Airport lounges were once a perk for business travellers 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. 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. Travellers 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 US$450 annual fee. One of those was a Priority Pass membership that provides entry for the cardholder to around 60 lounges at US airports and around 1,200 world-wide—with as many guests as desired. <br/>
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Last December IATA warned that the biggest challenge for airlines in 2018 would be the increasing costs of fuel and labour, which make up more than half of carriers’ operating expenses. Now, there are signs that the pressure on the bottom line won’t end there: Operators may face higher costs for maintenance as well, with both wages for aircraft technicians and the prices on aircraft parts and replacements on the rise. Executives from MRO industry told the Oliver Wyman 2018 MRO Survey they are already having to deal with higher costs for materials and labour in recent months and expect both to continue to rise for the foreseeable future. The increases are pushing up operational expenses for airlines and the maintenance businesses that service them and could eventually hurt their bottom lines. <br/>
Airlines will be prohibited from sending planes to Kennedy Airport during winter storms, like the one that caused chaos there in January, unless they have received assurances that gates will be available on landing. The change is one of several the Port Authority plans to announce Monday to prevent a recurrence of the epic runway traffic jam that left hundreds of travellers stranded on planes for hours during the first weekend of 2018. The agency also will require better management of luggage at Kennedy after some travellers did not get their bags back for several days following the storm, nicknamed a “bomb cyclone” by meteorologists, that dropped several inches of snow on Queens. The announcement of the new procedures comes about a month before the results of an investigation into the causes of the chaos at Kennedy are due. <br/>