Airport Lounges
Airport lounges are not just for business class passengers. They can cost as little as £13.50 per person, and that includes free drinks (except champagne), snacks and newspapers – not to mention comfortable seating in a relaxing environment – for up to three hours before the flight. You can spend a lot of money on food and drink in a noisy, crowded departure area in that time.
If you want or need to do a bit of work before the flight, an airport lounge will provide internet access and a bit of peace and quiet. If you don’t, you can read a paper, magazine or book – or watch TV.
Below are details of three providers of airport lounge passes:
Holiday Extras is a popular provider of lounge passes, airport hotels and airport parking, at all major and regional commercial airports in the UK. Its products and services come with a ‘best price’ guarantee. But it does not deal with airport lounges abroad.
The biggest supplier is Priority Pass, which operates three different annual membership schemes – the Standard Plan for the regular traveller, the Standard Plus for frequent flyers and the Prestige, for ‘when airports become a second home’. This is a service for the business traveller rather than for people who board a plane once or twice a year. It covers more than 500 VIP lounges around the world.
A smaller organisation, Lounge Pass, caters for the occasional flyer. It sells passes for 128 VIP lounges at almost 100 airports worldwide, including many UK, US and European airports and Milan Malpensa and Milan Linate. It operates on a pay per visit basis, typically costing in the region of £16 to £20 per person. If that sounds extravagant, check with Lounge Pass before booking that the lounge provides free drinks and snacks and then deduct the amount you would spend in the departure hall to see what the net cost of a bit of pampering is.
There are dress codes in some lounges (e.g. smart casual) and some don’t admit children below a certain age. The maximum stay in the Lounge is usually 3 hours.
For more information and/or to book your private lounge pass go to the Holiday Extras, Lounge Pass or Priority Pass website.
