为什么机场贵宾室怎么越来越像菜市场？

Dustin Scott didn’t mind a six-hour layover in Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport. The 30-year-old was looking forward to using an airport lounge, courtesy of his Sapphire Reserve credit card.

斯科特(Dustin Scott)本来并不介意要在亚特兰大的哈茨菲尔德-杰克逊机场停留六个小时。凭借手里的蓝宝石信用卡，30岁的他很期待在贵宾室打发这段转机时光。

What he envisioned: a quiet space where he could relax and eat free before boarding his flight to Ukraine. What he found: A packed room with no available seats. A buffet with barely any food left. Toilet paper on the bathroom floor.

按照他的设想，贵宾室是一个供休息放松、有免费餐饮的安静空间，他可以从那里登机，飞往乌克兰。然而，他真正踏入的贵宾室是一个座无虚席的拥挤房间，自助餐食物所剩无几，卫生间厕纸散乱一地。

“You think, ‘Oh man, I have this lounge access, I can go in there and chill and there will be a bunch of business people on their laptops,’ ” said Mr. Scott, who works in promotions for a bike-share company. “And you go in and it’s like Disney World.”

为某共享自行车公司做推广的斯科特说：“我本来想的是，‘哇塞，我可以进入贵宾室休息，四周都是盯着笔记本电脑的商务人士。’谁知进去才发现，那里像个迪士尼乐园。”

Airport lounges were once a perk for business travelers and high spenders, a haven from the chaos of modern travel. Then more rewards credit cards started offering lounge access. And what was once an oasis now is more like a mall food court.

机场贵宾室曾经是商旅人士和有钱人的专属领地，是屏蔽嘈杂旅行环境的“世外桃源”。后来，越来越多的信用卡奖励计划纳入了贵宾室服务。于是，曾经高大上的贵宾室现在更像是商场里的餐饮区。

Losing that “1%” feeling has been jarring. Grousers say gourmet meals once on offer are now finger foods, and beverages are more likely to be guzzled than sipped. Overcrowding means seats often aren’t available.

失去那种至尊体验让一些人感到不快。有人抱怨说，贵宾室原先供应的精致餐食现在也变成了零食点心，饮品也换成了解渴的廉价酒水，而不再是供人细品小啜的那种。过度拥挤意味着经常没有足够的座位。

Bruce Douglass, a 63-year-old IT executive who has been visiting airport lounges for 25 years, said lounge staff used to approach him to ask if he would like a drink, and the food available would be a full entree.

25年来，在IT行业工作的高管道格拉斯(Bruce Douglass)一直是机场贵宾室的常客。63岁的他说，以前贵宾室的服务人员会主动上前，问他是否想要喝一杯，餐食也是一道完整的主菜。

Today, Mr. Douglass has to stand in line for a Coke. He said the food options consist of cheese squares, crackers, soup and “what passes for salad.”

如今，道格拉斯想喝一杯可乐都得排队。他说，现在贵宾室提供的餐食有方块奶酪、饼干和汤，还有“勉强称得上是沙拉的东西”。

Lounges in the U.S. “have really gone downhill,” he said.

他说，美国机场贵宾室“真的在走下坡路”。

Travelers say a turning point came in 2016 when JPMorgan Chase & Co. launched its Sapphire Reserve credit card. It became a huge hit, offering big rewards to offset a $450 annual fee. One of those was a Priority Pass membership that provides entry for the cardholder to around 60 lounges at U.S. airports and around 1,200 world-wide—with as many guests as desired.

常旅客说，转折点出现在摩根大通(JPMorgan Chase & Co.)推出蓝宝石信用卡的2016年。该卡推出后获得巨大成功，尽管年费高达450美元，但丰厚的奖励计划不容小觑。其中一个奖励项目是为持卡人提供Priority Pass会籍，不仅可以尽享美国各大机场的约60个贵宾室以及全球约1200个贵宾室的服务，还可以带随行宾客同往（不限人数）。

Other cards also offer Priority Pass access, including the Platinum card from American Express Co. and the Prestige card from Citigroup Inc.

美国运通(American Express Co.)的白金卡和花旗集团(Citigroup Inc.)的至享卡(Prestige card)等也提供Priority Pass会籍。

Priority Pass benefits have become so widespread that wait lists at lounges are now a thing. Mary Osorno and her husband tried to visit one in March at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. A receptionist told Ms. Osorno to expect a 45 minute wait to get in. Ms. Osorno said they didn’t bother—the wait would be longer than their layover.

Priority Pass的福利现在已相当普遍，在贵宾室外排队等位不再是什么稀罕事。玛丽.奥索尔诺(Mary Osorno)和丈夫今年3月在达拉斯沃斯堡国际机场转机时，本来准备去贵宾室休息。前台接待员告诉她，需要等45分钟才能进去。她说，自己和丈夫放弃了，因为转机时间总共也不到45分钟。

Still, Ms. Osorno has been on the other side. After running the Boston marathon in April, she visited a lounge at Boston’s airport, and brought in seven of her friends as guests. They spent an hour or so drinking and eating popcorn before their flight.

不过，玛丽.奥索尔诺在另一次旅行中充分利用了自己的贵宾室会员身份。今年4月，在波士顿跑完马拉松后，她在波士顿机场的贵宾室休息，顺便还带进去了七个朋友。他们在里面待了一个小时左右，喝了点东西，吃了爆米花，直到登机才离开。