Leather chairs, cocktails and salted nuts; San Antonio International’s only private lounge set to reopen
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Starting next month, members of the United Club – the only private lounge at San Antonio International Airport – can once again enjoy this rare world of leather armchairs, free cocktails and salted nuts away from the noise of Terminal B.
The return of the club is, at least for the owner United Airlines, a sign that business is picking up speed again.
United spokeswoman Christine Salamone said the airline will reopen the San Antonio Lounge and 16 others at airports across the United States at different times in July, August and September.
The opening in San Antonio will take place in August, although the airline has not given a date. A dozen United clubs are already open, including the one at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.
“We have seen a rapid acceleration in demand and expect remarkable customer volumes this summer, approaching and exceeding 2019 levels,” said Salamone. “Although a large part of our travel volume during the pandemic comes from vacation travel, we see a sharp increase in business travel and assume that it will only increase in the fall and beyond.”
For United and other airlines, the return of business travelers would add long-term profitability. While the number of private travelers flying has increased steadily so far this year, business trips are still lagging behind.
In a quarterly conference call with analysts on June 29, United CEO Scott Kirby predicted that business travel would return to pre-pandemic levels by 2023.
Business travel with United fell 95 percent last year compared to 2019, before the coronavirus crippled the aviation industry.
For business travelers, the airline club is one of the advantages on the go.
The member clubs are part of the major airlines’ strategy to attract business travelers to their flight with drinks and food in secluded, dimly lit lounges. United, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines each operate exclusive clubs.
United Club membership of $ 650 per year will not get you if you cannot present a United boarding pass. You also can’t buy a day pass for $ 59 without a plane ticket.
The San Antonio United Club has been closed since March 2020.
San Antonio Cybersecurity Manager John Dickson looks forward to visiting the San Antonio Club again. The amenities include a bar, a coffee station, a soda machine, bagels and cream cheese and oatmeal for breakfast, salty snacks, soups and snack packages with vegetables – all included in the member price.
The lounge also offers comfortable leather armchairs and rest, a place to nap or relax – in sharp contrast to the often noisy, crowded gate areas of the San Antonio International. For workaholics, the lounge also offers a fast internet connection and a printer.
Dickson – who also chairs the city’s Airport System Development Committee – had used the lounge twice a month before boarding United flights to Denver, a frequent destination of his prior to COVID-19. He’s flying back to Denver and will patronize the lounge once it reopens.
“Nothing amazing,” he said of the United Club. “Just a great place to camp and email a few before you get on your plane.”
However, the club and other airport lounges, he added, “are priceless when a flight is delayed”.
Frequent business travelers look to premium airport lounges like the United Club, said Jesus Saenz Jr., San Antonio aviation director.
He said airport officials are in talks with American Airlines, Delta Airlines and independent lounge companies about opening additional clubs in San Antonio International.
“I think it’s a great offer from the airlines for their passengers,” he said.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has three lounges operated by United, American and Delta. The pandemic has pushed back the opening of a fourth lounge.
More business travelers would certainly help convince airlines to open more clubs in San Antonio.
The number of passengers who pass the security checks at San Antonio Airport is on average around 85 percent of the level in 2019. But these are mostly holiday or leisure travelers, Saenz said.
randy.diamond@express-news.net
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