So I have been spending the past week on the Star Alliance MegaDo 4. In fact, I have not made it home, but there were some important notes that came from the executive panel Q&A sessions, as well as the information session with Jeff Smisek. There are a lot of updates from this ...
Let me repeat that. The United Club at Sao Paulo (GRU) is a disaster. It officially earns the title of "Worst United Club I Have Visited." There are a few that I haven't seen, but this is by far the worst of the ones I have. Instead of escaping to a "Club Away from the Hubbub" as United once put ...
A few weeks ago, I had a great business trip to Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo. My flight to Buenos Aires was quite nice, even if my the Sheraton Sao Paulo left me disappointed. I had a TAM flight (report coming soon) from Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo, and before the flight, I was able to ...
Not all airport lounges are created equal, yet airlines do attempt to standardize their clubs across their system making sure each one has similar offering. Never before had I stepped inside a United Club, therefore my visit to the LAX club was a christening! I was hoping to be in for a ...
After a number of meetings in Century City, Santa Monica and Newport, my driver dropped me off at John Wayne Airport (IATA: SNA) in Santa Ana.
Despite having a big client nearby, I’d never been to this airport before. It was a reasonably nice regional airport, and things ...
note 6/28/12: all codes have been distributed
In my travels of late, I've noticed these brochures continue to be in United Clubs. According to a sticker on them, the offer for a fee-waived card is extended through June 30, 2012. This is the same as the offer Fozz made ...
One of the big perks of being a Star Alliance Gold member is lounge access! As these lounges are all run or contracted by different airlines, the services and quality levels are all over the place. Over the past year I have been to Star Gold lounges all over the world, and I think the best lounge ...
You can read part one of my multi part trip report about my debacle on “The Worlds Leading Airline” United. Here
Now as we arrive in the Z gate area of Frankfurt airport I see a sea of people ahead of me, you can hear yelling and crying. I walk right into the mess and to my ...
Hungry? I sure am. Let's walk through what you might eat if you were here with me right now at 5:45PM on Monday, July 25, 2011, at the San Francisco International Terminal Red Carpet Club.
Do you have a sweet tooth? Interested in sampling some fine candies? Fear not! United has you ...
Sure... males have been known to miss the urinal from time to time. We're all guilty of that one. How does such a problem get solved? Someone comes in and mops the bathroom. At the JFK Red Carpet Club, they have a different solution. There is a cylindrical padding that is pushed against the wall, designed to absorb urine. If this is not the intent of padding, then it is surely what actually happens. This padding often has stains on it, and it grosses me out to think that someone is supposed to theoretically swap this out for a new one regularly. I have always found one of the perks of a lounge to be nicer bathrooms, but the JFK RCC pee pad really detracts from the niceness of that one. United, can we please get rid of that thing?
I find that it is generally a good idea to mind my own business. Sometimes, however, it is quite difficult.
Yesterday I entered the United Red Carpet Club in Terminal C at Chicago O’Hare where a Lufthansa Senator flying on a domestic ticket was trying to gain access to the ...
Do you have a membership at the club away from the hubbub (yes... that was actually UA's marketing line for a some time)? If you're a member of the Red Carpet Club, and plan to be for the rest of your life, you can buy a lifetime membership again for a limited time. United did away with their ...
Anyone who has been to United's Philadelphia Red Carpet Club knows that the bathrooms are in an utter state of disrepair.
Although the club was refurbished in 2009 and closed temporarily by the Health Department earlier this year, the bathrooms remained unchanged.
To my ...
As most of us expected, United announced early this morning that like Continental, alcoholic beverages and Wi-Fi will now be free for all guests in the Red Carpet Club, United's airport lounge network.
Red Carpet Club and Presidents Club members will continue to enjoy access to each ...
US Airways is offering lounge memberships for only $249 (+ $50 initiation fee for new members) through September 29. The membership will be good for one year and is a substantial discount off the $450 regular price (discounted by as much as $125 for US elites).
Membership ...
As I was checking in for my flight to Chicago Thursday morning at Philadelphia International, I heard an agent call my name from behind me.
I turned around and was surprised to find my favorite Red Carpet Club attendant walk up. "Bad news Mr. Klint. The Red Carpet Club is closed. We ...
With business travel having picked back up, has anyone else noticed that Red Carpet Clubs are absolutely slammed? Geez I must have been waiting in line for 20 minutes to get into the ORD RCC across from C17 a couple weeks ago, and once I got in, it was tough to find a seat! I know one way UA could thin out the crowd: RAISE THE PRICE! Juuuust kidding - That's the worst idea ever. They've already done enough of that. Just build us another RCC K? OK THX.
I'm at the point of the year again where I've reached a fork in the road. I've re-qualified for 1K status on United, so my elite benefits are safe through at least January 2012, but now I must decide whether to continue to credit to UA (where I earn double RDMs on most flights) or pursue status ...
If you are flying though Seattle-Tacoma International over the next five days, don't bother to pull out your drink chits if you stop by United's Red Carpet Club. UA's liquor license has been suspended for allegedly serving alcohol to minors.
Details have ...
We talk about this stuff a lot, but I thought I might share my evaluation of clubs for the airlines I frequently fly. Some common factors (like being crowded on Sundays) are not included. Comments, as always, are welcome.
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