ONE likes it for the personal service, another because she can work and make phone calls and a third for the clean restrooms and comfortable chairs. And all love the peace and quiet afforded by the members-only airline clubs or VIP lounges.
Airline gate areas usually are frenetic places where noisy throngs of disembarking passengers raise the decibel level and where those waiting anxiously for their flights yak on cellphones, click on laptops, rustle through newspapers and deal with fussing children. The announcements blare, and CNN Airport News runs in the background. These waiting areas are great for people-watching, lousy for peace of mind.
You've walked by the clubs -- United's Red Carpet, American's Admirals Club, Delta's Crown Room, Continental's Presidents Club, Northwest's WorldClub, the US Airways Club and Alaska Airlines' Board Room -- and looked at them, enviously.
But the clubs are not as exclusive as you think. Although you can join them for an annual fee that can be as much as $500, you also can get a day pass for about $50 or get access through high-level credit cards. For many frequent fliers as well as first- and business-class customers, these airport enclaves are a haven in which to work, relax, snack and imbibe in relative quiet, until they are summoned for their flights.
Travis Mason-Bushman, a 22-year-old journalism student at Contra Costa College in California, plunked down his own money for memberships in the United ($500) and US Airways ($375) clubs to make his life easier. He has a weekend public relations job with the Gainsco/Blackhawk sports-car racing team.
"I've flown about 56,000 miles so far this year and will do another 20,000 miles," he said. "My memberships are a small price to pay, considering all the time I spend in airline terminals. I cross the country about 15 times a year. The lounges are a lot more civilized place to work and to get help.
"I was flying through Dulles ... on my way to Daytona Beach [Fla.] for a race, when heavy rainstorms struck the Washington area. I went from a one-hour delay to a four-hour delay to canceled, within an hour and a half. Hundreds of people were lined up trying to re-book flights. I went into the Red Carpet Club and got great customer service. You pay for a lot better customer service, more personal service."
Tonya Lewis, 32, an attorney in Las Vegas, has access to myriad clubs with her Priority Pass, which gets her into 500 lounges in 245 cities worldwide. Mainly, however, she uses the clubs in Las Vegas, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Dallas/Fort Worth and Detroit.
