There's a full-scale lounge race going on at Denver International Airport between Capital One's highly- anticipated lounge and a new club concept from United. The United Club Fly lounge was opened today.
The United Club Fly lounge will offer United Club members pre-packaged sandwiches, salads, snacks, and non-alcoholic drinks that can be consumed outside the lounge on the go. This is a completely new lounge concept for the airline and hopefully will catch on.
The United Club Fly lounge is about to open. We looked inside and thought it was pretty decent.
The grab-and-go concept was teased last fall as part of the changes it implemented in its regular United Clubs during the height of the Pandemic.
The grab-and-go set-up will become permanent with the airline's Club Fly location. Capital One opened upscale grab-and-go food in its lounge at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport last year.
The move makes sense for United since about two-thirds of its passengers at this particular hub are making connections, some of them tight, so a grab-and-go option may be preferable to the traditional lounge experience.
There is a pop-up United Club at gate B59. Passengers can get to the United Club Fly by scanning their boarding pass and entering through the glass gates. There are about 10 people in this picture. Pick up a sandwich or refill your water bottle at the coffee shop. The exit on the other side of the lounge allows people with tight connections to get through quickly.
Customer feedback led to the creation of the new lounge concept.
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It's all about convenience. We know there are times when our members are in a hurry and use our clubs to sneak a quick drink or snack so we've created this new format to make it easy for them to do that without sacrificing an upscale club environment. In Denver, more than two-thirds of our customers are connecting to other places.
The United Club at Newark was the subject of a first look.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
United Club Fly customers were helped by Colorado companies. One of my favorites is the Noosa yogurt brand.
Cold grab-and-go sundries include cereals, chips, cookies, muffins, hard-boiled eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, two salad choices, two sandwich selections and a vegan wrap.
Iced tea is an option at the coffee bar. Customers can choose from a variety of milks.
You could just grab a few dishes and be on your way in under a minute.
The points guy is Kyle Olsen.
The backdrop for the United Club Fly logo is made up of panels depicting the Rockies.
Although it doesn't have its own ceiling, the L-shaped lounge is similar to a Colorado ski chalet because of the heavy wooden beams running above it.
Your eyes will be drawn to the painting after you have scanned through the gates. The centerpiece of the lounge is the fireplace, which is an amber light under water vapor that creates the illusion of a fire, perfect for creating warm and fuzzy vibes as you sip your coffee.
Even though there aren't many seats in United Club Fly, there is a coffee bar style ledge with power outlets. If you have a longer layover, I would recommend you to go to the United Club.
The United Club members can't bring guests into the United Club Fly due to American Express's own policies. United Club members can usually bring two adult companions or one adult and dependent children under the age of 21 into regular clubs. A warning will go off if you try to hop the gate or follow your friend into the house.
Several customers in the lounge were upset that they couldn't bring their spouses with them.
One-time United Club passes can be used to access United Club Fly. Scan your boarding pass and then the bar code on the one-time pass in order to redeem it. Star Alliance Gold members who earn their status with one of United's partners can also use United Club Fly.
There is a guide to United Club access.
Guests on tight connections who don't have time to wait in line for a coffee or snack at a United Club can use United Club Fly.
I was impressed by what I saw when I left the lounge. It might be a good idea to consider the United Club SM Infinite Card if the concept becomes more widespread.
We're happy to see that United Club members now have another option in Denver, if there are other United Club Fly locations in the future.
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