Well why should EK open their lounge outside of a period before their own metal flight leaves? yes it's a lovely lounge but no reason to have it open at other times.
Because EK has a number of trans-tasman flights departing AKL to major international destinations like SYD, MEL, BNE, etc. Sure the bird has a red kangaroo on its tail but it doesn't change the fact it's still an EK flight!
I'm actually curious if you found ANY value in paying the 70odd bucks for the Strata lounge when you don't really drink much alcohol (apart from cider iirc) and you say the food was ordinary. Did you use any shower facilities or anything else?
I have paid that much to use whatever the predecessor to the Strata lounge was in 2017 (I think it was Dragon lounge or something). I found it was worthwhile having a 4 PM departure out of AKL on the
'hound back to SFO having had an early morning flight into AKL from ZQN. Having a shower, a bite to eat and some liquor before what would be roughly 24 hours of flying at the back of the bus was beneficial. Fortunately, I met a colleague at SFO who guested me into the United Club where I saw Kevin O'Leary (of Shark Tank fame) yelling into his phone. How wonderful!
Personally, even as a "grog drinker" (but not heavy ! lol) in paying such an amount for a lounge. Maybe if it was a F lounge with a 5 hour layover in say DXB (not DBX) or something. Sounds like the Strata lounge is a bit of a rip off at that price point. I'd probably expect more a $30 tag or something for that.
It clearly depends on a number of factors. For instance, if you have the Amex Platinum or a card that has lounge access built in, why would you even care how much it costs since you'll get in free? Even if you must pay to get in it really depends on how long you'll be using the lounge for, what facilities you'll use, etc. Certainly if I had a 5 or 6 hour layover (or more) spending $70 to sit in an uncrowded lounge versus sitting out in the concourse struggling to find a power outlet and table can be beneficial.
In terms of cost, I would sincerely encourage you to look at the prices for third party lounges out there. Most lounges these days at airports will set you back $30 USD easily (and that's typically for smaller airports too) with most not having showers either! Take a look at SIN, LAX, CDG to name but a few. 70 Kiwi dollars works out to $44 USD which isn't too far from what you see elsewhere.
I wonder if you could have even bundled on lounge access to your NZ W fare - it probably would have been cheaper?!
I believe on those travelling as a Star Gold elite or in Business class on Air New Zealand (or a partner airline) would have access to the lounge. At least this
NZ webpage says as much.
