Airport lounge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
An airport lounge is a lounge owned by a particular airline (or jointly operated by several carriers). Many offer private meeting rooms, phone, fax and internet access and other business services, along with provisions to enhance comfort such as complimentary drinks and snacks. At lounges, passengers will also find more comfortable seating, quieter environments and better access to customer service representatives than in the airport terminal.
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[edit] Access to lounges
Access to airport lounges may be obtained in several ways. The most common is to become either an annual or a lifetime member. Membership fees are sometimes discounted for elite members of an airline's frequent flyer program, and may often be paid using miles. Travellers flying internationally in first class or business class are often offered complimentary access on their days of travel.
Lounge access can also be attained with an airline status card. The top levels often offer access to any of an airline's lounges or partner airlines' lounges, when travelling in any class of travel on any of the partner airlines (usually it is required for the cardholder to be booked on one of the carrier's flights within the next 24 hours).
Generic lounges provided by an airport operator also exist. A fee is paid, which ranges from a daily fee to yearly fees or lifetime memberships. There are also programs that offer access to multiple airline clubs such as those for holders of the Diners Club International cards or American Express Platinum and Centurion charge cards. Independent lounge programs such as Priority Pass offer lounge access for an annual fee. As of 2007 the American Express Platinum/Centurion lounge program is a combination of Priority Pass membership and direct deals with partner airlines.
[edit] What lounges offer
Besides offering more comfortable seating, lounges usually provide beverages like coffee, water, soft drinks, juices, beer and other alcoholic beverages. Domestic US lounges often charge for alcohol with the noted exception of the Delta Crown Room, Northwest WorldClub, and Continental Presidents Club programs. Lounges also provide snacks like fruit, pastries and cheese. They generally offer television, usually a sports or news channel, newspapers, and magazines. Phones are spread out through the lounge, allowing members to make calls or access a dial-up internet service. Wireless internet access is becoming more and more common, offered by providers such as T-Mobile, sometimes for a nominal daily or monthly fee.
Lounges also provide a more comfortable, stress-free wait for the aircraft, and sometimes offer luxury services such as massages and spas.
[edit] Further information
Most major carriers have one or more lounges in their hubs and additionally in major airports they serve. Two of the most widespread clubs owned by US carriers are United Airlines' Red Carpet Club and American Airlines' Admirals Club. For minor airlines' airports, often access to a generic lounge is granted by way of a voucher.
Some airlines in the USA may also offer a First-class lounge or a Business-class lounge in some airports that can be different from their regular lounges, more in line with the European/Asian concept of an airport lounge as outlined above. In most cases, airlines will offer first class passengers a free pass to their standard airport club. They may also offer Arrival lounges for passengers to shower and rest after coming out of a long-haul international flight.
A quick comparison of various paid lounge programs worldwide is located at Andrew's Frequent Flyer resources many airlines outside North America and Australia do not sell lounge membership, reserving lounge access for elite frequent flyers. Due to alliances between airlines, many of these airlines lounges can be accessed through the paid programs of their North American and Australian partners - for instance Qantas Club membership provides access to British Airways lounges.
