Airport Lounges Under Pressure: Can New Openings Restore Exclusivity?

At least 10 new lounges are slated to open at major U.S. airports in the next year or so – and they can’t come soon enough. According to a recent report by the International Air Transport Association, the total full-year air traffic in 2024 increased by 10.4% compared to a year earlier. This is 3.8% above pre-pandemic levels. 

However, record-breaking passenger numbers are only part of the problem. It’s also about what travelers do when they are actually at the airport. A growing band of credit cards offer flashy perks, such as access to cardholder lounges or Priority Pass membership. The result? Lounges that were once genuinely exclusive now feel like a slightly fancier boarding gate waiting room. 

Airlines, lounge operators, and other stakeholders are grappling with creating an elevated experience that can cope with higher footfall. 

American Airlines, Delta, JetBlue, and Virgin Atlantic are among the big names with new lounges in the pipeline. While individual strategies vary, the overarching goal is to restore the premium feel that made lounges so popular in the first place.

JetBlue is introducing its first-ever lounges at New York JFK, and Boston Logan. Speaking at the Skift Global Forum last year, JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty confirmed that the airline’s lounges would be “smaller, bespoke, more personal, with hopefully no lines.”

With just two lounges planned, JetBlue is creeping, rather than leaping into the sector. To keep Geraghty’s vision of exclusivity alive, the