How long do you stay in lounges before the flight?

[dajop]

I'm in the EK SIN lounge about to travel to BNE, and noticed from about 50 mins before departure I'm the only person remaining in the lounge! No boarding call, yet. Was planning to leave at about T-25...

Not the first time, once in the SIN TG I entered the lounge as most were streaming out. Then everyone disappeared at T-35, and I started to get worried, so approached the desk. They said, don't worry, haven't even started boarding yet, we'll let you know when it does. Which turned out to be T-5.

I guess I know the ins and outs of Changi, which helps. I do leave fairly late, never missed a flight yet, and never had my hand luggage more than 2 rows away.

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

Personally, Changi is the airport in which I leave the lounge earliest after having a near miss on an SQ to PVG given security at the gate. As a side note, I really dislike airports with security at the gate as I feel it detracts from the airport experience after being somewhat relaxed after the lounge then entering the security checkpoint and dealing with infrequent FFers faffing around and officious security officials. Additionally, it thwarts my BA buy on board workaround

I think there is a positive relationship between amount of carry on you have,priority in boarding queue, how elite heavy the route is and your seat number. After weighing up these factors I then decide how early I need to get to the gate to make the process a little smoother.

My general rule is start making a move at T-35 depending on walking time.

 

[flyingfan]

I usually like being one of the first to board so will sacrifice some lounge time to aim to be at the gate shortly before boarding opens. Oftentimes boarding will start 15 or even more minutes after the scheduled opening, in which case the differences between being there and in a nice lounge becomes increasingly stark, but I'm fine with that (except when a flight is announced as significantly delayed in which case a return to the lounge is probably warranted).

I have learnt through bitter experience not to trust the advertised boarding times (and especially boarding calls if they're done) too much.

 

[Hvr]

Because Qantas can't/wont do priority boarding I'm at the gate early for domestic flights.

For international flights I have a little more lounge time.

 

[NZflygirl]

If it's a morning flight not long at all! Whatever bed I'm in is way better than what's on board.
Food wise I always make sure I'm there in time to get free food before boarding.
If I need to get overhead space on say a Q400 etc then I'll leave a bit earlier to hit the priority boarding.
Traffic also dictates how early I get to an airport.
If I'm familiar with the airport then I'll leave later, if less familiar then ..... leave earlier.

So depends.

 

[Sdtravel]

Domestic agree with others around QF. So T30-35 i leave also depending on gate walk.

International depends on class of travel and gate location. Although in any class i guess i like to ensure i have overhead space. Probably about 15 maybe 20 min before scheduled boarding time. Perhaps a little more sometimes if its say gate 8 or 9 in Sydney or a long walk.

 

[JMEL]

Depends on the lounge and the airport. If it's a particularly nice lounge, then I'll make sure to arrive early at the airport to fully enjoy it. If I know the airport well, then I'll stay until about 10 minutes before the listed boarding time. If I'm unfamiliar with the airport or if it's a longer walk, then I usually ask the lounge agent how long it takes to walk to my gate, and plan appropriately.

And I agree - as much as I love Changi, I also dislike the security at the gates! Last month I got stuck behind a tour group at the gate screeners :-|

 

[Duffa]

Once showered and refreshed I usually head to the gate about T-50 or so.
I used to stay in the lounge until the last minute to maximise lounge time and also to look cool as I wondered up to the J priority boarding lane, but after a few narrow misses I now prefer to be first on-board, sipping champagne and choosing food/wine and generally getting settled in.
In summary I have completely changed my MO over the past 5 years

 

[YSSY]

T-35 for most flights, generally once boarding starts I'll take a steady walk down. Don't like being rushed and don't want to be running for a flight.

 

[Major]

If the flight is long haul I will be in J so I like to board early to enjoy a glass or 2 of champagne before departure.

I also like to board early on domestic and Tasman flights to have overhead locker space as I am usually in Y. I also hate queues.

In Domestic lounges I am there for approx 40 to 60 min and about another hour for International.

 

[JohnK]

With wife and daughter I try to leave when boarding is called.

