ATLANTA — There is a new club in this city often referred to as the ATL. Somehow, despite the abundance of clubs, the name its proprietors chose was unclaimed: the Club at ATL.
Yet it is hardly the latest hangout at Midtown or Buckhead or other night-life magnets. It usually borders on library-quiet and closes at 9:30 p.m. The $35 cover charge may seem steep, but food and drink are included. The drinks are dished out at a long, curved bar by an actual barkeeper.
Patrons pass through tighter security than at any club they have probably ever frequented.
The club, which opened six weeks ago, sits just beyond the Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at an international concourse at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. It is a passenger lounge little different from the major airlines lounges that are geared toward their faithful fliers.
What distinguishes the Club at ATL and a handful of others in the United States is that they operate independently from an airline. The clientele they woo is anyone willing to pay for a day pass.
“It’s a democratization of the lounge,” said Chris McGinnis, editor of The Ticket, a blog that caters to frequent travelers. “It opens up the lounge to someone of lesser means.”
The two concepts, however, are not distinct. The Club at ATL maintains an arrangement with two foreign-based airlines to admit their passengers who hold business- or first-class tickets.
Also, some airline clubs offer day passes to nonmembers of their frequent flier programs or even to those without a ticket on one of their planes. Delta, whose newest of several lounges at Hartsfield-Jackson sits next door to the Club at ATL, charges $50 to all comers.
Still, most customers at the airline-run clubs pay an annual fee. “For folks who don’t travel that frequently, it’s a big investment to make,” Mr. McGinnis said. He views the unaffiliated sites as “a great idea for someone who doesn’t want to make the investment in membership for lounge access.”
Atlanta’s autonomous club is administered by Airport Lounge Development of Plano, Tex., a company created in 2006 strictly to run a club at Dallas-Fort Worth International. Four years later, partly inspired by similar lounges in Europe and Asia, where they are far more common, the company looked to grow beyond Texas. It now has clubs at airports in Las Vegas, San Jose, Calif., and Raleigh, N.C.
Graham Richards, Airport Lounge Development’s director of operations, said the market for independent clubs was ripe. Major airline mergers have curbed the growth of traditional lounges, and airports are seeking new ways to generate revenue. Airports build the clubs and collect rent from the lounge company along with a portion of fees.
Further, Mr. Richards said, airlines “increasingly are asking, Do we really need to be investing all this capital in a lounge?”
Mr. Richards indicated that Airport Lounge Development intends to announce more locations soon. Potential sites are limited by the need for significant passenger traffic and available room. The fit is easier at airports undergoing renovation or expansion.
The average daily customer count at Hartsfield-Jackson lounges is 150 to 160, many of whom enter free of charge by flashing their higher-price tickets on British Airways or Lufthansa or their membership cards to Priority Pass, a global lounge access program, or the Diners Club. A.L.D. also provides long-term enrollment.
A makeshift wall divides seats, 172 in all, between the main area and a “quiet zone,” where soft lavender lighting sets the mood.
Visitors can sink into round gray chairs and find an electrical outlet within arm’s length almost anywhere.
A continental breakfast, ready when doors open at 5:30 a.m., gives way to a lunch and dinner of soup, sandwiches, salads and snacks. A bartender begins pouring and stirring in midmorning and declares last call just before 9:30 p.m.
Other amenities include Wi-Fi, a business center, showers (with a generous 30-minute time limit) and a wide-angle view of departing and arriving planes and Atlanta’s skyline.
The Club at ATL stacks up competitively with its neighboring lounge, though only Delta can promote an outdoor terrace.
Mr. Richards acknowledges that some fliers will consider the fee steep, but he points out that a restaurant or bar tab and the cost of Internet access might not amount to substantially less.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/business/not-business-class-but-still-traveling-like-a-boss.html?partner=rss&emc=rss