, I've grown pretty accustomed to 4-6 hours without a weed, and it's really not bad. On TA flights, it's more like 10-12 hours, and I only start to feel a little twinge as we near the UK.

Last year, we were about 13 hours FRA-SFO, and I was surprised at how little it bothered me.

Frankly, I'm glad they cut out smoking in planes, especially those inconsiderate b*stards who used to light up cigars!! And I remember smoking in supermarkets! To say nothing of Europe, where they even smoke in elevators!

All in all, smoking is a decreasing (but still significant) fact of life, even more so outside the US. There ought to be some sort of accomodation (like the Club at PHL) where the non-smokers would not be inconvenienced. Not sure about the clothing odor, though. I have a pretty good sniffer -- intestinal gas, perfume, etc. are pretty easy to pick up, but cigarette odor on your jacket has always been a little tough for me to discern. YMMV.

Back to PHL -- when we've passed through there in the last couple of years, we used to find a bar that allowed smoking or, like the last time, we just went outside. The only sticky point was when we forgot our boarding passes and they almost didn't let us back in!

I can see someone having a problem with second hand smoke, especially in a confined area, but when the issue is lingering tobacco odor on clothing, I simply think that's getting ridiculous. Providing outdoor areas past security somehow would eliminate or reduce the problem and that would be a solution I'd welcome. The irony of the smoking rooms is that even I find them pretty nasty and I do understand that some of them, like the one in PHX, get pretty smoky. Even smokers don't like reeking of smoke, but to me, it's the better of bad alternatives.

As for the crankiness, I really meant that tongue in cheek; I was simply trying to convey that 15 hours without a smoke is really really difficult for a regular smoker.

If you can't bring lighters or matches beyond security, how would you smoke anyway? (I don't, I'm just wondering...)

There is no difficulty bringing matches past security. The plastic lighters (BIC-like) will easily pass through in checked luggage, and also in carryon luggage.

About the only thing they can detect is the Zippo-type lighters, with a lot of metal.

Sometime, go to baggage claim and look outside. You'll see a lot of folks wandering around, looking for a light. :)