[2nd_gear_7krpm]

Originally Posted by sunnysideup_

You have lost the exclusivity that came with it, and sharing it seems to hurt quite a few egos. I am sorry for being blunt, but getting this worked up because more people use airport lounges now and you have lost your peace of mind as a result is upsetting.

A luxury for someone may be a necessity for another. Likewise, those who are complaining here for losing exclusivity is because they are not offered any premium lounges (atleast in most airports) even when they are ready to pay whatever it's worth. All batting for unrestricted access to lounges - what do you say if credit card companies fix a minimum spending limit? Do you oppose and ask them to lower the limit?

Problem does not arise if the available resources (read seats / food in lounge) are distributed based on some reasonable criteria. However, if I have to fight for my plate in the lounge after getting a business class ticket, it is simply unacceptable.

PS: I may not even qualify for lounge is offered only to super premium credit card customers. But in the interest of sanity and order in the society, I support the proposition that lounge should be exclusive and people like me can aspire for it to get access to some day!

[kaushikduttajsr]

Some of us here come from very humble backgrounds and have toiled hard to be in a position to be afford premium services. In my humble opinion, instead of saying "restrict access for the masses", we should use the politically correct term, to have separate "premium access" facilities.

Let's not make thread an issue please I'd definitely want a lounge with "premium access".

That aside, I hate wasting time waiting. So I usually travel to the airport just in time for the flight. In the last 10 years of having unlimited lounge access cards, I've used it only once, that too because I had to kill 4 hrs at an international airport with my 6 month old. Free food is overhyped.

[anjan_c2007]

Lounges used to be exclusive and have an exclusive clientele. Exclusivity, civil behaviour and grace of lounge users is not defined by their financial status and social standing. Many from the non-upper crust too are classy, and such clientele maintain their poise and grace too in public places. In fact, I have seen some from the upper crust too indulging in some degrees of uncouth behaviour. Upbringing and adherence to family values by individuals matters a lot.

Yes, as the OP says, crowded lounges with all sorts of classes and masses who indulge in uncalled for behavior, spoils the ambiance. But as the last para says, there is hope with credit card providers taking steps to introduce filters for lounge users.

It's just like the Mumbai locals where about three decades ago, the first class ticket buyers were assured a seat while exiting from the ticket counter, with the guarantee of a hassle free journey and with a passport for smug satisfaction in their travel. Today's upper classes in Mumbai locals and in other short and long distance trains too have lost their sanctity of yore. The AC first class coaches though, are still left with their old time charm to some extent.

Hence, progressive deterioration in the sanctity and charm of many a public place has become the norm.

[Comrade]

The problem atleast I have with the current situation is that the banks have grossly oversold the capacity. There are only two solutions to this problem and believe me, neither are elitist. Either expand the current capacity to make it accessible for everyone or curtail the access to match current capacity.

I know nothing about running a lounge but if we are not seeing more lounges mushrooming across major airports, I would think it’s a tough business! So if more lounges/capacity are not coming up then what is the option left?

I also use free credit card access to lounge, and if tomorrow my bank says that they are removing this benefit from my card, I would not crib about my bank being an elitist. This is not a socialist perk! I would try to move up the financial ladder to a better card so that I can regain this benefit!

[Zippy_wheels]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

One can extend this argument to many walks of life, not just airport lounges. There is a class with spending power but with moderate, sober habits which seeks occasional indulgence and a classy ambience with "behavioural etiquettes" for the lack of better words, but instead sees people displaying less than polished social habits , but have to be tolerated simply because they can afford to be in that situation. I have seen so many cases of tourists behaving obnoxiously loud at resorts where one pays to enjoy a classy quiet and elegant ambience. I recently made a complaint about this at Mahabaleshwar to the resort management, but they are obviously helpless because such people have money and can afford to stay there.

There are people in this world with not as much spending power, seeking occasional indulgence and classy ambience. I would argue they live a harder life and these indulgences are far more occasional for them. Money doesnt translate to good behavior. In any case the not so affluent sometimes end up spending more on credit cards and stacking up a lot of interest which would be attractive to credit card companies.

Maybe they should come up with more lounges instead and maybe have different one's for different levels of spend or something? Depriving the middle class of some comfortable rest and good food is not the way to go addressing the rich people problems. We should encourage more lounges to accomodate the increased surge in flyers and the increased affordability of credit cards. IMO this lounge access is one of the very few perks of owning a credit card which otherwise puts millions of people in a debt spiral.

The alternative, where the affluent people are prefering to not go to the lounge these days, works too. So the less fortunate one's can enjoy the lounge, for a change. People with money have other options too since there are tons of premium restaurants at almost all airports these days. If you can afford it and want some peaceful time, use these.