If alone I love the attention and wait until I am paged and offload procedures have started. There is no way I want to board early unless flying business class and even then not that often. The less time inside that metal tube the better. Most of the time I stroll to boarding gate after everyone has boarded and wait until the last possible moment.

 

[kermatu]

Simple calculation for me - if lounge is more comfortable than aircraft seat, I too will time my departure to have a slow-paced walk to gate to be one of the last to board and with the aerobridge empty. If seat / suite is better, I will take my chances with early boarding.

 

[dajop]

Just an update, I was sole occupant of lounge for around 20 mins. They called the flight about T-30, I then waited another few mins (whilst I packed up) until they kicked me out, strolled to the gate and still had 4-5 mins hanging around in the holding pen before they commenced boarding So despite not leaving with all others, still had heaps of time to spare.

One thing good about Changi, is many do feel compelled to get to the gate early because of queues at the gate for security .. and because of this arriving not long before boarding closes will almost always see no queue at all (shared gates excepted, but there are strategies for dealing with this). I do like the SQ approach they are very strict with their gate closes 10 mins before boarding, and the strictness works both ways (Have never seen them close a gate early if still waiting for pax, unlike in some countries, with some airlines, where arriving at the gate within 5 mins of the suggested gate closing time greatly increases your odds of being bumped).

 

[boomy]

When flying Y I'm looking to maximise time in the lounge, trying to board as late as possible to spend as less time as possible in a cramped seat. When flying J or F I like to board early for that extra glass of champagne and to have enough time for changing into PJs (on long haul sectors) before takeoff.

 

[tuapekastar]

I'm very conservative re arrival times at airports for checkin etc. (better to spend an extra hour or whatever in a lounge than sitting in an accident-caused traffic jam on the freeway worrying about whether I will make my flight) so usually have a fair bit of lounge time, be it Dom or Int. I'm happy (barring known delays) to leave the lounge around 5 to 10 minutes before scheduled boarding time. If I have to wait around a bit at the gate I don't mind. I don't like to be rushed!

 

[robtemt]

I agree with tuapekasta. Living in the Southern Highlands (just outside Sydney), I insist on being at the airport very early, as one idiot on the M5 or in the tunnel could cost me my flight. I'm ok being there 2 hours early for domestic and 3 for International. Gives me plenty of time to relax in the lounge, get some shopping done, etc.

Since I have zero status anymore (been living off points for a couple of years) I like to get to the gate before boarding is called. If I'm in Y, which thankfully is not very often lately, I like to get on as close to first as possible so I can get my bag overhead at or close to my seat. If I'm in J, same thing really. We missed our boarding call in the EK J lounge in DBX and I only noticed when looking up from my book the lounge area was empty, and final was flashing on the boarding screen. My cabin bag was a mile from me when we got seated.

Of course, in F, there aren't problems with having my bag close, but I enjoy meeting the crew and sipping on some Krug before take-off.

 

[large]

Depending on flight time etc around 1 - 1.5 hrs before hand.

If flight is at midday and hotel checkout is 10 am, then straight to the airport and hit the lounge to relax b4 take off.

 

[Mattg]

I can't tell you the number of times I've left the QF lounge in SYD as soon as boarding was announced, only to be the last passenger to get to the gate. Once I was even called as I was walking out of the lounge as apparently everyone else was already on board. (This was a Dash 8 flight with only ~20 passengers though.)

I've also seen numerous occasions where people have missed their SYD-CBR flights because the flight was apparently not called in the lounge.

So I guess that's one reason to leave before boarding is called.

 

[LadyC]

Because I am travelling with toddler, there is generally a little bit of lounge time and we head to the gate way ahead of schedule. This is so we can take our time and not hurry, as well as run around a bit to burn some energy before getting on the plane

 

[CMA222]

I track the inbound flight (if possible) to ensure the aircraft operating the service has arrived and will be ready for an on time departure. If everything indicates an on-time departure is likely I head to the gate to arrive just before the advertised boarding time. Boarding announcements in the lounges, if they are actually made, can be misleading. Despite this apparently fool proof system I have wasted plenty of time at gates waiting to board as well as on occasions I have returned to the lounge due to boarding delays. Actually getting to the airport is a matter of maximising lounge time, especially QF international F lounge, in Sydney.