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Stay tuned to find out how. I'm not sure if this is an embarrassing or a proud confession. I have never been to an

airport lounge and I don't think that in my true brain I thought they were real. They are real. I had also not been to one until like relatively recently.

My first experience in an airport lounge was in 2018 when a friend who I was going to to Europe with I had never been to Europe never been in an airport lounge a lot of firsts on this trip it was a trip for his birthday and he had bought like an expensive

ticket on the flight that we were all on. The rest of us were on much cheaper

flights and he managed to talk all of us into the British Airways lounge in JFK.

He's a very convincing guy, a good talker.

So he got us all into the lounge and I was like, oh, I have information now that I can't unlearn I know how

nice this is I know the free drinks and the soft chairs and the lack of crowds but the

crowds have expanded since then.

I'm Hana Rosen, this is Radio Atlantic,

and that was former Atlantic staff writer Amanda Mall,

clowing me in about airport lounges,

which apparently many other people are already

clued into. I'm guessing that many of you listeners are more sophisticated than I am.

For all I know you are right now listening to this podcast while sipping Champagne at whatever is the newest luxury lounge at LAX.

But whose idea was it to give you that free champagne? Why are these lounges now everywhere? And even

though you are technically not paying for the champagne, you must know that you're not getting

it for free.

Somewhere down the line, you or somebody is paying for it.

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