Not to be an alarmist, but we fly almost exclusively on United and have a couple of trips booked, some involving miles, others paid. Met my neighbor last night who has worked at BWI Red Carpet Club for a dozen years. Today she's back to the ticket counter and BWI's club is closed. Supposedly, no other club is affected. It just seems to me that United must be in terrible shape to be breaking a contract with their club members; do we have to start worrying about their contracts with passengers to get them from one place to another? Will they collapse, along with other domestic airlines, and will the government permit it? Have I not been paying sufficient attention because of my pre-occupation with filling up the car? Opinions?

Who cares...plus isn't this in the wrong forum?

monik, I care and I think you're being rude.

I debated whether to bring this to the airlines forum but decided it was relevant to a large group on this forum who might want to know the best restaurant when they visit Seattle, but first are boarding a plane. No plane, no Seattle, no restaurant, or worse, stranded in airport far from home. The closing of the Red Carpet Club seemed very significant to me; perhaps I'm wrong.

I wonder why only one club room was closed...perhaps not enough foot traffic to justify the expense vs. the potential revenue generated through goodwill, etc.

United has a couple of clubs at Dulles PLUS the First International Lounge..who knows how long these will last..and realistically, SHOULD they?

I'm sure a rise in the number of FF miles required for any segment is coming next....I notice the "premium" season seems to have been extended for some destinations (e.g., the UK..in February???? yeah, sure)...

something's got to give....soon

United sent out an email last week. It is closing four clubs: BWI, Dallas, Atlanta and Minneapolis. According to the email, this is based on "a number of factors, including high fuel costs, customer usage, operating costs and alignment with corporate strategy."

At the same time, United just opened a brand new club in Chicago.

http://www.united.com/page/article/1,,52673,00.html