I like the idea of an airport lounge as a tranquil place away from the crowds, but it's not always the case this summer. Delta Air lines has a lounge access partnership with American Express. When there are no short-term fixes available, the Delta SkyClub lounges call for a solution.
Scott Mayerowitz filmed the line to get into the Delta Sky club at New York JFK.
There were a lot of delays and canceled flights this morning.
Nope, that's right. It's a daily thing.
In case you’ve ever wondered whether @Delta Sykclub is worth it:
Here’s the current line at #JFK just to get into the lounge. pic.twitter.com/ibmICQccwL
— doheenz (@doheenz) July 7, 2022
@Delta behold the line to get into jfk delta lounge pic.twitter.com/0T9jhlOFrf
— Seth Easter (@SethEaster1) June 30, 2022
It is happening at other lounges as well.
Photos of lines to get in Delta Sky Clubs at JFK and ATL (both recently posted on Reddit) are bananas.
Delta is tweaking access rules soon, but the core problem remains: Travel is booming, and too many now have credit cards with lounge access pic.twitter.com/AnMSLb3BHK
— Kyle Potter (@kpottermn) May 29, 2022
There is a solution to this. It's possible to cut off American Express Platinum cards from access.
The problem can't be fixed this summer.
After spending the last five weeks at home, I have realized that there is no fix for this summer. This is a lost summer because of the time it will take for a solution to be made.
You can't just decide, "Okay, I'll show up later and just skip the lounge" because airport crowding makes that a dangerous game. You won't be able to check in and get through security if you wait until an hour before your flight arrives. If you don't get through quickly, you face huge lines to enter the lounge or one huge crowd in the gate area.
I mentioned a few possible fixes and here again I don't have a real solution beyond building more lounges. American Express is Delta's best customer in the world, yet it has led to lounge crowding that makes the experience miserable for everyone.
I am not a fan of American Express but maybe it is time to triple the annual fee on the Platinum card and stop giving it away to special interest groups.
The summer travel season was insane. It's insane that you wait in a long line to avoid crowding and then sit in a crowded room.
The image is on social media
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