I witnessed something that made me laugh out loud during my recent trip to New York JFK: a man pulled a bandana over his face and tried to waltz into an airline lounge, then acted like he was lost when an agent stopped him from entering.
“Invisible Man” Feigns Ignorance After Crashing JFK Airport Lounge
I’m sure the lounge agents have heard every excuse in the book when it comes to passengers trying to enter invite-only lounges, but I can’t imagine many have witnessed what I did.
A guy wearing a tan jacket and black backpack with sunglasses and a blue handkerchief covering his face tried to waltz into the Alaska Airlines Lounge in Terminal 7 at New York JFK.
There’s an agent checking credentials at the entrance and a long hallway that leads to the lounge. I was speaking to her as the guy walked past.
“Sir! Sir! Sir!” she called.
He pretended to ignore her.
But she continued to call out and finally he stopped and turned his head.
She told the man he had to scan his boarding pass first.
The man responded, “Oh. I thought this was the bathroom.”
I burst out laughing.
In Terminal 7, signs clearly mark the way toward the lounges – you have to go up an escalator, walk down a hall, then turn left where the British Airways and Alaska lounge are. There are no public restrooms in this area and restrooms signs clearly point a different direction.
But this guy thought he was going to the restroom. Right. And did he think that by pulling the bandana up over his face and leaving his sunglasses on, he was invisible?
What a tool. I had to snap a photo of him as he walked away (above).
I asked the agent how often this sort of things happens and she said this was a first…but then another lady came up flying economy class and tried to access the lounge “because I’m flying Alaska.”
I do feel sorry fort the gatekeepers who must turn people away all day long from the lounge…it must get very tedious.
And to the invisible man: I hope you found the invisible bathroom.
Funny, indeed!
It was probably a bathroom emergency. I think we can all relate to that.
Who needs a bathroom when you have the beds at the Moscow Ritz!
I’d laugh too. The guy probably needs his meds checked.
Honestly, it’s worth a try. Best case = free lounge access. Worth case = feign a dumb mistake in front of people you will never see again. I bet this happens all the time.
I imagine this happens far more than we know, and with success. Especially with lounges where the toilets are outside the entrance. His technique, pretty funny. But it worked in one way, Matthew couldn’t expose him here as his face is covered!
So you’re saying Anthony Bourdain faked his death so he could try sneaking into Alaska lounges?
I like to find folks waiting for their flights near the lounge entrance and ask them if they want to be my guest into the lounge. When they accept, sometimes they scurry off to be by themselves, sometimes I meet really cool and interesting people. It doesn’t cost me anything and can really make someone’s day. I do this with priority pass restaurants too. When I see someone walking up to the hostess alone I ask them if I can pick up their tab if they get the tip. Again, met some interesting folks and they always appreciate the gesture.
I didn’t know things got this bad for TPG.
LOL
Interesting – same thing happened in the PDX Alaska Lounge on Friday. Guy just breezed by and the agent caught up to him at the beverage machine. He said that he just wanted to get some water and didn’t know it was membership only. He proceeded to ask 20,000 questions about membership (which she patiently and professionally answered) even though it was obvious he was just stalling. I too, feel sorry for those employees that just have to smile and be polite in these situations – they definitely earn their keep (although being a gate agent has to be the worst).