ssegraves - Stephan Segraves

The lounge fallacy

October 20, 2025 ssegraves

After a recent trip, I am more convinced than ever that the necessity of airport lounge access, especially domestically, is a fallacy.

I have been an airport lounge user for years; For a time I was flying weekly to New York and would utilize the lounge on my return to get a bit more work done, maybe have a glass of wine with coworkers, and charge my different devices. Then around 2018 I noticed it becoming busier and busier in the lounges I frequented and some of this could be attributed to credit cards giving access to different lounges. The airlines had figured out a formula to get more people to sign up for their credit cards and different bloggers, travel content producers, and others were pushing those cards. New lounges even opened specifically for credit card customers (AMEX Centurion, Chase Sapphire Reserve lounges, and CapitalOne lounges).

A person complaining about the wait times for the AMEX Centurion Lounge

Then Covid hit and lounge numbers fell along with the overall travel numbers. But that is definitely no longer the case. On my last trip, the United Club at PDX, which is usually fairly quiet, was completely full, not a seat to be found. Delta implemented rules to limit access to their lounges and other airlines have followed suit. They are responding to a problem that they created, giving more people access to the lounge via credit card products.

For me, it has become an airport feature that isn’t really worth it anymore. The lounges are too loud to get work done, there is food but it isn’t always the highest quality, and the overcrowding has made it difficult to find a seat or even get in. The lounges have become less of a place of quiet or somewhere to get work done and more of a bar/socializing area.

A lot of business class tickets come with lounge access and I still find value in that access because some of the lounges have dedicated restaurants, so I can grab a meal and skip it on the plane, and they have shower facilities so on arrival or connection I can take a shower. There is definitely some value in those items, I just struggle with the cost/benefit proposition domestically. In most airports I can get something to eat or drink and find a quiet gate for less than the per visit cost to the lounge and I would bet the same is true for most people.

What do you think, are U.S. domestic lounges still worth the cost?

Tuesday texts to read – 10

September 16, 2025September 16, 2025 ssegraves

Apologies for missing last week.

Meta allegedly bypassed Apple privacy measure, and fired employee who flagged it (9to5Mac)
Google is shutting down Tables, its Airtable rival (TechCrunch)
Delta/Aeromexico JV Termination Finalized by DOT (PaxEx.aero)
This trucker built a scale model of NYC over 21 years. It’s drawing museums’ attention. (Gothamist)
These teens turned their rooms into tech-free zones. This was the result (BBC)

He says another bonus of leaving his tech outside his bedroom at night has meant he hasn’t got caught up watching “billions of videos” on TikTok just before he goes to sleep.

Henry says he is already sleeping much better, which in turn has “helped in school… in all subjects and all aspects”.

I’m convinced we are slowly (or maybe quickly) rotting our brains with the amount of social media and short form content we consume. Everything is a soundbite or 30-second clip. None of it engages our brain to actually think or process, we just consume.

Tuesday texts to read – 9

August 19, 2025August 19, 2025 ssegraves

As Alaska’s salmon plummet, scientists home in on the killer (Science.org)
How Croatian freediver held breath for 29 minutes (DiverNet)
How AI researchers accidentally discovered that everything they thought about learning was wrong (Nearly Right)
The ‘big church move’: Swedish town begins to roll historic building 5km (The Guardian)
How much do electric car batteries degrade? (Sustainability by numbers)
Possible measles exposure reported at Denver International Airport (The Denver Post)

An out-of-state resident traveled through Denver International Airport while contagious with measles last week, and public health officials are urging people who passed through Concourse C to watch for symptoms.

Tuesday texts to read – 8

August 12, 2025 ssegraves

H-1B Visas Changes Approved by White House: Report (Newsweek)
A Suicide Cult’s Surviving Members Still Maintain Its 90s Website (Vice)
We caught companies making it harder to delete your personal data online (The Markup)
‘My Life Became a Living Hell’: One Woman’s Career in Delta Force, the Army’s Most Elite Unit (Politico)
PaxEx PR: United Brings Full Season Apple TV+ Content In-flight (PaxEx.aero)

Tuesday texts to read – 7

August 5, 2025August 4, 2025 ssegraves

Remote Stands, Bus Boarding, and Last-Minute Gates: A Tale of Two Airport Systems (Gad’s Newsletter)
Palantir Is Extending Its Reach Even Further Into Government (Wired)
PHP – The Toyota Corolla Of Programming (De Programmatica Ipsum)
US Nuclear Weapons Return to UK After 2008 Withdrawal: Reports (The Defense Post)
North Korean spies posing as remote workers have infiltrated hundreds of companies, says CrowdStrike (TechCrunch)

The scheme relies on North Koreans using false identities, resumes, and work histories to gain employment and earn money for the regime, as well as allowing access for the workers to steal data from the companies they work for and later extort them. The aim is to generate funds for North Korea’s sanctioned nuclear weapons program, which has so far made billions of dollars for the regime to date.

