Airline Club Assistance
I shamelessly admit that I enjoy airport lounges. Some are better than others, of course. But I genuinely like trying new clubs out and returning to my favorites. I get that others aren’t into them, figuratively and literally. Do your thing. But I’ll take another step and say that some of my favorite lounges are those from airlines, even – gasp – domestic ones! The bank lounge arms race continues, with seemingly every entry trying to outdo the other. Meanwhile, the benefits of airline club assistance routinely best any bank lounge features, in my experience. Allow me to illustrate.
Hello, Irregular Operations
I recently felt the brunt of irregular operations during a return home from Washington, DC. My upcoming flight’s plane arrived on time, perhaps even early, to board us for the flight out of Washington National Airport (DCA). Unfortunately, the crew assigned to this flight was stuck on the tarmac in Knoxville during a snowstorm. I stuck around at the DCA gate, awaiting updates for the next hour or so. American kicked the can, just slightly delaying our boarding every ten minutes or so – while we obviously weren’t going anywhere any time soon. Some two hours later, that Knoxville plane and crew returned to the gate, and the flight eventually was cancelled. But I had left my DCA gate plenty before then, returning to the Concourse E Admirals Club. Perhaps I should’ve gone back sooner.
Upon my second arrival to the club, a helpful front desk agent confirmed that the crew was stuck in Knoxville for the foreseeable future. After shedding my bag and coat in my favorite seat, I returned to the front desk to consider other options. The helpful rep offered to book me on an additional flight to my destination as a contingency in the event my original flight was cancelled. She was able to do this without losing my ticket on the original flight. In fact, she booked me on two subsequent backup flights to my destination and was able to maintain a first class upgrade on the first of those.
I knew about this niche benefit as an Executive Platinum elite, but I was curious at the agent’s thinking in my case. I asked if her provision of these additional tickets was due to my status or this was a general option for those with Admirals Club access. She advised it was the latter, but I can’t ignore that the former may have helped. Regardless, I received prompt, seamless, perky, all-encompassing service from Admirals Club agents in this and other instances.
Another Example
In early December, I flew back east from LAX in United Polaris, with a connection in EWR to my home airport. As the date approached, I was considering an earlier connecting flight with a tighter connection – but with still plenty of transit time. However, I wasn’t finding the options available online for the flights I knew existed. Not caring enough to waste any more time on this effort in advance, I deferred until I arrived at a United Club at LAX.
Once I entered the lounge, I brought up the situation with a rep and inquired about other flights from EWR. Without flinching, she rebooked me on an earlier flight in economy without issue. (I didn’t particularly care about first on the short flight home.)
Of course, not all lounges provide the same level of service in practice. In another airport’s United Club where I asked for assistance, a front desk agent brusquely refused, hardly bothering to hand over a card offering virtual assistance. But, fortunately, I’ve had these experiences few and far between.
Airline Clubs Lead the Way Here
Airport lounges augment travel in substantial ways. But a foundational aspect of air travel is getting me from point A to point B. No matter how much I enjoy a new bank lounge, their agents cannot provide the same level of service with my flights. That bank lounge gets much more uncomfortable if I don’t know when I’ll get home. It’s most important I’m set up for success to wherever I’m going, and airline club assistance uniquely addresses that. It’s an option that’s easily worth buying into for some, whether it’s via credit card fees or direct memberships. Like many of you, I prefer avoiding customer assistance counters within terminals, and we have several options for doing so.
Airline Club Assistance – Conclusion
In a pinch, especially, I’ll pick an unremarkable airline club over shiny, new bank or mostly-depressing Priority Pass options. I don’t have any experience obtaining flight assistance at Delta Sky Clubs. But I can I imagine their airline club assistance is similar, or more likely, better, than American or United. And, in my opinion, the big three legacy domestic carriers should lean into their service options even more. Indeed, they have unique opportunities within their clubs which bank versions do not.
How have your experiences with airline club assistance been? Does such service contribute to your lounge decision making?
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
