United Airlines is opening Concourse E at Washington Dulles, the airport's first new concourse in two decades. It comes with a United Club that is nearly 40,000 square feet and seats more than 600 people. If you connect through Dulles, your wait between flights is about to get a lot better, and you may already have a way in.
What is opening at Washington Dulles?
A brand new concourse, Concourse E, built for United. That is the news on its own. Dulles has not added a new concourse in two decades, and anyone who has walked its older halls knows it shows.
Dulles is one of United's big hubs. It is a common place to connect, both inside the United States and on the way to Europe. So when United builds new space there, a lot of travellers feel it. That includes plenty of Canadian business owners who route through Dulles on United or on other Star Alliance airlines.
We think this is the right move. A hub airport is only as good as the time you spend stuck in it. New gates and a new lounge fix the part of the trip most people hate.
How big is the new United Club?
Nearly 40,000 square feet, with seats for more than 600 people. That is one of the largest lounges you will find at any airport in North America.
Size matters more than people think. The worst lounge is not the one with bad food. It is the one where you walk in, see every chair taken, and end up working with your laptop on your knees. A room this big should give you a real seat, a plug and some quiet.
Here is the honest part. A lounge with 600 seats tells you United expects a lot of people to use it. Big lounges at busy hubs can still fill up at peak times, like early morning and the late afternoon rush to Europe. Our opinion: it will be a clear upgrade, but do not expect a private club feel.
Who can get into the United Club at Dulles?
More people than you might think. The usual ways in are a United Club membership, certain United credit cards, or a one time pass when United sells them. Many travellers forget the other path: Star Alliance.
If you fly business class on an international Star Alliance trip, you can usually use United Clubs on the day you fly. The same goes for Star Alliance Gold members on an international trip. For Canadians, that matters, because Aeroplan 50K status and above comes with Star Alliance Gold.
So if you are a Canadian business owner with Aeroplan status, or you booked business class on a Star Alliance ticket to Europe, you may already have access. Rules change and each lounge has its own fine print, so check United's lounge rules for your exact ticket before you buy a pass you do not need.
Is it worth routing through Dulles for this lounge?
Not on its own. A lounge is a nice part of a trip, not a reason to take a worse flight. Pick the routing with the best times and the best seat first.
But if two options are close, and one connects through Dulles, the new United Club is a fair tie breaker. A long layover in a good lounge beats a short one sprinting between gates. And if you already have access through status or a business class ticket, it costs you nothing to enjoy it.
The bigger point is this: lounges are part of what you get for your money, and many people never check what they already have. Before your next trip, look at your status and your ticket and see which doors they open.
If you run a business and want to know how far your spending can take you, you can see what your spending buys in business class trips you could already be flying.