For frequent air travelers, it isn’t hard to see the appeal of an airport lounge. Gaining access to them depends on a number of factors, from the type of credit card you use to the class of seating you’re traveling in. For example, United Airlines maintains both its standard United Club and Polaris facilities, with the latter reserved for business class travelers taking long-haul flights. There are also companies like Priority Pass that allow access to airport lounges for an annual membership fee.
With a lot of people flying these days, that can mean airport lounges sometimes run out of space, and have to limit entry — even to people who might have a day pass to enter. (I’ve encountered this a few times myself.) That, in turn, is leading some operators to charge a secondary fee to pre-book time in a lounge over and above what a traveler is already paying.
As Katie Genter and Ben Smithson write in a recent article for The Points Guy, a number of Priority Pass lounges in the United States are now offering the ability to reserve space there — for a price. For some Priority Pass members, the annual fee allows free access to their lounges; for others, access is $35 per visit. (It depends on the membership tier; Priority Pass currently offers three distinct options.)
The company is also relatively open about this. Visitors to Priority Pass’s website will see the following message: “Access to lounges is subject to space availability. Pre-book is available at select locations for a small fee.”
JetBlue Is Getting Into the Airport Lounge Business
They’re coming to New York and BostonWhile the idea of paying to get access to something you’re already paying to get access to may frustrate some travelers, this isn’t unheard of. Genter and Smithson pointed out that this kind of fee is “already commonplace in the United Kingdom.” Will this be one fee too many for some travelers — or will the allure of the right lounge win out in the end?
More Like This
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
