AIRPORT LOUNGES Are they really useful ?
Reached the airport much in advance, check in , immigration and security all cleared and then you realise that the boarding time of the flight is still 2 hours away !!
OR
Reached destination airport after a long flight and you just need a place to have nice shower and a place to relax for some time with a hot cup of coffee and some light snack so that you are fresh to start work immediately
OR
Need to finish a call before boarding the flight and you need a quiet place for it, can’t do it in the departure area where there is too much noise around
OR
Tired after a hectic day at work and before you board a long flight you need some "Me" space to relax, maybe have a glass of beer to cool off and release the tensions of the day
In all the above scenarios , What do you do ? Where do you go ?
The place to go to in
the airport in any of the above instances is the Airport Lounge !!
What is the Lounge in
the airport and where is it located ?
Lounge is designated
area after check in and security and after immigration (in case of
international departure) where not all the passengers have access and entry is
restricted to a privileged few!! It’s a quiet enclosed area with comfortable
seating , light snacks, tea/coffee/juices and also alcoholic drinks plus
newspapers, magazines , high speed internet. Some Lounges also have a small
shower area where you can have a quick shower and get fresh before the flight
or before exiting the airport.
Most domestic and international airports in India have one or several lounges depending on the number of passengers it handles.
In many foreign countries, airlines (for Example Lufthansa , Emirates) have their own special lounges for their customers, but again for a few selected customers booked in a special class of booking. Lounges for Business class passengers are also very common where passengers booked in business class get free access to such lounges located in domestic or International terminals.
In India lounges are there in all major domestic and international airports. Like International airports, there are lounges reserved for Business class passengers only.
But there are other kinds of lounges also where passengers traveling in economy class can get access either because they are members of Frequent Flyer programmes of selected airlines or they hold certain credit cards which allow them access and if the above two are not there in your case, you can always pay and enter in any lounge.
Most Credit card holders in India who have Mastecard Visa Amex Diners Club franchised cards of any public sector or private bank are eligible for lounge access with number of entries per year depending on the card terms and conditions. Wait - Most entry level credit cards dont have this. The privilege of access to airport lounges is reserved for cards like Platinum / Signature/ Millennia / Diners Club/ Elite/ Infinity/ Prime etc etc, basically cards which are given to selected high net worth customers of the bank. There are also co branded credit cards which are issued with the co branding of an airline. Such cards also offer free lounge access.
Certain Debit cards also give the holder access to airport lounges.
In the case of both Credit and Debit cards, please do check with the card issuing bank about Lounge access - you will be surprised to know that you already had access but did not use it !!
Now what about passengers who are not eligible with either of the above two criteria ?
Dont worry, you can always pay and enter any lounge in any airport - domestic or international. Lounge entry fees in India typically range from Rs. 800 per person in smaller airports like Amritsar, Chandigarh, Indore to 1500 to 2800 per person in bigger airports like New Delhi , Mumbai, Bengaluru etc. Some lounges also have sleeping pods which can be booked at a nominal additional cost.
To use Encalm lounges in New Delhi airport in both the
domestic (T1) and international terminal
(T3), pricing starts at Rs. 1900 for domestic terminal and Rs. 3100 for the
lounge in the International terminal. Cost includes 2 hour use of lounge facilities
including tea/coffee, snacks, wifi.
Happy Lounging!!
Excellent information👍
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ReplyDeleteGreat.... Quite informative 👍🏻thanks dear
ReplyDeleteVery informative
ReplyDeleteYes i did the same when I was at Istanbul Airport in transit, I was travelling economy but used business lounge by paying just 20 USD and I was allowed to use all facilities for 4 hours I used computer, shower, liquor ,lunch then I realised if I would have done all this sitting outside business lounge one sandwich would have cost me Usd 5 plus liquor would have cross the bill of Usd 30 so business lounge offer was cheaper and you get quality people around you and no chances of theft of any personal items keeping open
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