Airport Lounging

Back in the day, when I traveled more, when my husband the frequent flyer savant was still with us here on earth, I spent a bit of time in airport lounges. I don't remember all that much about the experience. Yes, it was nice to be able to escape madding crowds at the gates. Yes, it was nice to be able to grab a handful of M&Ms. Yes, it was nice to have access to a marginally cleaner toilet. But mostly it was outright meh, or meh adjacent.

Oh, there were a couple of rememorable times.

On a trip to someplace in Eastern Europe, we had a multi-hour layover in Frankfurt, and having access to the lounge was a true blessing. I've flown into and through there more than a few times, and the sound and light show that is Frankfurt Airport always gave me the heebie-jeebies. Way too much going on! Thank you, my beloved frequent flyer savant, for making sure we had enough miles to check into the respite that was the airport lounge.

My only other memorable airport lounge experience was seeing David Powers, JFK's aide and wingman, in the Aer Lingus lounge at Logan. That was a way in the way back, as Powers (I had to check) has been dead since 1998.)

These days, I barely travel. And when I do, I'm stuck at the gate with the rest of the great unwashed. 

I haven't felt I was missing much. It's not as if the lounges were like this snazzy, mid-century modern PanAm lounge of yore, with a solicitous bartender in a dinner jacket mixing drinks for at the side of a little cocktail table. 

But for some folks, lounges are a big deal. The airport lounge industry - who knew there even was one? - is estimated to be worth $4.21 billion, and forecast to more than double by 2029. 

Lounge visits were up by 31 percent in 2024 over 2023. So someone's checking in hoping to rub elbows with whoever today's Dave Powers might be. 

What's fueling growth?

According to writer David Mack, it's:

...millennials who balk at the cost of a first-class ticket but can afford an annual credit card fee. Even though demand for travel appears to be waning amid an uncertain economy, what hasn’t changed is the extent to which social media and influencer culture peddle these lounges as a key ingredient of the good life. (Source: NY Times)

Chase offers a premium credit card - the Chase Sapphire Reserve - that opens the door to lounges worldwide. Their annual fee is "jumping from $550 to an eye-popping $795." In addition to a lot of other lounges of mixed quality and pizzazz, Chase has opened some fancy lounges of its own, and has plans for more. 

Capital One also has a lounge access card, and some lounges of its own. Alas, while Capital One is in my wallet, it's not one of the premium cards. So I'll just have to be thankful that I accumulate points, and continue to cool my heels at the gate. 

There's also something called Priority Pass that lets you into a ton of lounges. You can pay a minimum annual fee and then pay a per use fee every time you use a lounge, or pay for premium membership.

Alas, all these premiums may not be premium enough to get you into the lounge at your moment of need. So many people want in that there are physical and digital waiting lines. All for what is often a pretty mediocre, worn-out lounge that's closer to the breakfast room at a Motel6 than it is to a swank hotel lobby.

But as demand for lounge access revs up, so does the supply of upscale lounges that appeal to those who can afford more than costly (to me) yet pedestrian credit card access that's one step above the hoi polloi gate experience, but may not own or rent a private jet.

International airlines are going further and further to attract those truly wealthy customers willing to fork over thousands for top-class travel. In Helsinki, Finland, you can take a sauna before consuming a reindeer burger. In Doha, Qatar, you can relax in a Jacuzzi, drive in an F1 racing simulator or take a nap in a private bedroom. In Paris, you can dine in a private suite on food prepared by the renowned chef Alain Ducasse, then be driven in a luxury sedan on a tarmac to your plane. 

Saunas? Jacuzzis? F1 simulator? And here I was, back when I was part of the airport lounging class, grateful for a handful of M&Ms.

 

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Image Source: Airport History.org