United confirms that Denver is getting a new — and very unique — lounge
The Denver International Airport is about to get its third United Club — but this one will be very different from the airline's two existing lounges in the B Concourse.
City planning documents, first reported by Twitter user @xJonNYC, show that the new club — internally dubbed a "United Club Lite" — will be constructed between gates B61 and B63 on the eastern end of Denver's B Concourse.
The lounge will be just 1,563 square feet, featuring limited seating and a customer service counter. The lounge's focus will be on grab-and-go food and beverages, as opposed to the traditional clubs which offer a variety of seating, a bar, a buffet and meeting spaces.
Based on the initial plans, there won't even be any restrooms in the new lounge.
United confirmed the new lounge concept is coming to Denver early next year, with the statement below. The airline didn't have any additional mockups or details to share at this time.
United plans to open a new club concept at Denver International Airport in early 2022 that will represent a new variation of what a club space can offer customers. We look forward to sharing more details in the coming weeks as we finalize our plans.
United's new grab-and-go lounge will join its two existing clubs in Denver, both of which were formerly Red Carpet Club outposts for the pre-merger United Airlines. With all the growth that Denver has seen — it's been one of the fastest-growing hubs in the airline's network — these two United Clubs have been some of the most overcrowded in the entire network.
United's third Denver lounge isn't the only new club coming to the Mile High City. Capital One plans to open one of its new lounges there (in Concourse A), and if the new outpost is anything like the issuer's first location in Dallas/Fort Worth, it'll also have a strong emphasis on grab-and-go offerings.
In recent years, we've seen a proliferation of lounges catering to grab-and-go offerings. Finding enough airport real estate for large lounges has historically been challenging, so this mini-lounge concept is a great way for airlines to open outposts in space-constrained terminals.
While United will be the first U.S. carrier to offer a grab-and-go food concept, its Star Alliance partner up north, Air Canada, recently opened a small cafe in its Toronto hub with a similar concept. Another United partner, Lufthansa, operates a "Delights to Go" service in its Munich hub, with a choice of boxed meals for its premium-cabin passengers and elite flyers.
Related: First look at the brand-new Amex Centurion Lounge in Denver
All in all, this new grab-and-go lounge will likely be much more popular for those with short connections. After all, Denver is a heavily banked hub, and with limited time between connecting flights, many flyers will appreciate the option to simply grab a snack and a drink before their next flight.
It'll be interesting to see if this new concept is successful for United, and if so, where it expands to next.
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