These days, the value prop is much lower for airport lounges.

Back in early 00s - they offered a few things that you couldn't find elsewhere in airport: Namely work cubicle w/ comfy seat + wifi.

Most airports now have ample wifi, food, drinks, etc....so maybe the only thing is the "comfy" atmosphere (airports are never really comfy tho...)

One of the best uses I ever had of a lounge was the Heathrow lounge used to have private showers (probably still do). That meant after an overnight flight I could take a quick shower on landing so I could go straight from airport to London office without needing to first do the whole hotel checkin routine. But admittedly thats a pretty narrow usecase.

I gotta say: just your average Starbucks does 80% of a good lounge. Airport Starbucks might legit be $20 (20,277Sats) for a coffee and two sandwiches. Cozy leather armchair, coffee, food, internet - what more do you want?

I usually just wait by the gate. I have used the lounges a couple times. They are ok but I am just not in that mindset when I am travelling. I just want to get to the gate, get on the plane and get where I am going. I guess it would make sense if you had a long layover or were travelling with a group for business.

Flying sucks generally, and lounges are just a way to upsell you on a slightly less bad experience. Trains in Europe or Asia are amazing, especially when the station is downtown. You can sip aperitivos in a cute local cafe, then ten minutes later speed with 200mph towards your destination. No security, no queues, no faux status upgrades. I'll always take a 6h train ride over a 1h flight.

Used to be a big fan of American Express Centurion lounges but the cost and crowdedness made them not as desirable.

But I think the have value for long layovers but Justin is right if layover times were shorter and the actual flights themselves provided more services the demand for lounges would fall.

I used to go to lounges all the time if not for anything else than to grab couple bottles of water (i had free access through a card), sadly nowadays very few still have water you can take with you. Also they are all full everywhere.

I've had some long layovers where a lounge gets handy, but the golden days are over, same with the flying, business used to be great, nowadays its just slightly better than cattle class.

Try first class lounges

I am afraid to lose the flight by going into a lounge honestly

I hate them all, airports too. Hard to imagine a more fiat places. Will we overcame it someday with more local airports and boats to long time traveling?

It really depends on the airport and airline.

Ultimately, the AA lounge at DEN is good, the tiny one at SNA too. The big skyteam lounge at MAD terminal 1 has a terrace which is awesome when its not scorching out.

Very rare I have a layover long enough to warrant it, but the few times I had it was a game changer.

7 hours in Dublin once, pre-covid, the shower and reclined seat I could nap in made it bearable. Wasn't at all crowded.

3 hours in Detroit, during covid, lounges were closed... but I was also like one of 4 people in the airport so the whole terminal was like a personal lounge.

4 hours in DFW, cubicle to work from and clean bathrooms made that day suck a lot less.

Had 3.5 hours in Vegas this year but lounges were full. Had they not been, I'd gladly have paid the $50 to have somewhere quiet'ish and comfortable to crack my laptop and not have to pack everything up just to use the bathroom. The food court was unbearable to work from after a bit so most of that time I spent zonked out with headphones at the gate, which was empty until about an hour before the flight.

Capacity is the biggest issue these days, but every major carrier seems to be dumping a fortune on bigger better lounges right now. The paradox with lounges is you'd need them less if there wasn't so much buffer time needed prior to departure, delays, and long connections.

What an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal. I love the idea of airport lounges: they offer that oasis of comfort and tranquility in the midst of the chaos of traveling.

Do not particularly like airport lounges and do not like flying either. Airlines are the height of fiat debt based capitalism and its consumption driven planet wrecking excesses, imo. I like trains, boats and hiking in the woods.