Air travel: Why airport lounges are losing their appeal

The last time I sat in a lounge was in June this year and the experience was not pleasant let alone premium.

BHPian Aditya recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Travelling by air could be stressful. Catching a flight involves standing in queues, going through checks and if you are unlucky, long delays. After checking in your luggage and passing the security check, all you want is a peaceful and comfortable place to sit and relax or work. You might even want to have a good meal. This is not always possible as the seats near the boarding gates and restaurants are taken. You might also encounter some noisy folks.

Many years ago, lounges were introduced at airports. To get access to these lounges, one needed a membership, premium credit card or qualifying airline ticket (business / first class). In return, he/she got a quiet place with comfortable sofas and good food to pass his time and complete some work peacefully. The lounge was an exclusive place where only the affluent could enter. It was an aspirational place.

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Of late though, things have changed. These lounges have become accessible to many more people and as a result, see long queues for entry. With just about everyone who walks into the airport getting access, lounges are losing their appeal. The last time I sat in a lounge was in June this year. It was pretty crowded and getting a good place to sit took time. With many people around, it was certainly not a peaceful or exclusive place. Some people were talking loudly on their phones, children were shouting and running around and only a few of the dishes on the food menu were palatable. What's more, pigeons were flying in and out of the place. All in all, the experience was not pleasant let alone premium.

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With airports getting larger with more places to sit, I have quit using lounges and just opt for a corner seat with a charging point at hand. The number of restaurants and options available at food courts is also healthy.

Why has this happened? One of the reasons is that air traffic is increasing massively. Most fliers use low-cost airlines that do not serve meals on the flight. Food is priced exorbitantly at the airport as well. Those who have access to a lounge, get access to a buffet at a nominal price. As a result, the lounges drew crowds.

Credit card companies started offering complimentary entry into airport lounges. Many new cardholders got access to lounges even with cards that do not have an annual fee. Most people who fly have a credit card and with banks offering lounge access so easily, almost anyone walking into the airport could use the lounge. This made the cardholders happy, and banks, which were coming out of the COVID-19 slowdown were getting business. According to data from the Reserve Bank of India, over the last 5 years till March 2023, the number of credit cards had almost doubled to 85 million.

The number of people who visited lounges rose from 3.5 million in the financial year ended 2022 to 8.5 million in the financial year ended 2023. Dreamfolks, which claims to be India’s largest airport services intermediary, claims that 2.73 million people used lounges through their services in the July–September 2023 quarter, and 2.63 million people used lounges in April–June 2023. That is a total of 5.36 million people accessing the lounges using credit cards, operating on the Dreamfolks platform in six months.

However, not many of these cardholders are actually using credit cards to spend money, while the banks have to foot the bill for offering complimentary lounge access. It costs them ~Rs. 800 per person for domestic lounge access and ~Rs. 1,500 for international lounge access. Therefore, banks are now planning to cut lounge benefits. They are planning to offer spend-based access to their cardholders. This way, they hope to cut lounge usage by 20%. They also hope that lounges will start getting their premium feel back.

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Here's what GTO had to say about the matter:

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!

Here's what BHPian toiingg had to say about the matter:

Lounges had become like langars, with most of them there for the free food. With anybody with a credit card (heck, even some Debit Cards) being allowed entry, it got too crowded for its own good.

I have come across people sitting with their feet up on the opposite sofa as if it's a bus depot. It's a good thing that banks are finally cutting back on this freebie.

Here's what BHPian V.Narayan had to say about the matter:

Lounges at least in India's domestic terminals are not worth the hassle IMHO. I prefer, like Aditya above, to find a seat near the gate and read a magazine. Once in a rare while, I visit the Air India or Vistara lounge which as of now has entry based on ticket/frequent flyer status. On international legs, I use those lounges which offer a shower & a private toilet - that is real value IMHO. For a lot of folks still relatively new to the whole flying business access to a lounge is a new experience and has a novelty value. In a decade, this excitement will pass.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.