United Airlines has a unique lounge concept in the form of United Club Fly, which you won’t find at any other US airline. While the first location opened in late 2022 in Denver, we’ve just learned that a second location will be opening in early 2025 in Houston. Let’s cover all the details.
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United Club Fly Denver opened in late 2022
Denver International Airport (DEN) is a major hub for United Airlines, and in November 2022 we saw the airline launch a completely new lounge concept, known as United Club Fly. What should guests expect from United Club Fly Denver?
- The lounge is located between gates B61 and B63
- The lounge is open daily between 7AM and 8PM
- The lounge is 1,563 square feet
- The lounge has very limited capacity, with room for just 16 guests to sit, and room for eight guests to stand at a bar
- United Club Fly is open to anyone who has United Club access, but you can’t bring guests with you; you scan yourself into the lounge using your eligible boarding pass
- In terms of food, the lounge features grab & go sandwiches, wraps, salads, yogurt, fruit cups, cereal, chips, sweet treats, etc., all of which are complimentary
- In terms of drinks, the lounge features self-serve coffee, barista made coffee, cold brew, iced tea, soft drinks, juice, and water, all of which are complimentary
- The lounge doesn’t have any bathrooms
United Club Fly Houston opening in early 2025
We’ve just learned that the United Club Fly concept will be expanding to Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), as reported by Zach Griff. While exact details are limited as of now, we know that the lounge will be located in Terminal B, and it’s expected to open in the spring of 2025.
Those are all of the details that we have as of now, though I’m sure we’ll learn more as the opening date of the lounge space approaches. Regardless, this is something for regular United flyers out of Houston to look forward to.
This grab & go “lounge” concept is awesome
United Airlines is the first US airline to offer a grab & go food concept in a lounge, though it’s not the first time we’ve seen this concept in North America:
- In 2019 we saw the introduction of the Air Canada Cafe in Toronto, which is the same idea; it’s a small lounge with a selection of food & drinks that you can take to-go
- More recently in the United States we’ve seen the opening of Capital One Lounges, like the Capital One Lounge DFW, which also offer a grab & go selection, including complimentary food & drinks
This is such a great idea, especially for an airport that’s a heavily banked hub, where passengers may often only have a connection of under an hour. That’s not really enough time to enjoy a meal at a restaurant or eat a whole lot in a lounge, so being able to grab something for your connecting flight is useful. This should also help alleviate crowding in some other lounges that United Club guests may otherwise visit.
The one challenge with the grab & go concept is that some people lack self restraint, and they view a grab & go selection as an invitation to cater their pantry for the next month. I mean, I’ve seen people bring Ziploc bags in order to empty out those stale snack towers, so I can only imagine what some people do if they have access to something better than that. I’m kind of surprised that enforcement hasn’t become a major issue with this, though maybe staff are monitoring? I dunno…
Bottom line
United Club Fly is a unique grab & go concept, whereby United Club members can visit a small space and grab food and drinks to take with them. This is ideal for those with short connections, who may not have time to properly enjoy a traditional lounge.
The United Club Fly concept debuted in Denver in 2022, and we’ve now learned that a similar concept will be coming to Houston in 2025. I’m happy to see that this wasn’t just a one-off for United, and that the airline is expanding this to more airports.
What do you make of the United Club Fly concept?
The discrepancies between lounges is appalling. 18 months ago I was stuck in Denver and bought a ticket into a very nice United Club Lounge where I was pleased to spend a whole day. Yesterday I was in the Terminal A United Lounge and it was the dumpiest lounge I've seen yet. No bussing or cleaning. Paper cups. Dinner entree bins were almost empty. Small selection to begin with. If I'd paid $59 I would have been pissed.
Great spot with many food & drink options created cleverly for travelers on the go.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Besides Denver, Houston is another major United hub that serves as a key connecting point for travelers, so it makes sense for the Chicago-based flyer to open its second Club Fly in Houston.
Dr. Güntürk Üstün
Surprising that United hasn't launched more of these at their hubs.
Awful employees!
My dogs like the Italian Wraps.
I brought one home for them last week.
Delta also offers a dedicated Grab & Go lounge located adjacent to ATL Terminal B SkyClub.
They are a bit more strict about it though as the rules state that you cannot visit a regular full service lounge at ATL if you use the Grab & Go lounge (though access "resets" after 2 hours or something in case you face a flight delay).
Was at the Club Fly last week and some putz was standing blocking the exit as he took orders from his family (standing outside) and handing them to them. "No sweetie they don't have ham and cheese, how about turkey?"
The best part is I can take 2-3 person’s worth of food with just one lounge day-pass and share with family in the next flight.
Lol wow ziplock bag. Please take a picture of it next time. I am hardly ever in a lounge and that is just wild.
Wasn't American supposed to do this too - at all its lounges. But they only offered a bag of potato chips or a grain bar. But I don't see these items anymore.
From people who have tried this, they say the quality is convenience store level. Not very enticing.
And yet they receive high marks from customers, both for the ease and food/drink options.
I went when it first opened, so perhaps quality has dipped? The fridges had fresh wraps, and there were a number of bags of snacks and bottled/canned drinks, that's literally the point of a grab and go. What stood out was the full service barista coffee bar, they had nitro cold brew on tap.
That's...essentially what it's supposed to be? It's on the same par as all other grab and go options in an airport. Better than some in flight options. But most importantly, it's a way to get some value out of your United Club membership if you'd otherwise have to skip a visit to the lounge and run to your flight.
It's not meant to be on par with the sit down lounge options.
I've gotten moldy, packaged food multiple times. Not the end of the world, but they're not "on it" like a convenient store would be.
Moldy food is not a show stopper. Okay!