What is the attraction of lounges?

[Boca68]

Call me weird, but I just love the ambience of airports. People travelling, boarding announcements, aircraft moving around the apron and taking off/landing. The lounges provide, as others have said, somewhere reasonably safe (I figure there's going to be less opportunistic crime given the selection bias of people with lounge access) and comfortable with food/drink provided and often a good view.

I've got my first ever QF F flight coming up in Sept (QF1) and I'll be getting to the airport around 6hrs early to take full advantage of breaky and lunch, the massage and I'll probably just walk around the terminal for an hour or two between meals. As I loose WP next month it'll also be my last opportunity for a while as my plan is to use QF points to test out other F products.

Glad I'm not the only weirdo out there. I really enjoy airports and the people watching. (along side the plane watching)

The lounges usually provide another side to it for me. If a lounge has no visual on the tarmac, I'd rather be in the terminal itself. Unless I need a shower or a quick nap. (usually both). The food and drink is secondary. Although, admittedly welcome at times.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Seriously? You are familiar with lounges in China?

Nope, nor do I want to be. I guess everyone is different. A lounge is a lounge and more than 60 minutes in one is overdone IMHO. We do hope to get to China one day, but it won't be to visit a lounge. Terminals can also be depressing and somewhere here in the past, I posted a pic of bags of hazardous waste left in the seating area of one of my "favourite" terminals! We can talk up the prestige of lounges all we like, but even the best is no alternative for a real life.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

But let's face it, the lounges you inhabit are not the lounges I endure!

Seriously? You are familiar with lounges in China?

Nope, nor do I want to be. I guess everyone is different. A lounge is a lounge and more than 60 minutes in one is overdone IMHO. We do hope to get to China one day, but it won't be to visit a lounge. Terminals can also be depressing and somewhere here in the past, I posted a pic of bags of hazardous waste left in the seating area of one of my "favourite" terminals! We can talk up the prestige of lounges all we like, but even the best is no alternative for a real life.

Interestng response - which part have I missed? Am I missing a real life swanny?

 

[Dnicoll]

When travelling for work, a lounge is a fantastic place to get work done between flights - a table or desk to rest your computer on, reliable availability of internet and powerpoints, clean bathrooms, can leave your bag for a minute to grab a drink or something to eat. Also as said already - expert staff if there is a problem with your flight, relative peace and quiet, shower if long journey. Occasionally fly for work without lounge access and really miss it - juggling laptop and phone on your knees trying to get internet access, struggling to find a powerpoint, then having to pack it all up just to get a drink or visit the bathroom ...

 

[dfcatch]

I have often wondered what the attraction of airline lounges are that make people pay more to access them. This may be through buying lounge passes, Priority Pass, Qantas Club, doing status runs, choosing a more expensive airline, etc. I get that there are a handful of really nice lounges but for the most part I don’t think that the travel experience would be that much different if lounges didn’t exist. You can usually find a quiet unused terminal gate to wait in. Food & beverage options are almost always better at the retail outlets. The conclusion I have come up with is that access to a lounge gives you that warm and special feeling inside knowing that you can get in while most people can’t. Never mind that sometimes there are 500 other people in the lounge with you but as long as you are one of those 500 people then you still feel special. I sometimes also think that it is the passengers themselves that have built up lounges to be better than they are and are doing the marketing work for the airline. I am just wondering how people justify spending that extra money just to get lounge access.

My first thought is "how old are you?"

I don't mean that in a rude way - what I mean - is that it wasn't that long ago that airport terminals had zero amenities/outlets/food options etc.

They were pretty stark places.

So lounges were somewhere where you could relax, have free wifi, decent food & drink, access to business resources, and access to superior customer support.

Nowadays you're right to some degree - many terminals themselves are decent and provide many of those amenities - and the cost of purchasing food in the terminal may not be that bad.

But customer service is superior in the lounges generally, and in many terminals - there are still limited other options.

Plus, as you say, some lounges are particularly

 

[Trudging]

I fly every 10 days. I've been into a lounge twice in the past 12 months. They hold no attraction for me.

Lounge access after flights would be more useful for me.

