What is it with people/ PAX and lounge food

[Matt_01]

I often wonder if something changes in the human brain when people enter an airport lounge and free food is on offer. As an example on Friday, in the VA MEL lounge, which was a zoo, the line for potato chips was 6-8 PAX long, the hot food line was even worse. At the QP in ADL this evening I watched one PAX pile their plate so high with the coughpy salad and hot food offerings, pasties and pies, the food was starting to fall off I then noticed the PAX sitting behind me had a bowl of soup, a seperate bowl of salad and another bowl of hot food mixed with rice all full to the brim (the old style aircraft soup bowls before they became the main meal “large” bowl of soup) and more bread rolls than you can poke a stick at, her partner had the same so 6 bowls of food plus bread between 2 people. Do people/ PAX not realise that if they are hungry and want more lounge food you can go back more than once.

Maybe I have just become jaded and ambivalent to airline lounges. Do not get me wrong I like ‘free stuff’ but airline lounge food???????. Apologies for my rant.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Locusts.

nah - that sounds like some NP Spice Temple 'nite market' food!

it was soggy hash browns, greasy chipolatas and watery baked beans the last time I was there

 

[kermatu]

Very occasionally seen this in airport lounges but frequently in hotel lounges. I think it's appalling and incredibly disrespectful.

When seen I just ask staff if they can bring me a plate of X and Y whenever they are free. Never been knocked back in a QF, VA or hotel lounge. Saves a lot of angst. And usually get more than I need anyway.

 

[juddles]

I must put my hand up and admit to being one of the scum.

I have no interest in food, but many a time I have taken custody of a full bottle of whatever swill (Gentlemans Jack, etc) and delightedly consumed this in the gala event of being in a lounge. And the staff will never say boo about it.

But sheer food? How many sandwiches can you actually want?? I get my booze thing - you just want no limits. But real food items? that is just wrong, even for me.

 

[Sabot]

One does get the sense people like to treat the coughtail hours at the EL more like dinnertime than the snack its supposed to be. Can't fault people for being hungry though.

 

[eric2011]

A recent flight BNE-LAX-SFO on NZ in J consisted of breakfast offering in the Hilton Exec lounge, 60 mins later more food offerings in the NZ lounge, 90 mins later was offered food on the flight, continued snacks through-out the flight, more food offerings at the ANZ lounge in AKL and then onto the flight to LAX where first up was the dinner service and more snacks for the next 12 hours, then came the admirals club and the offering of snacks on the flight.

No excuse to arrive in SFO 22 hours later still hungry. At home I have a little fruit for breakfast and nothing more till dinner (no lunch) so on this flight I had a little fruit in the Hilton and some dinner on the flight from AKL. Many of my fellow travellers were just eating for the sake of it or because it was free. Much was wasted

 

[drron]

Hotel lounges definitely worse.In Brussels a large family of 2 people had the table closest to the food.As a new dish brought out they were waiting.Always left just the tiniest amount of food so able to say we didn't take it all.

 

[Denali]

Hotel lounges definitely worse.In Brussels a large family of 2 people had the table closest to the food.As a new dish brought out they were waiting.Always left just the tiniest amount of food so able to say we didn't take it all.

 

[Jack_OC]

i can totally understand this! The food in the QFi J lounge goes within about 1 minute of it being put out. I don't blame people for piling their plates up. If you snooze you lose (takes a long time for the next dish of stuff to come out).



A random date HKG-JFK round trip in F = 11-18 December returns a fare of HKD252,286. Around AUD47000. It's possible these pax actually pay that fare and CX is willing to 'entertain' their foibles. CX has probably done the cost-benefit calculations

Why on earth would anyone feel the need to BYO food and drink onto a flight if they were travelling in F with CX?

The only way this behaviour makes any sense is if they were in the lounge by virtue of OWE status and were about to board a long haul flight in Y.

EDIT: or maybe taking stuff out to share pre flight with a large group who don’t have lounge access!

 

[Jaded_Elf]

This! Or PE. I admit to taking small waters/a bottle of water from the lounge if I don't have my refillable bottle with me (I get thirsty a lot).

