Most travelers would agree that spending time in a place where you can relax on comfortable furniture, enjoy refreshments, use clean washrooms where you can take a shower, access the Internet via fast Wi-Fi service, and read a magazine or watch some television is superior to waiting for a flight at a gate crowded with noisy people…
Would You Pay 300 Euros For Access to an Airport Lounge?
…but how much would you pay for the privilege?
Depending on the fare of the class of service for which you paid, the type of credit card which you hold, and the level of elite status you earned, you could pay as much as 300 euros for access to a particular airport lounge.
“I read that LH now might allow passengers to use the First class lounge (not the terminal one) by paying at entrance or for people who hold AMEX Centurion card (I hold Platinum card)“, FlyerTalk member Qbase posted in this thread in reference to admittance into one of the Lufthansa first class lounges at Frankfurt Airport.
FlyerTalk member chris63 responded that “They might let you into FCL B with a LH BP, price is at least 130 EUR, could also depend on how busy the lounge is on the day.”
In addition, FlyerTalk member worldclubber clarified that “As chris63 said, it is not impossible. They offer that to LH SENs as well, with a J ticket for 200 Euro, PE for 300 Euro.”
Exchanging 300 euros will get you $333.26 in United States dollars at the time this article was written.
Lufthansa has two first class lounges at Frankfurt Airport: one at Pier A at gate A13; and the other at Pier B between gates B22 and B24. Although vague, the description of the experience seems rather exclusive and enticing: “The manic hustle and bustle of the airport stops the moment you step through the door, and a time for enjoyment begins — with excellent food, inspirational reading material, a fine cigar of your choice or special spa and wellness services. Every comfort is perfectly tailored to your needs, and a personal assistant discreetly takes care of all your travel affairs. Everything is just right — and nothing is lacking.”
The following list is specifically for both first class lounges at Frankfurt Airport.
- Both First Class Lounges are open daily from 05.15 to 22.00 hours.
- The First Class Lounge in Pier A is available to you as a First Class guest transferring onto a Schengen flight. We provide the First Class Lounge in Pier B for all First Class passengers transferring onto non-EU or non-Schengen flights.
- You can enjoy a top-quality wellness programme in the spa area of the First Class Lounge next to Gate B22. The First Class Spa is open daily from 07.30 to 21.00 hours.
- High-quality illustrated books from the DuMont publishing house are available to you in the library of the First Class Lounge next to Gate A13.
- If time is short, the First Class Lounge in Departures Area B is the perfect place to enjoy our outstanding front cooking delicacies.
- The lounges have a total of four bathrooms (Pier A) and six bathrooms (Pier B), with some of them offering the chance to enjoy a relaxing bath.
- In both lounges, smokers have the opportunity to withdraw to a Cigar Lounge.
- A telephone, Internet kiosk, laptop connections, Wi-Fi and office materials are also available, as well as printers, photocopiers and fax machines for your use. The First Class Lounges offer discreet office units: four in Pier A, and five in Pier B.
- For admission to the First Class Terminal and to the First Class Lounges, travelling companions must show a valid boarding pass for the same flight as that of the person inviting them. Life partners and spouses and children under 18 must show a valid boarding pass for a flight on the same day as that of the person inviting them.
Summary
FlyerTalk member worldclubber explains it like this…
200 Euro is not cheap, but it also works at the nice FCL at MUC’s satellite. Why not look at it like this: Currently they offer food from one of Germany’s best ***chefs and a meal at his restaurant would set you back more than 200 Euros alone. At the lounge you can enjoy the food with a view, take a rest in one of the day rooms and/or a shower, drink as much Louise with your meal without having to worry about a hefty price tag when ordering another glass, enjoy an espresso at the outdoor terrace; at FRA it also include the ride to the plane. If the situation is right, it’s worth 200 to me, cheaper than the VIP services at MUC and FRA.
Even though waiting for a flight in an airport lounge is preferable to sitting at a gate, I cannot imagine paying hundreds of dollars for an experience which would last for a few hours at the most — even if the service includes a pre-flight dinner in New York or reserved parking spaces in Dusseldorf — except maybe to experience it once.
Perhaps my way of thinking is wrong, but I can somewhat create my own upscale experience for a fraction of the cost — assuming that cost is 300 euros — by dining at a nice restaurant in the airport as one of many examples. Even if I spent six hours in that Lufthansa first class lounge at a cost of 300 euros, that translates to costing greater than $50.00 per hour.
Of course, the algorithm changes when access to an airport lounge is part of a sunk cost — such as holding a premium credit card with an annual fee in the hundreds of dollars or purchasing a ticket in the first class cabin for an international flight…
…and having that access as a benefit of elite level status in a frequent travel loyalty program is arguably the best way to enjoy the experience.
I offered my reasons in this article which I wrote on Monday, October 19, 2015 as to why I personally would not pay $59.00 for a one-time visit to a Delta Sky Club — nor would I pay $59.00 to visit an Admirals Club of American Airlines or most any other airport lounge of a different airline — but that is just my opinion.
Would you pay as much as $333.26 for admittance into an upscale airport lounge?
Photograph ©2013 by Brian Cohen.
