Lounge in ABX

[Tuddy]

Heard along the grapevine that there could be a shared lounge in ABX for elite members of QF and VA's respective programs to be built by Albury City council. I know that for some, mingling with the other half seems a fate nearly as being put on a non-J class Dash 8 (oh wait...), but is this the best idea for how to satisfy the elites flying into/out of ABX?

It would appear that there isn't enough critical mass on either airline for either to warrant their own facility there (QF has 224 seats/day and VA 136 seats/day - both figures combined don't even make up the QF weekday seat count into TMW!). The opening of the shared lounge would give neither airline the upper hand in terms of attracting customers. It would be interesting to see what would be developed and how it is executed. However, as I said, this is merely something I heard along the grapevine.

Thoughts?

 

[MH_fan]

I really don't know how economically viable an elite lounge would be at ABX. My guess is that it probably won't happen unless it's an independent lounge that users can pay to use.

 

[horseman]

Honestly I can see this happening. However if it is our council that are planning this I wouldn't be surprised at the waste of money at all.
I can leave my house 20 mins before checkin closes, get checked in, have a coffee at the cafe in the terminal to kill 5 min then jump on the plane, there's no waiting for hours for nothing here.

 

[totd]

Oh dear god. Just the thought of an AlburyCity lounge makes me shudder. Sure it would be pretty, but it would cost 3 times what it should, have contractors in there moving walls and lights (for no apparent reason) pretty much all the time and be closed down after a few years because it violates some state regulation (a la the dean st speed bumps).

The only way I could see it working is if one of the airlines and/or a third party came in and setup a paid lounge in the style of 'Koru Express'. (For those that haven't seen it: http://www.ausbt.com.au/a-new-concept-in-regional-airport-lounges-air-nz-koru-express )