Do you prefer silent airport lounges & terminals with no announcements?

[RooFlyer]

This happened to us in Oct this year in the QF Business lounge at MEL International. The announcements, the boards and the staff all got it wrong. FAIL!

You need the Flighty app. In fact everyone does. Delay and retiming and gate changes nearly always before the airport announcement and boards; tracks your incoming aircraft ( even advises when it lands); plots actual flight plan, info on your aircraft ( age etc). More.

Doesn’t advise boarding (well, you really shouldn’t expect it to, if the airline doesn’t ever know when that occurs )

 

[clementine6]

SIlent, please.

 

[trendwhore]

Definitely prefer silent, I tend to have headphones on anyway

 

[Himeno]

I'd rather have announcements. Especially in the case of delays or gate changes.
There are airports which don't make announcements and won't even tell you what gate the flight is leaving from until just before boarding is due to start (even though the airport/airline knows exactly what gate they'll be using hours before they tell anyone booked on that flight), which just leads to congestion, mass confusion and delays as people have no idea where to go.

 

[jastel]

You need announcements and the flight boards, not everybody can hear or see or speak the same language...but whatever info is given it needs to be accurate.

After a 1 hour delay on my last INT flight I was sitting on the plane before the app told me of the delay so they dont always work either.

Basically if you want to be on the plane YOU should be alert and waiting for it...just like a Bus...not expecting them to find you.

 

[jakeseven7]

Depends on the accuracy of the boards.

For example Melbourne T3 is awful and much talked about on here, I would never trust those boards.

 

[Stealthflyer]

I like boarding announcements, particularly when I’m in a lounge. Otherwise I tend to leave the lounge earlier than necessary.

That said, I find the general announcements at at HBA pretty tiresome, particularly the repeat JQ individual passenger announcements. It’s pretty hard to stray at HBA, so it’s likely they’ve checked in online but never showed and the whole terminal has to suffer for it. On repeat.

 

[Mr H]

Also most people have airline or 3rd party apps which give updated notification on everything from delays to baggage tracking.

I doubt this is true.

It is easy to connect to the free airport wifi, even if not in a lounge or travelling in a premium class.

In many countries this is not possible without a local SIM card.

 

[Forg]

In many countries this is not possible without a local SIM card.

In certain countries it’s not possible unless you want to give that countries’ government access to all the details that’re on your ‘phone about yourself, all your accounts, your family etc etc etc.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Silent terminal/s is/are good, but also, it has more chances of delays, as there are still some people in this world, who for what ever reasons, rely on all the audio announcements.
People who come from airports where there is a lot of hubbard, ie, noise, would be very used to wanting audio announcements.
Then if they don't appear, esp on int flights, "offloading procedures have commenced", and then, there is a wait as the plane hold doors have to be reopened, and then the pax comes rushing onto the plane.

 

[mbell1510]

Happy for a quiet lounge if only visual announcements/airport website information actually matches with what is happening at the gate. Too many times I've gone to the gate when I first see "boarding" on the screen to find out that boarding has not started, or that the plane has literally finished boarding.

My favourite was the Emirates lounge in Dubai which went from "delayed" straight to "final call" causing a bit of panic running to the lounge boarding area for that gate hundreds of metres away only to find that boarding was just in the process of starting.

 

[dk4]

Normally I like announcements, and displays.

The exception is the TG F Lounge in BKK, which has neither. When you travel first class Thai believes such matters are (quite rightly) beneath you. So, when the time is right, someone will come and collect you from your lounge chair (or the spa) and take you to the aeroplane (and normally get you to the gate just in time, so that you are last to board). The TG philosophy is simple, as a first class passenger, getting you to the plane on time is their problem not yours (so no announcements, and no flight information displays in their BKK F Lounge). Pity they have culled so much F class flying

 

[docjames]

/thinking slightly left field…./
Those with hearing impairment seem to be able to get to their flight on time - in which case so can those with normal hearing (and no announcements)……..



