Airport lounges, once the province of the elite, have become victims of their own success.
At peak times, fliers with access fidget anxiously in line at the frosted glass doors for the chance to elbow their way to the buffet, score a free cocktail and, hopefully, grab a cushy chair where they can enjoy it all.
Responding to the overwhelming demand, major lounge operators like United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and American Express have clamped down on access. They have begun offering fewer and more expensive guest passes and imposing time limits on when customers can enter and how long they can stay.
Still, lounges are bursting at the seams.
Now, airlines and credit card companies are taking a different approach: the premium pit stop, essentially small airport outposts that offer prepackaged grab-and-go food and drinks. These spaces usually invite passengers to grab a quick bite for the flight, but not to settle in for a hot meal and pull out their laptop for a work session. Some lack restrooms and dedicated Wi-Fi, and good luck finding an electrical outlet.
The first of these grab-and-go lounges, which have opened in major hubs that are already home to some of the busiest lounges, let passengers take food outside (typically a no-no). It turns out that more than half of lounge and club visitors wanted to take food or drinks to go, United found when it surveyed members of its loyalty program.
Zach Griff, the author of the travel newsletter From the Tray Table, applauds the new idea. “It’s great to have some takeaway options that don’t require waiting in line or spending lots of money at subpar airport concessions,” Mr. Griff said. He expects more of these quick-stop lounges to pop up in the coming years, especially in airports where many passengers are just connecting.
Here are some of the new grab-and-go locations.
Charlotte, n.c.
Provisions by Admirals Club
American Airlines’ Provisions by Admirals Club, which opened last year at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, features modern minimalist décor with high-top counters, standing tables and a few chairs along floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the runways. Large glass-front refrigerators contain sandwiches and premade salads like Northwest salmon and kale, or avocado and egg, packaged to take onto the plane. Visitors can also help themselves to packages of chips, cookies, nuts and other snacks as well as juices, coffee and other nonalcoholic beverages. This mini-lounge also offers an airline representative to help with changes in flight plans, but it lacks dedicated Wi-Fi, restrooms, hot meal options, alcoholic drinks and comfy chairs.
Denver and Houston
Club Fly
United passengers with lounge access at Denver International, where more than two-thirds of customers are connecting to other flights, and George Bush Intercontinental in Houston, another hub, can try out the airline’s Club Fly. Operating like a premium takeout cafe, Club Fly offers light meals like salads, fruit and vegetable cups, wraps, and sandwiches, all in ready-to-go containers. Some items can be heated on request. Baristas make specialty coffee drinks like matcha lattes, and a machine churns out freshly squeezed orange juice. What doesn’t this place have? Many places to sit or eat.
Atlanta
Sky Club
Rather than creating a separate location for its inaugural grab-and-go offering, Delta tucked it just inside the entrance of one of its Sky Club lounges at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International. From there, fliers can choose to take prepackaged food or enter the full lounge. The choices are a bit more regulated here: Guests can take one prepackaged salad or sandwich, a nonalcoholic drink, a snack like raw veggies or chips, and a sweet like a dessert or a granola bar.
Montreal and Toronto
Air Canada Café
Air Canada operates grab-and-go Air Canada Cafés at four airports: Montréal-Trudeau International, Vancouver International, Toronto Pearson and Billy Bishop Toronto City. The cafes offer coffee, juices, pastries, and prepackaged sandwiches and salads. The Toronto and Vancouver locations feature a bar and a bartender — just in case you’re not actually in a hurry.
Las Vegas
Sidecar
American Express, whose luxe Centurion Lounges are often in high demand, recently opened Sidecar near the Centurion at Harry Reid International in Las Vegas. Sidecar, more of a fancy gourmet bar than a utilitarian food stop, is decorated like a small speakeasy with recessed, warm lighting and brass accents. A bartender whips up specialty cocktails, and passengers can use a QR code to order from a rotating menu of fancy bites like avocado toast with schug labneh and black sesame seeds to be brought to their tables. “It’s elevated and efficient,” said Emily Vicker, vice president for corporate affairs and communications at American Express. Passengers can check in 90 minutes before their flight. A second Sidecar is scheduled to open in 2027 at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
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