Update 10/07/08: Despite the new lounge only being opened for two weeks, it looks like they have hit near capacity on at least one ocassion. When this happens American Express puts a sign out saying that entry will only be granted if you have a boarding pass with a departure time within the next three hours. I still think having a number of guaranteed entries that can be prebooked and then these types of restrictions makes sense. Hat tip to VFTW
New larger @DFWAirport @AmericanExpress #CenturionLounge already at capacity and restricting entrance. CC: @garyleff @OneMileataTime pic.twitter.com/y0jXLxPpXq
— Nathan Totusek (@nathanrt86) October 8, 2018
Original post: Some good news for those going through the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the new American Express Centurion lounge has opened. In late July the old lounge closed for repairs, it was supposed to be closed for close to three weeks but when it was due to reopen American Express announced that it wouldn’t be reopening at all and cardholders would have to wait until October for the new lounge to open.
The new lounge has now officially opened, you could say it opened ahead of schedule given the October open date but keep in mind this lounge was actually supposed to open in the first half of 2018. I thought it was particularly poor form by American Express that no alternative was given when the lounge was closed during this period, especially since Priority Pass access only gets you into Minute Suites and the Club and the Club option is also a temporary location that is truly awful. In any case it’s good to see the new lounge finally operational.
The best way to handle overcrowded lounges is to increase the Platinum af to $1,000 and limit complimentary access to once per week total.
“3 hours before departure” sounds like a reasonable restriction to me.
Even when I’m intentionally trying to get to any airport early (specifically in order to use a lounge to get some food, etc.) I seldom arrive after TSA chk point more than 3 hours before departure.
Much better than “Due to space constraints, we are currently unable to allow access to: Platinum card holders”.
Agreed. I’m fine with the 3 hour restriction. I would highly object to a restriction of only being allowed in 2 hours before departure, but the 3 hour variant is just fine with me.
They had this same sign out at SFO last Sunday night. I talked with the desk personnel and they said it’s not up all the time; just during peak hours.
The Club DFW post 11am ( They make everyone leave & herd you into a new room/closet) is the worst airport lounge currently in existence in the known & unknown universe. I was in a lounge once that caught fire and I would still prefer it over this lounge.
lol
this just makes you appreciate first class lounges so much more.
3 hours seems pretty reasonable.
It’s not really 3 hours though because you need to get to your gate before boarding begins. Lounges really earn their value during layovers as well.
Not long enough enough for a layover. I’ve used DFW on a number of layovers getting to Asia. Very easy to get 8 hour+ layovers. Shutting me out for 5 hours to wander the terminal defeats the whole purpose of having a lounge like that.
I think 3 hours is pretty darn reasonable for flights originally Dallas- if you’re clearing security and showing up at the lounge more than 3 hours in advance you might be doing something wrong.
Clearing security isn’t my biggest concern. My biggest concern is unexpected traffic on the way to the airport.
I once missed a flight from Washington DC to Honolulu because of unexpected traffic (horrible, awful, never ending traffic). I left my house at what I thought was a perfectly reasonable time… but MD-DC-VA traffic sure proved me wrong that day. Last flight for available for that day, so I had to wait until the next morning to finally start my trip.
After that I now leave my house really early. And if I get to the airport with no issues and have to wait three hours for my flight (or more likely two hours), that’s fine. At least I know I’m not going to miss my flight.
It’s better to be really early than even just a tiny bit late.
Washington DC is famously known for its awful traffic congestion though. Maybe DFW isn’t as bad? I don’t know.
Pretty sure they are doing this all the time. I was there on Wednesday around 4pm and the sign was out- only about 40 people in the lounge. I just left the lounge today at 9pm and the sign was out as well- only about 40 people in the lounge. Capacity is 420
Very interesting.
So what changed? Did the dfw cent move to a new location? Did they just expand the old location? Any more amenities added or was this just a scenario where they had to literally get more space due to overcrowding issues, and that was it?
New location, bigger lounge
+1
Some what bigger but not big enough.
When is the Denver one suppose to open?
Was there on the 24th. So frustrated in that temporary The Lounge..