I’d be interested if anyone here has significant enough hearing impairment that they cant hear announcements, and what difficulty (if any) that creates at airports etc.


The overwhelming noise of eg. the SYD QP/J Lounge on a Friday PM with boarding calls, final calls etc for a flight every 5 mins whilst the place is a zoo, is awful - perhaps there should be more “quiet zones” in Lounges and airports where announcements aren’t made (and prominent electronic signage only)

 

[Himeno]

QR lounges in DOH don't have announcements, but they have staff walking around noting what flight people are on and making sure they've left to board at the right time.

 

[straitman]

/thinking slightly left field…./
Those with hearing impairment seem to be able to get to their flight on time - in which case so can those with normal hearing (and no announcements)……..



I’d be interested if anyone here has significant enough hearing impairment that they cant hear announcements, and what difficulty (if any) that creates at airports etc.


The overwhelming noise of eg. the SYD QP/J Lounge on a Friday PM with boarding calls, final calls etc for a flight every 5 mins whilst the place is a zoo, is awful - perhaps there should be more “quiet zones” in Lounges and airports where announcements aren’t made (and prominent electronic signage only)

I have a hearing issue however do not normally have an issue hearing the announcements.

 

[Captain Halliday]

I’d be interested if anyone here has significant enough hearing impairment that they cant hear announcements, and what difficulty (if any) that creates at airports etc.

I travel often with someone in this category.

Without their hearing aids, the person in question can hear muffled sounds only when you stand directly in front of them and speak very loudly.

The person can’t hear announcement in airports or elsewhere even with hearing aids, but makes their flights without issue using the other available information - predominately the lounge/airport signage.

The individual has a preference for getting to the gate early, so I guess that helps.

 

[Mr H]

/thinking slightly left field…./
Those with hearing impairment seem to be able to get to their flight on time - in which case so can those with normal hearing (and no announcements)……..

Do you work in IT? We have a lot of guys in IT who think the same way.

Of course people can get to their flights on time. The problem for everyone is that some people still don't. Therefore, since those people are not going to change of their own accord and since the problems they cause are real, we need to create systems that minimise the number of times it happens. If silent lounges cause more people to miss their flights (and I'm not completely convinced that they do) then the way they operate needs to be revisited.

Normally I like announcements, and displays.

The exception is the TG F Lounge in BKK, which has neither. When you travel first class Thai believes such matters are (quite rightly) beneath you.

It's a long time since I was in that lounge, but I remember inescapable TV screens everywhere. There's no point in removing announcements and departure screens if you pollute with TV noise.

 

[dajop]

Of course people can get to their flights on time. problem for everyone is that some people still don't. Therefore, since those people are not going to change of their own accord and since the problems they cause are real, we need to create systems that minimise the number of times it happens.

The one thing that would probably minimise the number of times people don’t get to their flights on time would surely be implementing “dry” terminals - no sale or supply of alcohol.

 

[Mr H]

The one thing that would probably minimise the number of times people don’t get to their flights on time would surely be implementing “dry” terminals - no sale or supply of alcohol.

That would suit me fine.

 

[JohnK]

The overwhelming noise of eg. the SYD QP/J Lounge on a Friday PM with boarding calls, final calls etc for a flight every 5 mins whilst the place is a zoo, is awful - perhaps there should be more “quiet zones” in Lounges and airports where announcements aren’t made (and prominent electronic signage only)

I have selective hearing and I'm also prone to missing announcements due to many distractions.

When we are in SQ lounge in SIN I must get up and go to TV screen more than a dozen times. I would hate to get up and leave and go to a gate that's quite a walk only to find they're nowhere near starting boarding. I hate waiting in holding pens and I hate waiting onboard waiting for stragglers.

Waiting in SQ lounge in BKK is the best because staff come around herding people off to the gate for boarding.

Headphones block out boarding announcements, gate changes etc.