What's up with airline lounges at airports?

Old Jan 10th, 2006, 06:38 PM
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What's up with airline lounges at airports?

Will someone please describe the benefit of the airline lounge? Sure, I understand that they have snacks, drink, comfortable seating, internet access, etc. Can a person catch a nap there? Is the price worthwhile?

The airports that I will be using in the next few months are Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Orlando, Amsterdam and Delhi. I am using Northwest/KLM.

I assume that you can remain there until boarding. I appreciate any and all feedback.



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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 08:36 PM
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BA Heathrow has showers & massages which I put to good use when a baggage cart drove into the side of my airplane & we were stuck at the airport for 6 hours. They have less noise than the terminal and a "quiet room."

As a boon to parents, their children and those who are childless, they provide separate play rooms with toys for children.

If it's a lounge associated with a specific airline, they will call your flight, so you won't have to keep an ear open for every announcement.


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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 09:58 PM
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Lounges are like little islands of serenity in the sea of madness. In most cases, but not always, you can find a quiet corner, have wireless internet available, comfortable sitting, a nice drink, few bites, etc... without dealing with the "hordes" in the terminals

In some exceptional cases (such as the BA Concorde Lounge, or the CX Wing and Pier Lounges in HKG, you will find some extras that a first class passenger requires/wants. Private day rooms, spas, Cabanas with deep tubs and rain showers, full service restaurants, etc,.

Most business lounges are just that, business lounges for the travelling businessperson. Access to internet, fax, office supplies along with what I already mentioned above.

It's the first class lounges that are the "special" ones.

Besides all of this, the one important feature of a business lounge and why I pay to be a member, is the "wonderful" agents that will be your little "genies" during irregular operations. Instead of standing in lines in the terminals to try to get on the next flight, or secure a seat on a re-route so I could get home, when 1000s of people are fighting with the customer service center in the main terminal, I just walk straight to the lounge and give them my BPs and ask them to find options. As they are doing the keyboard finger dance, I may opt for a relaxing drink and few phone calls or e-mails. That feature is PRICELESS!!
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Old Jan 10th, 2006, 10:53 PM
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I've found the Business Class lounges in the US, pretty much a waste of time. Very little food, only a few peanuts, crackers and you have to pay for any alcoholic drink.

Compared to the Asian carriers, there's a fair amount of daylight. Take Malaysian Airlines lounge in KL, you can have any type of drink, a curry, pasta, sandwiches, a lie down in the relaxation room & shower. First Class is even better with restuarant type dining and superior champagnes & wines than Business Class.

The KLM lounge in Amsterdam is ok , food selection pretty limited, mainly crackers, cheese, peanuts so nothing to get excited about. I've been to the Star Alliance lounge in Delhi, it can't be that good as I have no recollection of it, sometimes these lounges are no more than very plain waiting rooms.

I've never had to use the agents at the front desk although I have on a couple occasions been asked to see them in order to get upgrades.

Geordie
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 04:02 AM
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I've maintained a Northwest WorldClub membership for a number of years, which provides access to affiliated lounges (Continental, KLM, Delta and some others at international locations where they have agreements). It all boils down to how you want to treat yourself.

Airport gate areas can be a lot like sitting in a bus station and if you have some time to kill, it can be a real drag. By having a club membership, I can have a comfortable place with clean restrooms, wireless internet access, some snacks and beverages (Northwest doesn't charge extra for this). If you get into a reaccommodation, the agents are the best.

In addition to being a more comfortable environment, you can also rationalize some of it on a cost basis. Sitting down in almost any airport and having a coke or coffee will cost you several dollars. If you travel with several people, it's multiplied. It's a nice accommodation to be able to offer to other traveling companions. Get into a long delay or layover situation and it can seem like it's worth its weight in gold. Personally, I find it very worthwhile.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 04:20 AM
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If we decide to join NW's club, you may want to consider getting the American Express Platinum card instead. For not much more ($399 annual fee), you get other perks with the card, and access to all NW/DL/CO clubs around the world.

[But not all KL clubs I believe].
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 04:21 AM
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My husband has membership in USAirways and AA lounges. He likes access to electricity for computer (not always convenient at regular gate), WiFi in some places, and no screaming kids so he can make phone calls and think.

Most useful to him during flight delays since there is often a real person available who can facilitate re-routing if necessary. Live person has also been able to facilitate a hotel if flight is cancelled completely.

We would not pay for it if it were not a reimburseable business expense.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 08:26 AM
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It's not, do note, tax deductible if you are self-employed. I assume Gail's husband's employer reimburses him.

