The mobile lounge at Washington Dulles is an interesting thing. I first came across them in the Airport series of movies, where they feature in both Airport 1975 and The Concorde… Airport ’79.
Nowadays they are mainly used to take people arriving from overseas from their plane to the International Arrivals Building. Being a bit of an aviation fan, I was very happy when I flew into DC and got to use one.
Mobile Lounge Concept Video
There is a great video here from 1958 explaining why the mobile lounge was a good idea to use for the new airport. Since airports and piers were getting longer and more spread out, people were having to walk greater distances.
As the presentation points out, this could mean having to walk up to five football fields in length from getting out of your car to boarding the actual flight. Clearly that was not good, so a solution was needed.
Having passengers board the lounge and then carting them all to the plane was decided upon. Unfortunately they fell out of favour as people arriving did not appreciate having to board a bus and preferred to walk. I can relate, getting a bus when you land is the pits!
Eventually other solutions were found and the whole concept was pretty much ditched. They are an anachronism today, but I suppose it’s nice to be able to still see them in action.
Overall Thoughts
Checking out the video, the whole concept of the mobile lounge makes some sense. Of course, aircraft became much larger, meaning one or two lounges would not be able to accommodate all the passengers.
With many airports around the world privatised and operated to separate people from their money, you can see why a short and convenient airport experience is avoided. Getting people to spend an hour or so before flight shopping, eating and drinking is best for the bottom line.
What did you think of the video? Have you ever used the mobile lounge at Washington Dulles and if so, do you like it or loathe it? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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I loved taking the mobile lounges out to my aircraft. Got a close up look at the Concord, 747, some private jets etc. They were actually kind of fun to ride. Now you go under ground on a tram to get to the B terminal. Can’t see anything. One time we arrived at the right gate but the wrong aircraft. Seems they moved my flight to another gate and didn’t update the system. Operator was knocking on the door and no one answered. As we backed out we could see someone hanging out an aircraft door a few gates away waving to us. Interesting start to a trip. But, the good part was we didn’t have to drag our carry on several gates away.
That’s true, from someone who also enjoys looking at the planes, the views are definitely better than going underground. Interesting experience there with the right gate and wrong aircraft – thanks for that 🙂
I love the fact that this 1958 video shows a business guy ogling Playboy magazine up to the last minute before dashing into the mobile lounge!
haha! Different times, that’s for sure!
I have never used the mobile lounges at Dulles, but I did use them many times in the early 1990s on business flights to and from Mexico City. I didn’t find them to be annoying at all, and I considered them to be an interesting concept.
They really are, I completely agree!
I thought the experience at IAD was wonderful on these graceful yet ancient beasts. Then again I might feel differently if I had to use them frequently.
I thoroughly enjoyed it when I passed through, but apparently not everyone is an aviation geek 🙂 Ditto on using them frequently. They do take a little time to get everyone on, then get to where they need to be.
No, you’ve got this all wrong. It has nothing to do with whether you want to ride a bus or walk. Nor were the mobile lounges anything like a bus. IAD used to have a certain number of gates, most of which were at the one main building (there was a single pier, mainly for regional flights). Your 707 would be boarding and the airport-wide announcement would blare over the PA. People piled into the mobile lounge from the gate in an orderly fashion (IIRC, it took 2 or 3 runs to get everyone), the lounge traveled to the aircraft and used hydraulic lifts to rise to the level of the aircraft door. And everyone got on board – without being exposed to the weather (which was pretty rare back then).
What happened was that the world changed. For one thing, security requirements required changes to the basic layout of IAD in a way that pretty much rendered it’s design obsolete (much as happened to other airports of this era). And. there was a lot of growth which outpaced the ability of mobile lounges to take everyone to all those flights. So, they were replaced and now only transport you between terminals. But they were never mere buses. Getting on one as a kid was just as exciting as boarding the aircraft itself. It was a cool, unique vehicle and it made perfect sense in the context of what IAD was pre-1973 or so.
I certainly agree with you on it being a cool, unique vehicle. When I arrived at IAD and was transported on a mobile lounge to the International Arrivals Building, I was thrilled, even though I did have to stand. I’d say you’ve hit the nail on the head there with the security and the tremendous growth in air travel. I’m glad they’re still around. Thanks very much for the comment!
The fact that Dulles (run by the corrupt, unelected and unaccountable Metro Wash Airports Authority or “MWAA”) is still using these museum pieces five decades later, despite having frittered away tens of billions in capital improvements is a testament to just how ineffective MWAA is.
I haven’t looked into that story, but sounds like a Government run facility to me 🙂 Maybe privatisation is the answer in the USA.
I suppose that would depend on how successful you feel privatizing other airports has been. Heathrow has some pretty eye watering charges and keeps pushing for more, which seems distasteful at best.
You should see car parking fees at the Australian privatised airports! It’s not pretty, but I guess people do have the option of public transport.