EK lounge access for QF status pax discussion [where/when? where/when not?]

[blaz]

Sorry, I’m with the airlines on this one.
When flying with a P class or J class ticket , there is never an issue , nor should there be!
However how many time have you entered said lounges and unable to get a seat or found them crowded with pax who are simply there because of their card status and not their ticket status!
I agree that it should be clearly stated in the rules and perhaps airlines will change the rules so that lounges can be used by premier pax rather than freeloaders!! Ouch , too confronting??

Not freeloaders, as it is a stated benefit of status, but yes, business and first class should get priority I think.

 

[Berlin]

Sorry I can’t help you on the specific lounge you can access. But one thing I can say for sure having been in a couple of Madrid lounges is lower your expectations massively. They will not be anything like the Qantas or Emirates first lounges.

To the OP- yes, you'll have to make do with the AENA lounge int he satellite terminal which is nothing to write home about. Just as a word of warning- that satellite terminal can be absolute hell during peak hours with regards to security and customs checks so leave plenty of time, I've almost missed my connection a couple of times in Madrid which otherwise rarely happens to me unless there's delays, strikes or similar.

With regards to dissing the Madrid lounges generally- I totally disagree. The Iberia lounge in the main IB terminal is one of the best ones around, considering it's a Business and not a First class lounge. I like the airy feel to it in the centre of the terminal, they got decent cold food options: A wide variety of sandwiches and various mixed salads, some delicious Spanish cheeses and tetra-packed gazpacho soup which always amazes me in Spain because even out of a Tetra pack, it tastes better than in any Australian restaurant. But the best is the wine selection which is quite amazing (no proper champagne, granted, but you hardly find this in any J class lounge and it's Spain, so of course they serve Cava rather)- at any given times, they tend to have around 10 different Spanish reds and about 8 different Spanish whites. I've attached an image from just a month or two ago- you can't really see the whites in the ice tray behind but there's about 9 or so bottles of red. Not all are the best but some are delicious (as Spanish reds especially tend to be) and they're coming from a wide range of Spanish wine regions so you can easily spend 2-3 hours just tasting through these wines. So not anything like QF lounges? I'd strongly disagree. And compared to many other J lounges like BA or the likes, the Iberia lounge in Madrid is MUCH better in my eyes.