Found the AA/BA lounge at Gatwick a godsend between overnight arrival from US and much later departure to Spain. It didn't have actual couches for sleeping, but we managed and saw others being very resourceful re: getting comfortable for a nap. Also useful in the US where they provide actual food between food-less flights. Think they're expensive if you're out-of-pocket, but if you travel more than 2ce a year, you'll become addicted.

And "tatersalad," are you Ron White or just a Ron White fan?
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 10:05 AM
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Of the airports you list, I've only used the KLM Crown lounges at AMS. There are 2 in the international area and 1 on the Schengen side. The Schengen lounge has just been recently renovated so is the nicest of the 3. Food is limited and I don't recall any place to take a nap. You could possibly use two chairs but it's hard enough to find one free chair at AMS let alone two during peak hours. On top of that they only allow you to use the showers if you're Flying Blue Platinum.

That said, I'd still rather spend my waiting time there than at the gate area. BTW I haven't been in any Skyteam lounge recently that made boarding announcements. You generally have to monitor the flight status yourself.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 10:06 AM
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generally speaking, business class lounge = good waiting area. first class lounge = worth the trip. they barely let the employees see any of these lounges.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 10:23 AM
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otto - NW/KLM are two-class carriers, and don't have 1st class service or lounges.

I think for a frequent flyer, it's likely to be worth it the fees. Especially when things get complicated and messy - when your flight get significantly delayed or cancelled, etc - then having live customer representatives right there to help solve your problem may alone be worth the cost.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 12:20 PM
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HKP - no tax fraud involved - employer reimburses him. Their rationale is that employees are more likely to do actual work if waiting in lounge than at boarding gate corrals.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 12:33 PM
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rkkwan, yes. one of the major benefits of having lounge access for someone who travels between cities so frequently, when there is a problem they have much more access to assistance and don't have to endure lines at the airport, or being on hold on the phone, etc..etc...
then any economy traveler picked out of a pack.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 04:06 PM
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My thinking at this point is that I will probably purchase a 60 day Northwest World Club membership for $85. We will get to use it on four rather long layovers, three in Minneapolis and one in Amsterdam, plus perhaps, waiting for flights in Delhi, Amsterdam and Orlando. With a day pass at $45 the 60 day deal seems good. There is a good chance that if I purchased a one year membership, I would not get to use it anymore than the same 60 day period.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 05:59 PM
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The "we" in yor last post has me a little worried - most memberships are for one person, with some provision to bring a guest in for a fee - usually a fairly significant fee. Make sure you check that out.
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Old Jan 11th, 2006, 07:14 PM
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A Northwest WorldClubs membership allows the member to bring two guests along with no additional fee and my understanding is that this is also true of the limited-term variety being discussed.
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Old Jan 12th, 2006, 06:04 AM
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When I fly business class on UA from ORD to BKK, I have a layover in NRT. I always make use of the Red Carpet lounge. I can take at least one other person in with me. I've never tried to bring in two... it might be possible. I've just never tried it.
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Old Jan 12th, 2006, 06:22 AM
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gail:
Flyboy is right. Northwest World Club does indeed allow the member to bring up to two guests without charge.

That however raise the question; does this also apply to the other Skyteam lounges that NW members are allowed to use? I’m sure that there is no problem with KLM but I’ll have to ask this question about Delhi and Orlando. Orlando uses the Delta lounge and I don’t know if the Delhi lounge is even operated by any particular airline or by an independent contractor. Thanks gail.
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Old Jan 12th, 2006, 01:08 PM
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We get to use the AA lounges free when traveling internationally in business class. There is usually a good variety of food, including fresh fruit, and we're always given two coupons each for freen drinks.

My husband likes the internet access, and I like the comfortable chairs and showers.

The AA lounge at CDG doesn't have showers (the original one at Orly did) but otherwise provides a very nice place to relax and wait for the call to the gate. Drinks, including Champagne, are free, and most of the time the morning snacks include croissants and pains au chocolat. Very nice! We usually skip breakfast and just eat there.
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Old Jan 12th, 2006, 06:42 PM
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I have access to, and use, the frequent flyer or business lounges often. They are a wonderful oasis of QUIET and facilities such as high speed, showers, reading material, etc. I find the lighting to be very condusive to relaxation. I find the European and Canadian lounges to be much better than the lounges in US airports. They are usually well stocked with a variety of complementary drinks and food. Have limited experience with the Asian lounges. We especially like LHR when we have one of those 4 or 5 hour waits with just too little time to tube it to London. Would I pay for infrequent use of domestic US lounges..not if I was a very infrequent flyer.
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