Comments on: The Airport Lounge Crisis

By: Patrick Wahle

Patrick Wahle — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 03:50:03 +0000

I just found the Covid-19 solution.
My wife and I just flew from Bangkok to Toronto business class via Abu Dhabi on Etihad.
We were 4 in a 777 business class to Abu Dhabi and 7 in a 787 business class to Toronto. Maybe a dozen people in coach. No kids on board for 21 hours. Bangkok and Abu Dhabi lounges were totally deserted. We had the chef and the staff for ourselves. Definitely no rush to return to North America.

By: Patrick Wahle

Patrick Wahle — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 03:36:48 +0000

There maybe two solutions to avoid the kids in business class and in lounges.
– A certain number of flights should be forbidden to parents with kids. It could be based on time of departure or day of departure. For example the daily flight from New York to London would be no-kid flight on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.. If there are 2 daily flights, one out of the two would be a no-kid flight.
– Other solution would be to put parents with kids in a separate compartment when there are few flights during the week or the month.
– Then there could be an agreement between airlines: For example if several airlines are flying between New York and London, some airlines would have no kids on Monday, Wednesday, Friday (let’s say BA) and United would have flights with kids on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and no-kids flights the other days of the week. It would be easy to setup.
Regarding lounges, there is a new trend like Air Canada is doing at Pearson in Toronto. Two different lounges: Signature for international business class paying customers (no points, no credit card perks, etc.) with exquisite restaurant serving top food and beverages. Then there is the Maple Leaf lounge for all other Air Canada business class customers travelling on points, upgrades, etc…as well as domestic flights travellers.

By: Aaexp

Aaexp — Fri, 20 Dec 2019 16:25:37 +0000

You would win more support of you weren’t so rebarbative regarding kids. Kids are rarely the problem, and indeed on my last few overcrowded lounge visits there were none, or they were confined to the play area.

Regardless, my kid has just as much right to be in the first class lounge as anyone else. I bought the ticket up in the front of the plane. By virtue of being in the top 0.2% of customers of my usual airline, I have access to their best lounges whenever I travel.

Look at it this way: I’m trying to teach him from a very early age how to behave with decorum. The problem is the adults who never learned decorum themselves. Cool it regarding the kids.

By: Jeff Latten

Jeff Latten — Tue, 21 May 2019 12:55:04 +0000

In reply to Yehuda A Mond. Would that other families ensured that their children acted properly and with decorum, as does your family. You folks appear to be the exception these days, but don't lose hope!

By: Jeff Latten

Jeff Latten — Tue, 21 May 2019 12:45:48 +0000

I was spoiled…I joined the PanAm Clipper Club back in the late 70’s and this was exactly what an executive lounge should be. QUIET! Free cocktails and snacks. The staff would get your boarding pass for you. Plenty of room with comfy seating and reasonably adult and nicely dressed patrons. I don’t remember seeing or hearing one child in any of the Clipper Club lounges…either there were none or they were well-behaved. Same thing.

All gone. Now they’re airport short term Disneylands for families. So it cost you $50 a year for the Clipper Club membership…big deal. So worth it.

By: Chaz

Chaz — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 00:51:56 +0000

In reply to Stephen Stapleton. This requires a "like" button!

By: Chaz

Chaz — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 00:48:29 +0000

I’ve found it’s more interesting and beneficial nowadays to just wander the terminals rather than stay in a “premium” lounge at most airports (though the CAL lounge at Taoyuan is still rather nice).

Dishonorable mention to the Skyteam lounge at Chek Lap Kok. Pretty much like the first lounge you described above!

By: gordon bell

gordon bell — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 15:45:24 +0000

Obviously you have never been to the Delta Sky Miles lounge at Terminal 2 in JFK. Most of the seats are ripped or stained and the whole lounge is open air sitting on top of all the fast food restaurants. Great place to spend an hour or so inhaling the vent fans over the deep fryers. Add in the usual over crowding and lousy food, and this “club” is tough to beat for worst.

By: Kate Hanni

Kate Hanni — Thu, 28 Feb 2019 18:49:27 +0000

I’m so glad you pointed this out Patrick. I’ve been mind-blown on more than one occasion about not only the first class lounges and the decline in any modicum of a first class experience. It doesn’t stop with the lounges either. Since moving to Bend Oregon I flew 1st class to AZ direct on AA. The seats were maybe 2 inches wider than economy, less legroom than bulkhead or Emergency exits and frankly far lower legroom than most business class seats, no foot rest and about 2 inches of recline. We were passed bagged snacks. Really awful what’s happened to the air travel experience.

By: BoBo Bobson

BoBo Bobson — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 12:38:29 +0000

And it’s not just first class airport lounges. High class hotels have become jamboree’s for the little ones. What’s more fun than fine dining while watching kids chase each other around on a lawn that’s overlooking the ocean. Parents today think everything that’s good for adults is good for their ^%)&^*^& kids too. Bah Humbug. If an establishment says, “no kids,” they’d probably get sued for age discrimination. When I grew up, parents used to say to us kids, “children are to be seen and not heard.” No more, folks.