Should football teams have The Lounge access ?

[Major]

My wife and I were in the ADL Lounge on Saterday when the St Kilda football team and their entire support staff entered. This Lounge is not large by any means and it was soon full. They gradually began grazing the breakfast bar and queued for coffees etc.
They did not misbehave in any way and were not loud, but we were a bit overwhelmed and eventually left before our flight was called.
We just didn't feel relaxed or comfortable

Has anyone else felt intimidated by 30 odd people entering The Lounge in about 10 minutes ?

 

[Deleted member]

My wife and I were in the ADL Lounge on Saterday when the St Kilda football team and their entire support staff entered. This Lounge is not large by any means and it was soon full. They gradually began grazing the breakfast bar and queued for coffees etc.
They did not misbehave in any way and were not loud, but we were a bit overwhelmed and eventually left before our flight was called.
We just didn't feel relaxed or comfortable

Has anyone else felt intimidated by 30 odd people entering The Lounge in about 10 minutes ?

How many autographs did you get?

 

[Flashback]

I've seen groups of AFFers enter the lounge in similar numbers ... should they not be allowed?

 

[pat25d]

Were they wearing their work uniforms? Or did they abide by the dress code?

 

[Major]

Were they wearing their work uniforms? Or did they abide by the dress code?

They were all wearing St Kilda gear

 

[pat25d]

They were all wearing St Kilda gear

It was tongue in cheek... AFFers don't like people wearing their work clothes in the lounge.

At least it wasn't the Melbourne Victory's away jersey ;-)

 

[Major]

It was tongue in cheek... AFFers don't like people wearing their work clothes in the lounge.

At least it wasn't the Melbourne Victory's away jersey ;-)

At least it wasn't hi-viz

 

[SeatBackForward]

Football teams are humans too..

Oh, ok wait.

 

[Justinf]

I would rather share the Lounge with 30 footy players than 3 children.

 

[QF WP]

Capacity control should have been part of the Lounge God/dess process. If the team was to take the numbers beyond the maximum, they should have denied access to some, if not all.

I was in The Lounge with the BNE Lions a couple of weeks ago, similarly they were well mannered, queued correctly, spoke to patrons and signed autographs. They also took up the entire AFF section, so were mostly out of sight

 

[Pushka]

How many autographs did you get?

She said it was St Kilda. So none.

 

[pauly7]

I've seen the VA lounge dragons shepherd the Bombers into a pre determined area in the lounge away from the other pax for some reason - perhaps to maximize other peoples enjoyment of the lounge.

Also saw some St Kilda players in the Qf J lounge a couple of weeks ago - assuming it must have been personal travel!!!

 

[Simo]

I have seen nearly an entire NRL in a QP before and all the team members where well behaved and very professional.

Some of the senior players even had suits on.

Don't see a problem unless they are being rowdy and then treat them like a bogan team.

 

[markis10]

No different to any organisation IMHO, should businessman be denied entry at 6AM on a Monday morning just because there are a lot of them?

 

[Fruitcake]

No different to any organisation IMHO, should businessman be denied entry at 6AM on a Monday morning just because there area lot of them?

In fact, if the footy team had already been there, it may well have been Mrs Major that was denied entry as a guest because the lounge was full. (My apologies if Mrs Major has lounge access in her own right - I'm just trying to play devil's advocate).

 

[777]

Should frequent flyers, on a major corporate contract travelling for work be denied entry to the lounge when travelling together? ... umm, no.

Obviously managing capacity is important but whether they were a football team or 30 employees of the same company going to a conference should make no difference providing they behave.

 

[smit0847]

I've been in the MEL VA Lounge with an entire AFL team (I think it was Richmond or Hawthorn - can't remember). They were all very well behaved (though were slumped over the chairs like they in their own living rooms). There was certainly a LOT of eye-candy amongst the team so no complaints from me!

They looked a bit envious as I drank a beer in front of them (they were flying to Adelaide for a match so were not drinking).

They looked even more envious when they walked past me seated in J on their flight while they moved back to rows 6 - 12.......................

 

[Justinf]

I was in the BNE Lounge when it was that tiny makeshift room while they were doing the renovations to the Lounge proper. I was there when the Richmond team was also there. They stuck to one corner of the Lounge to allow others the space to move. Some even sat on the floor so that they didn't take up any seats.
My dealings with AFL clubs in the Lounge have been nothing but positive, unlike the shrieks of children being left to run amok.

 

[nlagalle]

I had the whole Richmond FC team in the syd lounge on Saturday night. In fact had the team not been there there would have been 6 people in the lounge. Personally I liked it as I was at the game and am a supporter.. Also pays to note that teams generally travel off peak times too so it doesn't clash too much.

It was no different when they had a contract with QF.

 

[777]

Well clearly it's unanimous that Richmond should be allowed in The Lounge. I say this with no bias of being Richmond fan. Other teams, particularly those playing Richmond en route to a game, should be forced to huddle in the carpark until 3 minutes before their flight boarding closes and then expected to check in and pass through security in the available time. That seems entirely fair.