to want to go to an airport lounge?

[ssd]

I dont know why, seen an advert for one and they just look so calm, with snacks and drinks and newspapers

I'd just like to go to one then fly off somewhere gorgeous

its not too much to ask, is it?

Emirates First Class at Dubai is awesome. The business class is pretty amazing as well. Singapore Airlines lounges are also fantastic. The food and drink is good, but the best bit is being able to have a shower at your stopover.

Virgin Australia ones are pretty average, but still beats rubbing elbows with the plebs. They were nice enough to open the champagne at 7am for me on Christmas Day a few years ago :)

A few years ago I spent a month in South America, I discovered the lounges were cheaper than buying coffee.

So nice sitting sipping a drink knowing when your flight is called someone will collect you.

Ooh. How the other half lives.
Gonna have to add this to my bucket list.
I don't like airports and flying anymore.
Stansted airport is like Piccadilly Circus atm. Grim.

Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow is out of this world.

Absolutely love it. Only been lucky enough to go in it twice

I love them. DH gets in through his work and I love to swan about quaffing free fizz and ordering Eggs Benedict. He flies a lot but I hardly ever do so I like to get his company's my money's worth!

I like them - been in the BA T5 business lounge several times and once in the Concorde lounge. Just nice to have somewhere reasonably peaceful and comfortable to sit and read away from all the hustle and bustle.

Plus they also stop me roaming the airport buying crap I don't need from duty free etc

Another happy Emirates Gold member here - their lounges are amazing, especially the ones in Dubai. Have been using them for a while and keep hoping that one day I will grow up enough not to hit the free champagne like a train on arrival. Can't remember the last time I flew not shitfaced sober.

It's definitely worth being loyal to one airline because now I get to use the lounges even when flying cattle class. It's also quite handy if you run out of time for pesky things like waxing and gel nails before a holiday, because they have a handy spa!

Promise I don't work for Emirates!

We always book them if we have check ins far far away from the actual flight time. Well worth it. Once you have sat in the waiting areas, had a few drinks, bought a paper and maybe magazine due to extreme boredom, gone through a few shops and bought stuff you don't need but just thought you might want...you find it is actually cheaper to just go to the lounge and use their facilities/food/drinks/papers and in the days before free wifi - use their wifi to catch up on last minute work emails etc.

The actual airline lounges are fab - I love the etihad one at Manchester as its only got one flights worth of people in it, which is usually 28 people max and business class is rarely full on the route. Granted there's more choice at AUH, but I've also had times where I've not been able to get a seat and of course I did look all affronted in a 'why do I pay this much to fly when I can't even get my own sofa in the lounge' kind of way, but the staff helpfully suggested either a massage or sitting at the bar with champagne instead. It was awful

The ones with spas are great - until you're halfway through your manicure/massage and they board your flight early!

I really hate the ones that you pay £20 for - usually they're full of people who want to start drinking early and are not relaxing.

We get to go in the lounges as part of the perks offered from our bank account. We have a great time and do enjoy the snacks and drinks, the one in Turkey was especially nice with warm homemade traditional delicacies being brought around every few minutes. It is very calm and restful. However if it wasn't 'free' I doubt we would pay to get in to the lounges.......it's quite expensive and the prices seem to jump year to year. The one nearest to us, Newcastle Airport, put the price up by about £10 in a single year. I'll enjoy it while it lasts but would rather go without than pay for it.

You can get the Priority Pass if you have an RBS Private Banking account (need to either earn a lot or hold a lot of savings with them to qualify though).

DH has a BA card and has been able to blag us all into lounges on occasion (not at Heathrow though, he could only take DS1 in, DS2 and I had to slum it in T5 whilst they scoffed bacon sandwiches).

Membership of the institute of directors gets you into airport lounges with your membership card.

The reality of the BA lounges is that they are all ram-jammed and you're lucky to get a seat to quaff your thimbleful of mediocre wine and handful of kettle chips. If that helps?

Oh They used to be great. I managed three large g&ts in half an hour once, just because I was 'in the lounge'

Three large G & T's in thirty minutes is very impressive

I once drank so much deliciously strong coffee in a lounge that I got the shakes and I had heart palpitations........not the best way to embark on a long flight.

I have the dubious honour of being a BA gold card holder due to the insane amount of work travel I used to do.
The First Class lounges are indeed lovely. They have a magazine rack, which is basically a self-service WH Smith, so I can stock up on all the trashy magazines that I can't bring myself to spend actual money on, and a 'help yourself to champagne' section, which also has mini bags of crisps to stock up on for snacks on holiday.
DH and I have been known to deliberately book a slightly less convenient/more expensive flight leaving in the afternoon instead of morning, so we can take advantage of the free bar...

Of course there is always someone who will ruin the ambiance bringing their toddler in

What bank account do you have that gives you access to the lounge then Durham?

It had been a long and stressful day DurhamDurham and we were expecting a good while in the lounge but were late because of the usual M25 gubbins.

Number one lounge is £30 per head no discount for children so £90 for a family. Virgin a bit less. To access the first class lounges you need to be flying first class.

Over-rated IMO. We went to the one in Manc Airport, it was crap. It was fairly quiet but the food was rubbish, just prepacked plastic food, only water (which was warm) or alcoholic drinks, no other soft drinks.

Wouldn't waste the money again

Dp flies frequently for her job and is always in and out of these gorgeous lounges, lovely food, showers, massages etc! I'm very jealous!

ihatethecold Any of the 'premium' accounts with the main high street banks will come with free membership to Airport Angels/Priority Pass, which will get you into some of the lounges. Not the airline ones though, which are the ones with all the free booze.

Heels99 You can also get into the First Class lounges if you have the right frequent flyer card. Even if you are flying economy...

Sparechange, the vast majority of Priority Pass lounges offer free booze, apart from champagne.

We are flying Emirates business on Saturday, am ridiculously excited by the thought of the lounges!!! I have booked a lounge before when just flying economy, it is nice to have a base - just saves hassle and is just so much more comfy, plus I am always horrendously early for flights (due to late paranoia), so always have time to kill and don't want to spend it in shops!!!

You need to fly an insane amount and / or do a lot of business class travel to get a BA Gold card, which gets you into the BA First lounges with an economy ticket. A Silver card won't cut the mustard (not sure how much you'd have to fly to get the right frequent flyer card with partner airlines though).