 

[Steady]

I fly every 10 days. I've been into a lounge twice in the past 12 months. They hold no attraction for me.

Lounge access after flights would be more useful for me.

QF WP have on arrival access

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Interestng response - which part have I missed? Am I missing a real life swanny?

From your posts, it doesn't sound like it to me! That remark was not directed at anyone in particular and certainly not you CE. It was simply my opinion, that being I'd rather be living a life outside any airport lounge! I have too many things to do before I topple off the perch, and sitting in a lounge is wasting time. BTW, I'm typing this whilst sitting in a lounge waiting for a flight that has been delayed for 4 hours, so occasionally they have their uses! Oh, and I might just give QF a bit of praise here, they're offering a $25 meal voucher for everyone booked on QF and effected by this delay. Pretty generous I'd say, given it's a weather delay outside their control.

 

[peakhour]

I haven't read all this thread so excuse if I'm largely just repeating other comments, but to me lounge access is only of value to FFers. If you fly a lot, especially out of the same terminals, the terminal can hold little attraction. The lounges themselves hold little attraction as well and do become boring but they usually offer somewhere to relax (especially good with flight delays), showers (for long haul), usually clean(ish) toilets, charging facilities which is important, along with the ubiquitous (or not) food and drink offering plus a selection of mags or newspapers. For infrequent flyers, the terminal experience is part of the trip, it has eateries and shops and viewing areas. It's very easy to enjoy the terminal if you're not there frequently.

Above all, lounge access offers choice. I regularly bypass the lounge (especially VA dom lounges) and just "people watch" out in the terminal. That can pass the time quite nicely as the one thing you can be sure of in an airport terminal, that being the whole gamut of people types, actions, inactions, idiosyncrasies etc. When that becomes boring, we can migrate to the lounge and count the thong wearers!

Agree. Example the much maligned kfeg lounges in Singapore. I don't love them and sometimes bypass them. However this week I will pass through Changi 4 times including one stopover for 7 hours, and I was there last week.

The terminals don't hold much interest, and often either I have work to do, or arrive from an overnight flight with 3 hours sleep and 3 hours to the connecting flight.

In those cases the lounge is invaluable even with average food and outside bathroom facilities.

 

[leadman]

What is the attraction of the lounges? Sitting now in BKK TG near the front desk working watching all the people trying to get in and getting knocked back, so the attraction still holds. Funny watching the tactics people use, from pleading right through to the angry state. None of it is working with the staff's gentle Thai nature

 

[marki]

+ free internet to update your AFF trip report

Amaroo succinctness is your forte

 

[Franky]

Above all, lounge access offers choice. I regularly bypass the lounge (especially VA dom lounges) and just "people watch" out in the terminal. That can pass the time quite nicely as the one thing you can be sure of in an airport terminal, that being the whole gamut of people types, actions, inactions, idiosyncrasies etc. When that becomes boring, we can migrate to the lounge and count the thong wearers!

My wife travels a fair bit, and in line with your last para, she reckons some people can't, and some people shouldn't, travel at all..

 

[wandering_fred]

Why pay for (non descript) air port food and drink when the lounge will provide equal (or better) quality for the price of having maximized your travel plans (ensuring "free" access to the lounge). Add the no additional cost shower at the connecting point on long haul flights. And a better response to "irregular" operations comes as part of the package. And while the award point flights can be of mixed value, in general, they are less out of pocket dollar cost than paying cash up front.

So the answer from my corner would be, if you are going to fly, make certain you can qualify for the lounge access. Pay cash for it? Not likely.

Happy wandering

Fred

 

[Cult of one]

Attraction of lounges is in no particular order

Clean toilets (can't be over estimated)
Security (I can get a coffee/beer without having to take my carry on stuff with me)
Polite people (staff and guests)
Food (I am Type one so require access to a selection I can pick myself not what comes in a box in the food court)
I get to try new wines/beers before I purchase them myself. Free wine tasting with no pressure to buy
My kids love the wifi when I travel for leisure
For delays it is so good, had 6 hours in VA Perth once and was happy as a clam
The service desk for change of flights, upgrades, fly forward and happy faces
The larger shower rooms cos on a Friday afternoon after a long week of work away I love using the shower room and coming out not wearing a suit but jeans and a T-shirt

Last year I took Mrs Cult of One and Mother in law cult of One to the USA with numerous internal flights on Delta and used their lounges. Mother in law (never been a lounge user in the past) said that she would never travel without me again. Then I realised how the value was there. Have you ever been to the ZOO that is Atlanta airport!