This thread sounds more like the mango people crowd the road with their splendors, marutis, tatas so much that I am not able to enjoy my quiet drive in my Mercedes. Yes, it is irritating, but the solution cannot be to only allow rich people on the roads. The solution would be to build wider roads, for example.

[nettooran]

One of the main culprit ( not sure of that is the apt word ) is social media and youtube influencers. In this age where anything and everything is "content", the lounge access was known to common man though these influencers. People thought it to be some holy place initially and 90% of them knew that they also had the access with their common credit card trough these influencers. Hence the recent rush.

I am not a frequent traveller, but whenever I travel, I do check out the lounge only to be put off by the long queue. Why wait in the queue for 45 min to spend 30 mins in the loungue. Yes the food is free, but the stomach is mine. Heavy meal before a flight does not seem a good idea for me.

[autobahnjpr]

Airport lounges are crowded but so are the airports. These lounges are still very useful for average air traveller. If you have access on your credit card, you can use it for two rupee charge, if not, you can pay and enter. The food is quite good at these lounges and sometime even better than what is available outside it. Given the price of food items at airport, it makes great economic sense to avail lounge services and be gentle on your wallet.

I recently visited mumbai for a client visit and reached the airport during early dinner time. Although I had to be patient for finding a seat, I still had good experience of having nice food, water and some tea. All lounges I have experience prepare great tea much better that what you get outside. There was a bar area where some people were watching TV and enjoying their drink. Families were having food and conversation and it was quite a nice atmosphere. There was chatter and noise but it was not so much that you had problems talking on phone or conversing with your friends.

YES, if you are used to business class environment then you will definitely find the experience yucky. But given that air travel itself is now very much cattle class, how can the lounges be left out. The seats in the aircraft, the service, leg space everything has take a hit. From the royal experience of flying Kingfisher where you got a headphone everytime you took a flight to wafer thin indigo seat bottoms which are worse than DTC buses and water being served in milliliters, air travel has democratized. A small shopkeeper can also fly, enjoy the lounge with his card and have all the experiences which were earlier probably reserved for select rich and exclusive members.

[UPS_Guru]

I forsee lounges going fully paid route again, not entertaining any cards, and bigger airports having exclusive lounges only for business/first class passengers.

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by GTO

Airport lounges have become Y-U-C-K! Instead of joining the line to get in, indulging in free all-you-can-eat buffets of cheap food and jostling for space, I use the DigiYatra app, get to my boarding gate early, and enjoy the calm. My laptop is usually on, with a snack & a coffee. It's not uncommon for me to reach my boarding gate 90 minutes before the flight time.

On the other hand, "business class" only lounges (especially when flying international) are spectacular!

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Just a thought - if we hide our family photos, it's better to not show any photos of external people, especially the lady who looks like a masseuse unless there's approval.

[poised2drive]

To all Egalitarians vs Elitists

Seemingly, both agree on 2 things -

1. Before Covid19, the lounges felt premium as access was limited and the experience used to be pleasant.


2. Post Covid19, the banks offered access to many CC users, thence the exponential rise in the footfall and subsequent loss of exclusivity.


So, there is only 1 Culprit who actually created this mess- the Greedy Banker (or the ruthless business practise) , who provided promises of exclusive services to users to bump up the sales without actually putting up the necessary infrastructure.

They are the ones who deserve all the criticism.

[Zippy_wheels]

Originally Posted by poised2drive

To all Egalitarians vs Elitists

Seemingly, both agree on 2 things -

1. Before Covid19, the lounges felt premium as access was limited and the experience used to be pleasant.


2. Post Covid19, the banks offered access to many CC users, thence the exponential rise in the footfall and subsequent loss of exclusivity.


So, there is only 1 Culprit who actually created this mess- the Greedy Banker (or the ruthless business practise) , who provided promises of exclusive services to users to bump up the sales without actually putting up the necessary infrastructure.

They are the ones who deserve all the criticism.

I dont think this is a post covid phenomena. Lounge access has been available on all credit and debit cards for atleast 8-10 years now. Mastercard had more tie up's if I remember. Debit cards had a limit of one entry every quarter. Even 5-6 years back lounges used to be full most of the time. I havent been to one post covid but I understand it has become worse - but so has the traffic on the roads, the rush at the malls etc..

Till about 4 years back I had an Amex credit card (along with others) with all the exclusive perks. I stopped using credit cards 4 years back. So if I had to go to a lounge, I would have to fish out my few debit cards to see which one would get me free access. If by chance, some of the people on this forum who judge people by the label/color of their credit card, saw me trying to get entry, they'd probably look down upon me, but I know my situation is much much better than 5-6 years back when I kept and flashed multiple shiny credit cards regularly. I dont use a credit card now, since I have realized I dont need it and it is actually a debt trap. Kids from almost all families create a rookus, at times, wherever they go. Parents try hard but its sometimes impossible to keep kids in line - that does not really speak about the kids upbringing. I have seen kids from affluent families too, behave obnoxiously and not listen to their parents at all.

