Between the blaring boarding call announcements and the cacophony of slot machines, the concourse at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas is deafening. But upstairs in the Capital One Lounge, which opened in February, the scene is very different.
Here, lounge guests sip signature cocktails mixed with desert botanicals, nibble on caviar-topped deviled eggs, peruse a gallery of local art, take calls in private soundproof work rooms, and doze off in zero-gravity nap pods. As travelers relax in wide leather chairs that overlook the terminal, a bartender occasionally rolls by with a mobile beverage cart, whipping up made-to-order caffè shakeratos, a frothy, Italian iced coffee drink made of shaken espresso, brown sugar syrup, and nutmeg.
Staff keep a grab-and-go area stocked with portable snacks, like homemade Pop-Tarts and deli sandwiches that guests can pack into their carry-ons as they leave to catch their flight.
It’s a level of tranquility and indulgence that can make you forget, at least for a moment, the chaos of the airport. And that’s exactly the point. It’s intended to be a highly sought-after refuge.
In recent years, airport lounges have become a high-stakes battleground. Airlines and credit card companies are investing millions of dollars in spaces that have menus designed by award-winning chefs, curated cocktail lists, and, in some cases, showers and day spas, all to secure one thing: your loyalty.
Select Capital One Lounges, like those at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and JFK Airport in NYC, are known for rolling out drink carts for making table-side shaken iced espresso drinks.
Courtesy of Capital One
The evolution of the airport lounge
A decade ago, lounges were quiet corners of airports where business travelers could nurse a drip coffee and catch up on emails. Back then, Henry Harteveldt—president and travel industry analyst at Atmosphere Research Group, who helped launch airport lounges in his capacity as a marketing professional for four airlines at different points—says the areas were usually converted office spaces and the domain of “cubes of cheese and second-rate wine.”
In the mid-2010s, however, that changed.
“Delta was investing in a lot of different areas to become a more premium airline, one of which was greatly improving airport lounges,” Harteveldt says. “They became the first airline to understand and appreciate that lounges could be a kind of competitive differentiation, that it could drive loyalty.”
The rest of the industry, he says, paid attention. Competitors have been racing in recent years to keep up with premium offerings. Airlines pumped up perks in their lounges, ranging from complimentary shoe shining (available at the John F. Kennedy International Airport Delta One lounge) and marble showers with Dyson hairdryers (found at Capital One’s Denver lounge) to location-specific treats, such as a shaved ice machine in Hawaiian Airlines’ on-island lounges or local craft beer found at lounges such as Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at Boston Logan International Airport, the Centurion Lounge at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, and the United Polaris lounge at Chicago O’Hare International Airport, to name a few.
The Capital One Lounge at JFK has a cheesemonger counter from the famed Manhattan shop Murray’s Cheese.
Photo by Ron Blunt/Courtesy of Capital One
Credit cards enter the lounge chat
Also in the mid-2010s, credit card issuers like Capital One, Chase, and American Express began pouring resources into their own design-forward spaces that promise comfort and experience, a strategy that evolved into multimillion-dollar customer-acquisition tools. Take the Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club at New York’s LaGuardia Airport as one example: There’s à la carte dining, craft cocktails, an arcade room, and a mini spa offering facials.
These increasingly sophisticated lounges have grown more valuable to brands as airports become busier and air travel becomes more stressful. The lounge has become an oasis—and a tangible promise of loyalty delivered.
“For airlines, it’s about creating a space for frequent fliers to be better taken care of,” says Gary Leff, founder of the View from the Wing blog, adding that lounges are a key reason customers create a preference for a brand.
Scott Keyes, founder and chief flight expert at Going, a travel app and flight deals newsletter, says credit card issuers are betting that experiencing a great lounge will continue “enticing those wealthy consumers to sign up for expensive, profitable premium credit cards.” Airlines, he says, are hoping that lounge exclusivity—often tied to status tiers or pricey international tickets—will keep customers loyal to their route networks. Even if annual fees on premium credit cards continue to balloon and airlines continue to raise the threshold for elite status, both industries are wagering that travelers will rationalize those costs if the lounge experience is exclusive enough.
American Express has teamed up with renowned chefs such as Kwame Onwuachi, whose shrimp and grits dish (pictured) will be among the seasonal dishes at the 15 U.S. Centurion lounges.
Courtesy of American Express
Though it costs many millions of dollars to build and run an airport lounge, Harteveldt says, “The metrics brands use to measure effectiveness of lounges in driving brand affinity vary. Some may be more subjective and others more quantitative. But let’s put it this way: If the data didn’t show them that the lounges mattered, we wouldn’t see this intense competition among airlines and credit card companies to open more or invest in the lounges as they are doing now.”
Harteveldt pointed to airlines investing in top-tier lounges in second-tier cities (like the Afar-favorite Delta lounge in Minneapolis) as another indicator that the brands believe the spaces will garner them an adequate return.
“If that weren’t true, they wouldn’t be upgrading the food, they wouldn’t be providing free Wi-Fi. They wouldn’t invest in the nicer furniture or decor or amenities that they are,” Harteveldt says.
Delta’s beautiful Sky Lounge at Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport is indicative of the lounge investments being made beyond the country’s largest hubs.
Courtesy of Delta Air Lines
Have we reached “peak lounge?”
Ben Schlappig, founder of One Mile at a Time, a blog dedicated to maximizing elite travel status, noted that the supercharged opulence in lounges reflects a broader trend in travel, with millennial and Gen Z travelers increasingly valuing experiences over material possessions.
“People go to the lounges because they want to have fun,” Schlappig says. “I think for cardholders, it’s about the experience starting before they get to their destination.”
Looking ahead, the battle shows no signs of slowing down. Airlines are planning even more premium-only lounges, while credit cards continue to scout real estate at major hubs—though there may be some hurdles on the horizon.
The problem with making lounges too good is that everyone wants in. At peak hours, even the largest or most luxurious lounges can resemble the gate areas they were meant to replace. Schlappig says he anticipates lounges to keep leveling up food and drink offerings (like the cheesemonger at the Capital One Lounge that opened at JFK in June or the whiskey bar at American Express’s lounge in Atlanta) but doesn’t expect future lounges to prioritize spas or other unique amenities over seating when many outposts struggle with overcrowding.
Still, Kurt Adams, senior content marketing leader at Going, doesn’t think we’ve reached “peak lounge.”
“Almost every month, I see a story about a new lounge opening or an announcement about another airport getting a new lounge,” Adams says. “As long as passengers continue to vote with their feet and demand access to premium airport spaces, the lounge boom will only continue.”