 

[cmon0005]

Security (I can get a coffee/beer without having to take my carry on stuff with me)

Whilst lounges are definitely safer than the general terminal, the laxness of some people in lounges is astonishing, Wallets, passports, phones all left on lounge seats/tables whilst people are getting food, or going to toilet. Yes it is a closed environment with cameras, stealing can still happen.

I don't mind leaving a roller bag at the table when getting food, as it is big and locked, but if I goto the toilet I take it with me.

 

[Maggs]

I didn't renew my QC a few years back as I didn't think I was getting value out of it. As much as I loved the lounges, I got a Diners Club card instead which gives me plenty of lounges when travelling overseas and no airline loyalty. I miss out in AU but there are plenty of nice lounges bars/eateries in the AU international areas. Also easy to find an empty gate area to sit in a quiet zone

 

[cherft]

My enjoyment of Business/First lounges is mainly on the occasions of longish stopovers (SIN, HK, Dubai) so that I can kick off my shoes and relax in a quiet environment. Sadly of late the lounges have become more crowded and noisy and I've even observed scuffles at the buffet. So, "Goodbye" Pall Mall, "Hello" Pizza Hut.

 

[Lukabs]

For several years I have been a paid QC member, though currently Gold/Sapphire courtesy of an international First Class flight a year ago. Friends have often queried the value.

It's a peace of mind thing. Knowing I'll have a seat, access to power/workstation or food & drink without having to worry about how to carry with my bag in hand. There's a certain mutual respect/understanding between lounge customers that doesn't seem to exist in the general terminal.

The amenities are always so much better without having to queue.

Overall, just peace of mind.

 

[nutwood]

Whilst lounges are definitely safer than the general terminal, the laxness of some people in lounges is astonishing, Wallets, passports, phones all left on lounge seats/tables whilst people are getting food, or going to toilet. Yes it is a closed environment with cameras, stealing can still happen.

I don't mind leaving a roller bag at the table when getting food, as it is big and locked, but if I goto the toilet I take it with me.

I find being able to leave my stuff, whilst I wander off, a big attraction. My assumption is that everyone else in the lounge feels the same and no-one is going to upset the general trust by nicking someone's bag whilst they are in the loo. Leaving my wallet on the table, I would consider to be pushing the boat out too far, although I would expect it'd probably be all right. Whilst many people might not fill their tax returns out 100% honestly, it'd only be a very small percentage who are outright thieves and I'd hope any of those who venture into the lounges would consider the risk V reward to simply not be worth it.
For me, a welcoming atmosphere is nice. Clean toilets, general ability to relax between flights, helpful staff etc all adds up.

 

[Renato1]

I've only ever used domestic lounges on occasion when I was flying for work, and they were nice. My brother raves about the Qantas lounges, and uses them whenever he flies, saying that they really make his trip, both at the start and at the end, like perfect bookends.

For those who smoke and who fly through Dubai, some of the lounges there offer better smoking rooms than the crowded ones available in the open areas.

I've been thinking about lounges for a while, having gotten access to the Priority Pass ones through my Citibank card. I can see that lounges would be handy if one has a late flight and one has to checkout of the hotel fairly early - either as a place to go to immediately to kill three hours or so of time pleasantly, or to go to later after having spent some of the day doing tourist things while the hotel holds one's bags, and having a nice shower before departure.

The partial alternative we have been using to date, is just to pay for late checkout at the hotel. It can be expensive, but our bags remain in our room, we can either hang around the hotel or do sight seeing, and then have a shower as our last act before leaving the hotel and heading off to the airport. I don't mind killing time at the airport wandering around the shops there, which I wouldn't be able to do if I was in the lounge. I guess it's all a matter of one's preferences and what one is willing to pay.
Regards,
Renato