[edit] Lounge systems and locations
| Airline | Lounge Name | Locations |
|---|---|---|
| Air Canada | Maple Leaf Lounge | Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Montreal (3), Ottawa, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Quebec City, Regina, St. John's, Toronto (3), Vancouver (3), Winnipeg [1] |
| Air New Zealand | Koru Club | Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton Regional, Invercargil Regional, Napier Regional, Nelson Regional, New Plymouth Regional, Palmerston North Regional, Queenstown Regional, Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane, Christchurch, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Nadi, Rarotonga, Sydney, Wellington [2] |
| Alaska Airlines | Board Room | Anchorage, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Vancouver [3] |
| American Airlines | Admirals Club | Atlanta (2), Austin, Bogota, Boston, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth (4), Denver, Frankfurt, Honolulu, Kansas City, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Miami (2), Newark, New York-JFK (2), New York-LaGuardia, Orange County, Panama City, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Philadelphia, Raleigh/Durham, Rio de Janeiro, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Juan, Santiago, Santo Domingo, São Paulo, St. Louis, Tokyo-Narita, Toronto, Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan [4] |
| Avianca | VIP Lounge | New York-JFK, Madrid, Barranquilla, Cali, Medellin, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Bogota |
| Blue Islands | Customer Lounge (open to all passengers) | Guernsey, Jersey |
| British Airways | Terraces Lounge | Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Athens, Atlanta, Berlin, Birmingham, Bristol, Boston, Budapest, Cape Town, Chicago-O'Hare, Cologne, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Geneva, Glasgow, Hamburg, Istanbul, Jersey, Johannesburg, London-Gatwick (2), London-Heathrow (5), Manchester, Miami, Milan-Malpensa, Mumbai, Newcastle, New York-JFK, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Tokyo-Narita, Oslo [5] |
| China Airlines | Dynasty Lounge | Taipei, Kaoshiung, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Fukuoka, Okinawa, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu |
| Continental Airlines | Presidents Club | Guam, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Houston-Intercontinental (4), London-Gatwick, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Newark (3), New York-LaGuardia, Panama City, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Juan, Seattle/Tacoma, Washington-Reagan[6] |
| Copa Airlines | Presidents Club | Panama-Tocumen[7] |
| Delta Air Lines | Crown Room Club | Atlanta (7), Boston (2), Chicago-O'Hare, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky (2), Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Frankfurt, Fort Lauderdale, Honolulu, Jacksonville, Kansas City, London-Gatwick (2), Los Angeles, Miami, Munich, Nashville, New Orleans, Newark, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Raleigh/Durham, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Juan, Santiago, São Paulo, Seattle/Tacoma, Tampa, Washington-Reagan, West Palm Beach[8] |
| El Al | King David Lounge | London, New York-JFK, Los Angeles, Paris, Tel Aviv[9] |
| EVA Air | Evergreen Lounge | Taipei, Fukuoka |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Premier Club | Honolulu, Kahului, Kona, Lihue, Hilo, Los Angeles, Pago |
| Malaysia Airlines | Golden Lounge | Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Penang, Singapore, Jakarta, Sydney, London, New York, Los Angeles, Narita |
| Middle East Airlines | The Cedar Lounge | Beirut |
| Midwest Airlines | Best Care Club | Milwaukee |
| Northwest Airlines | WorldClubs | Boston, Chicago-O'Hare, Detroit (4), Honolulu, Los Angeles, Manila, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul (2), Newark, New York-LaGuardia, Portland (OR), San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul-Incheon, Tokyo-Narita, Washington-Dulles, Washington-Reagan [10] |
| Philippine Airlines | Mabuhay Lounge | Cebu (Mactan), Davao, Manila, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Davao, General Santos |
| Qantas | Qantas Club | Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Broome, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hobart, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Launceston, Mackay, Melbourne (Tullamarine), Perth, Rockhampton, Sydney, Townsville, London-Heathrow, Singapore, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Auckland, Bangkok, Wellington, Christchurch, Beijing [11] |
| Singapore Airlines | Silver Kris Lounge | Adelaide, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Brisbane, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, London, Los Angeles, Manila, Melbourne, Osaka, Penang, Perth, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo-Narita [12] |
| United Airlines | Red Carpet Club | Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Bangkok, Boston, Buenos Aires, Chicago-O’Hare (4), Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver (2), Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Honolulu, London-Heathrow, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Mexico City, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Newark, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Orange County, Orlando, Osaka, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland OR, San Diego, San Francisco (2), São Paulo, Seattle/Tacoma, Sydney, Tokyo-Narita, Washington-Dulles (3), Washington-Reagan[13] |
| US Airways | US Airways Club | Baltimore/Washington, Boston, Buffalo, Charlotte (2), Greensboro, Hartford/Springfield, Las Vegas, London-Gatwick, Los Angeles, New York-LaGuardia, Philadelphia (3), Phoenix (3), Pittsburgh, Raleigh/Durham, Tampa, Washington-Reagan[14] |
| Virgin Atlantic Airways | Clubhouse | Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, Newark, New York-JFK, San Francisco, Tokyo, Washington-Dulles |
| Virgin Blue | The Lounge | Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney |
[edit] External links