Tuesday texts to read – 6

July 29, 2025July 29, 2025 ssegraves

Tour de France confronts a new threat: Are cyclists using tiny motors? (Washington Post)
Union Pacific to buy Norfolk in $85 billion mega U.S. railroad deal (CNBC)
The Leverage Arbitrage: Why Everything Feels Broken (Tushar Dadlani’s Blog)
Allianz Life says ‘majority’ of customers’ personal data stolen in cyberattack (TechCrunch) – It is really starting to feel like a permanent personal data monitoring service is a good investment.
EU-US trade deal: The biggest losers and (a few) winners (Politico)
Boeing aims for Max 7 and Max 10 certifications in 2026 (FlightGlobal)

“We are continuing to mature the technical solution for engine anti-ice and the certification path for the [Max 7 and 10],” Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said in a 29 July memo to employees. “Progress on this solution has taken longer than we expected, and we now anticipate that certification for the airplanes will take place next year.”

I won’t hold my breath.

Tuesday texts to read – 5

July 22, 2025July 28, 2025 ssegraves

Trump says he wants to deport ‘the worst of the worst.’ Government data tells another story (Associated Press)
NASA’s X-59 Quiet Supersonic Aircraft Begins Taxi Tests (NASA)
What Will Become of the C.I.A.? (The New Yorker)
Shale Drillers Turn Against Each Other as Toxic Water Leaks Hit Biggest US Oil Field (Financial Post)
ACWA Power plans to develop 15 GW of wind and solar capacity in Saudi Arabia (Enerdata)
How one man with a hacksaw and an e-bike became a Texas flood ‘hero’ (electrek)

In addition to delivering needed supplies, Evan has often found himself moving something even more important: information. “I’ve flagged down medics. I’ve been the guy that goes between Austin EMT and STAR Flight because I’m quicker than cell phones sometimes, people don’t have signal a lot of the time.”

Evan quickly points out that he isn’t the only one helping. “I’ve got an e-bike, but other people are pulling carts. People are walking, people are carrying things. Everyone is doing what they can.” But there’s no doubt that his ability to carry more gear at higher speeds and make hundreds of round-trip journeys so far in and out of the stricken neighborhood has helped impact countless lives.

Alaska Airlines asked for a 3-hour ground stop

July 21, 2025 ssegraves

Yesterday, July 20, 2025, Alaska Airlines asked the FAA for a ground stop for all of their flights starting around 8pm Pacific. There were rumors of a hack, but the airlines has not confirmed or denied that claim. There was a report that the airline suffered a hack back in June but again, there is no information pointing to it being a cause of this latest issue. Whatever the cause, the ground stop lasted until 11pm Pacific and it’s clear the effects on operations will be felt by the airline for at least the next couple of days.

If you have a flight on Alaska over the next few days, be prepared for irritated customers and potential delays as the airline tries to get crews back into place and recover from the issue.

Tuesday texts to read – 4

July 15, 2025 ssegraves

How I Solved the Century-Old Mystery of a Miraculous Shipwreck Survivor (The Walrus)
Inside the Collapse of the F.D.A. (NYTimes)
The old traffic math that keeps destroying neighborhoods (Fast Company)

A status quo success story is when a road expansion allows a driver to get home 18 seconds sooner but makes it impossible for a child to safely bike to the library.
DHS Tells Police That Common Protest Activities Are ‘Violent Tactics’

“The DHS report repeatedly conflates basic protest, organizing, and journalism with terroristic violence, thereby justifying ever more authoritarian measures by law enforcement,” says Ryan Shapiro, executive director of Property of the People. “It should be sobering, if unsurprising, that the Trump regime’s response to mass criticism of its police state tactics is to escalate those tactics.”
American Airlines introduces first-of-its-kind Provisions by Admirals Club lounge at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (American Airlines)

Tuesday texts to read – 3

July 8, 2025July 7, 2025 ssegraves

The chemical secrets that help keep honey fresh for so long (BBC)
Local-first software (Ink & Switch)
The Force-Feeding of AI on an Unwilling Public (The Honest Broker)
TSA to end shoes-off policy for airport security screening (ABC News)
A Classic Childhood Pastime Is Fading (The Atlantic)

Biking can be risky, and finding an appropriate place to practice can be tricky in the city or in the suburbs. But if parents can find safe environments for teaching their children to navigate streets confidently on their own, the amount of freedom those kids will gain is invaluable. On a bike, a child gets to choose where to go and how to get there without having to check in with a parent, which lets them practice making decisions. As they ride more, the activity can even start to rewire their brain, helping them form spatial maps of their neighborhood and develop the kind of competence and knowledge that can seed lasting resilience and self-esteem.