 

[robtemt]

The a biscuit pile on another table. Maybe an ADL thing. View attachment 197950

Was there a bong cropped out of this photo? Who would ever need that many biscuits????

 

[amaroo]

All inclusive resorts like Bedarra Island also cop a real hiding on checkout. It was pretty obvious some people were lugging bottles of everything .... the clinking was a deadset give away.

 

[Aeolus]

This totally reminded me of a conference I attended in Beijing where I witnessed a fight as someone was trying to take the whole tray of food as it arrived as their own portion!

 

[JohnK]

Free food is the best type of food.

And I don't understand why people feel stunned that people take food and drink out of a lounge. There is nothing wrong with someone making a sandwich or 2 to take with them along with a bottle of water.

It's really not such a big deal.

 

[Denali]

This totally reminded me of a conference I attended in Beijing where I witnessed a fight as someone was trying to take the whole tray of food as it arrived as their own portion!

Apparenlty its not uncommon

 

[Katie]

I don't really get it. On my last trip, I ate nothing in the QF BNE J Lounge (it was a 5am flight in J), ate nothing on board - but I was transferring to the SYD FLounge, and happy to wait to eat there, and at a more reasonable hour. When I arrived in LA, only went to the Flagship lounge to shower, then went to the Eagle's Nest lounge as the flight was delayed by 30 mins after I arrived at the satellite terminal. Also ate nothing in that lounge, and perhaps had some chips on the flight up to PDX. Similar story on my flights back.

On family trips, we've often used hotel lounges as somewhere to have a pre-dinner drink, and for Little Miss to snack/have dinner from the snacks before we go out (so she doesn't get hangry or pouty if her preferred kind of food isn't available at dinner). Not as a way to pile up as much "free" food as possible.

 

[nickfromeastryde]

Not just airport lounges. Hotel lounges are worse.

I think cruise ships take the cake (literally!!!)

 

[nickfromeastryde]

All inclusive resorts like Bedarra Island also cop a real hiding on checkout. It was pretty obvious some people were lugging bottles of everything .... the clinking was a deadset give away.

Guilty as charged, we honeymooned there and I did slip 2 bottles in my luggage on the way back home.
In my defence, I was younger and definitely more immature and the booze back then was a lot more upmarket than it is today.

I always feel guilty nowadays taking a couple of small bottles of sparkling water when heading off to my flights

 

[p--and--t]

I must put my hand up and admit to being one of the scum.

I have no interest in food, but many a time I have taken custody of a full bottle of whatever swill (Gentlemans Jack, etc) and delightedly consumed this in the gala event of being in a lounge. And the staff will never say boo about it.

But sheer food? How many sandwiches can you actually want?? I get my booze thing - you just want no limits. But real food items? that is just wrong, even for me.

.........and they let you board after consuming a full bottle? At least after that you wouldn't care if you were in Y or J (or possibly remember)

 

[Sabot]

I don't really get it. On my last trip, I ate nothing in the QF BNE J Lounge (it was a 5am flight in J), ate nothing on board - but I was transferring to the SYD FLounge, and happy to wait to eat there, and at a more reasonable hour. When I arrived in LA, only went to the Flagship lounge to shower, then went to the Eagle's Nest lounge as the flight was delayed by 30 mins after I arrived at the satellite terminal. Also ate nothing in that lounge, and perhaps had some chips on the flight up to PDX. Similar story on my flights back.

On family trips, we've often used hotel lounges as somewhere to have a pre-dinner drink, and for Little Miss to snack/have dinner from the snacks before we go out (so she doesn't get hangry or pouty if her preferred kind of food isn't available at dinner). Not as a way to pile up as much "free" food as possible.

Maybe you're just not hungry.

 

[robtemt]

This has to be one of the most entertaining threads I've read in a while. Excellent use of GIFs.

I get everyone who is just shocked by some of the habits of highly frugal people. I wouldn't, but I would get someone making maybe a ham and cheese toastie for the road or something.

I love how some put their hands up and owned it! I will admit, I will drink a lot more good champagne than I should in an F lounge, just to get my "money's worth". I've never taken a bottle, except for a bottle of Krug Vintage a SQ crew gave us as a thank you, for us giving them a thank you gift.