The 10 Percent Is in a Fit of Rage over Airport Lounges | Hacker News Reader

The 10 Percent Is in a Fit of Rage over Airport Lounges

newrepublic.com

24 pointspetethomas16 comments

So instead of having a high level of accommodation (good and plentiful food and drink, enough comfortable seating, available showers, clean bathrooms, plenty of outlets, reliable Internet, etc.) for everyone in society, regardless of their and their predecessors' luck, it would be better to make sure that the less affluent know their place in the caste system — got it, boss.

Have we really overproduced elites, or have social media and credit card companies convinced non-elites that they should spring for ad-hoc entry into a lounge with money they don’t have?

It seemed that lounges used to require some kind of membership that had a decent vetting process. Not only has the bar been significantly lowered, but I believe many simply let you buy your way in. These luxury experiences are being sold to people who want to cosplay and elites while on holiday. Charge it and worry about it later. It’s not much different than people paying for 20 minutes on fake jet to make videos for instagram or TikTok.

The simple solution would seem to be to stop letting people buy their way into lounges. I see this at hotels too. Getting a certain status for 60 nights stayed in a year gets you in the lounge… or pay an extra $10/night on your room for the same thing.

There was never any vetting process for airline lounges. You pay your $500/year and visit any time you have a flight. That's how it has always been. Sometimes you got a membership discount for having one of the higher status tiers.

Elites stopped using public airport terminals on 9/11, and just fly private now. You'll find them in the FBO on the other side of the field.

The crowds filling up the lounges today are people with $500/year credit cards that grant lounge entry and one free checked bag. It just turns out there are way more people who will apply for a $500/year credit card than a $500/year club membership.

It doesn’t even take a $500/year credit card. That’s what I’m saying. That sets a higher bar. A couple going on 1 trip isn’t going to get an expensive credit card to get into lounge one time. People also need to qualify for that card, which is another hurdle.

I have a card that’s only $50/year that gets me into some lounges (last I looked I think some of that access is going away). And even less than that are the ones where you can just pay your way in one-time, no membership of any kind needed.

    It just turns out there are way more people who will apply for a $500/year credit card than a $500/year club membership.

Which is one way of saying we've overproduced elites

> or have social media and credit card companies convinced non-elites that they should spring for ad-hoc entry into a lounge with money they don’t have?

This is something I've detected too. If I can naturally and appropriately afford a bit of luxury that offers value I don't mind, but if I'm reaching for no reason other than to feel "better" than my current status allows because other people are doing it too I shy away from that. It's just a ploy to take money from me.

> It’s not much different than people paying for 20 minutes on fake jet to make videos for instagram or TikTok

Ehh, this is more of a business expense for them I think.

>Getting a certain status for 60 nights stayed in a year gets you in the lounge… or pay an extra $10/night on your room for the same thing.

It's essentially the same problem with the fastpass system at theme parks. After a few years they have to invent another system that is ultra-ultra-ultra fastpass once the poors decide to start paying for fastpass and ultra fastpass and ultra-ultra fastpass.

I’m pro lounge after previously thinking luxuries were frivolous.

The first time I paid to get into a lounge my flight was cancelled. The lounge staff called us up to the desk and rebooked us on first class (a huge upgrade). On the way to our new flight we passed the angry line of travelers from our canceled flight.

I know it’s not a typical experience but the year of membership felt worth it for me just for that one moment.

Comfy chairs aren't expensive and neither are croissants and sparkling water. There's no reason everyone couldn't have most of the lounge experience, but airports intentionally build uncomfortable seats and not enough of them. They want your experience to suck, because that's how they sell people on lounges. Same applies for basically anything that sucks about planes - it sucks because it's more profitable that way.

I went to a few lounges back when I got them for free and seeing how clear of a money grab and intentonal stratification they are made me not want to pay for them ever in the future.

You didn’t engage with the example. I don’t care about comfy seats.

The level of service isn't possible for everyone. ex: I got to skip a line because other people were excluded. If everyone got that experience I’d probably have missed my departure time and missed a wedding. That’s worth a lot to folks.

> As someone who’s lived nearly seven decades without once setting foot in an airport lounge—not because I’m poor but because they’re a waste of money—I was appalled by Mack’s complaint

Then someone else should write this article because airport lounges are free with the right banking relationships

Which is the problem people are resonating with. The path is too well known and followed.

    cringingly bad op-ed

This article is more "cringe" than it's source material.

This is a content-free comment.

Is it though?

It's expressing the idea that the linked article is of lower quality than the op-ed it attempts to disparage, which communicates to readers that any conclusions drawn are suspect.

Without any additional context, your comment entirely equivalent to "WAH, I DON'T LIKE IT!"

I wonder on what basis "someone who’s lived nearly seven decades without once setting foot in an airport lounge" is critisizing an op-ed about airport longes so harshly.

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