If you’ve followed these columns, you know I’m a big fan of airport lounges. I’ve called them “oases of peace and quiet in the otherwise hostile environments of big airports.” But in the past two years, that serenity seems to be taking a bit of heat. At busy hub airports, flyers who paid big bucks for a little guaranteed peace and quiet find themselves behind a rope line waiting until someone else comes out in order to get in. They may even be turned away. At some locations, travelers enter names on a list and the club texts them with a “we have your table” message. Feh.
The primary force behind recent changes is the fact that lounge eligibility has suddenly outpaced lounge capacity. The increase in eligible flyers is mainly because of the big banks, which have included lounge access as one of the perks of their premium credit cards.