If a shabbily dressed family get a chance to enjoy themselves, well, good for them. They are doing it on their own merit and hard work, they are not stealing from me or snatching from my plate.

[Dreamlifter.07]

Omg! This thread is on fire..

I’m all for the masses having access to a lounge. But something have to be done to reduce the jam packed like lounge experience. Anyone entering the lounge should respect the environment they are in, be it business class ticket holders or cc holders.

I’ve been in the lounge in Kochi, wherein you literally cannot take the food that’s kept, as people keep barging into the line from God knows where.
Speaking on their phones loudly, blasting movies and songs on phones without a care in the world.

When I witness all these, I’m ashamed to use my complimentary cc lounge access anywhere.

I do not blame the elite/frequent traveller, as the calmness and serenity of a lounge is lost. They expect to travel without any sort of stress, but entering a lounge, having food and relaxing cannot be anything but stressful.

Maybe the lounges should try out an economy class sort of lounge…? Free snacks and drinks and etc. wouldn’t that be a win win?

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by Zippy_wheels

This thread sounds more like the mango people crowd the road with their splendors, marutis, tatas so much that I am not able to enjoy my quiet drive in my Mercedes. Yes, it is irritating, but the solution cannot be to only allow rich people on the roads. The solution would be to build wider roads, for example.

My point was more akin to people driving around in their Audi SUVs right through Lake Pangong. Obviously cases of people having money with no class.

[Kosfactor]

My impression was that Lounge access is still premium and exclusive - if you have an appropriate AMEX card for example.

I never owned a credit card and I hate flying , but I somehow had to fly quite a bit this year. My peers asked me to join them in the airport lounge (not AMEX) and I realised I don't have any card that would provide me access, so I had to pay and enter only to realise that it's just a buffet that you get access to, pretty normal mass food you get elsewhere, except that it's quite crowded and noisy.

[V.Narayan]

Enough has been said of the elitist vs proletariat bit by several so I won't add my two bits there. It is almost a rule in life that some products be they a lounge or car or residential locality or office building or even furniture start of as a premium placement and gradually drift down the line to the middle levels and sometimes even further down.

The Maruti 800 was a premium car in 1985, it was so even in 1993 but no longer. Darya Ganj in Old Delhi was the premium locality in Dehi before Lutyens Delhi got built over the 1911 to 1939 period. Today, even though it is a very central locality no one would consider it within a mile of being premium of any shade. And so it will be for these lounges. Very soon we will have the business class/platinum frequent flyer lounge and the credit card customer lounge.

After World War II when aviation boomed till circa 1957 before jet airliners came all seats were what we would today call business class and others were full sleepers. At least on international routes {which were rather time consuming in those days of piston engine airliners} there was no economy seat. Then gradually jet airliners made mass travel a reality and in came the economy seat we are used to today. Airlines moved from First class+Economy to First class+ Premium Economy+ Economy to First class+ Business+ Economy and now many have done away with the First class bit and stayed with just Business + Economy. The original First class wallahs graduated up to business jet travel. The don't mix with the hoi polloi like you and me!!!

This conveyor belt of class grading is a constantly moving scene in all product lines. Same with the lounges.

The reason lounges get crowded at some airports is because there are not enough of them or not adequate square feet of carpet area. Airports like Munich for example have several business/frequent flyer lounges so wait times etc are short to non-existent. Delhi's T3 certainly needs more lounge area and locations.

Originally Posted by Rakeshmbalaji

Due to my work nature I have had the experience to visit 28 countries and counting; on that experience, I am flabbergasted how anyone feels the pathetic Heathrow, dirty JFK, stinking Tokyo or non existent European lounges themselves are better in standard to some of our really good ones at Blr or Mumbai. Don’t even get me started on airline lounges like BA.

We all have our style of writing. I prefer staying away from hyperbole. Referring to the part marked bold by me. I can't for the life of me figure out how you consider Tokyo's Narita (I assume) as stinking. Other than being immaculate and with excellent service it is also quiet. The Japanese are just so good at whatever they do. Either you are deeply biased or have simply not been there. Most large European airports with the exception of Paris have very decent functional lounges and in places like Amsterdam you can hire a cabin to sleep in if needed. JFK - the US airline lounges are functional with the usual brusque and not so friendly attitude towards hospitality but the lounges of other carriers (Lufthansa etc) are quite decent. In smaller towns less is available as is the case in India and all countries. And this thread is on lounges in India especially the Premium Plaza sort of lounge and not making a comparison with other countries. I'm not sure what this outburst is for.