Monitoring boarding times from a lounge with no boarding calls

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smit0847

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When you are in the lounge with boarding calls are not made (especially when you go to a different lounge to the one you are directed to at check-in), how do you monitor when your flight is actually boarding, especially if it is delayed?

- FIDS in the lounge?
- Googling your flight number?
- Official airport website?
- Ask lounge staff?

Its a pain to head to the gate (especially when its a fair way from the lounge) only to find the flight hasn't boarded yet and the gate staff don't know when it will.

On my last TG flight out of MEL I was in the SQ MEL lounge and was told as usual that they do not make non-SQ boarding calls. My flight departed at 15:20. At about 14:50 I headed to the gate to find them removing the lanes and about to close the doors. They were very flustered that I was so 'late' (despite being at the gate 25+ minutes before departure time) and they closed the aircraft doors before I had even sat down in my seat onboard (the plane ended up leaving the gate 20 minutes before scheduled departure). While it felt rushed and flustered I was also a bit annoyed that they were panicking so much just because they wanted to leave early.
 
When you are in the lounge with boarding calls are not made (especially when you go to a different lounge to the one you are directed to at check-in), how do you monitor when your flight is actually boarding, especially if it is delayed?

- FIDS in the lounge?
- Googling your flight number?
- Official airport website?
- Ask lounge staff?
All of the above.
 
I monitor the lounge monitors and also use Flight Aware to know the status of inbound flight and ETD of my flight (compare to schedule). I also have TripIt Pro which is a useful schedule change advisor, but I don't rely on it for boarding times.

Some time before the time when I would leave the lounge I ask one of the staff to check departure/boarding times for any changes. Hopefully this latter one would be the one to alert you that the flight is early.
 
(especially when you go to a different lounge to the one you are directed to at check-in), how do you monitor when your flight is actually boarding, especially if it is delayed?

Go to the correct lounge, even if it is one you don't particularly like. They want you in the boarding lounge at +40 for a reason and whilst it may interrupt your lounge time I get there at the asked time
 
I generally use the monitors in the lounge and will move to a seat where I can see them conveniently.

I have occasionally used an App. In the US last year, the AA app was excellent as it would track the incoming flight - no point leaving the lounge (particularly if it was a flagship lounge) if the aircraft hadn't even arrived.
 
I think boarding was 40 minutes prior with boarding gates closing 15 or 20 mins prior. I was at the gate more than 25 mins prior.

As a safe rule of thumb - 30 minutes before departure for premium cabins. If the flight is delayed I will usually head to the airline's 'home lounge' rather than a partner lounge. This ensures you'll get the most accurate updates.
 
I use everything at my disposal to make sure I'm in the loop re: boarding. I tend to use the FIDS as my main preference, though I have started to use Google (recently in BKK it was Google that told me that the flight was delayed, not the FIDS).
 
  • FIDS as the main go-to. You can't trust them all the time, particularly when the FIDS are simply on an automatic status updater program which doesn't take into account the actual conditions. Rumours had it (maybe now changed) that MEL T3 for VA departures is notorious for this.
  • If you are in a lounge of the host airline or who has access to the facilities that can monitor the airline for your flight, ask them at the predicted boarding time if there has been no update to the status (e.g. if in an international lounge, at about T-40 minutes, if the FIDS don't say "Boarding" or your other sources don't, ask at the desk).
  • Set a timer with alarm tone on your device so that it sets off at the predicted boarding time (not the predicted departure time).
  • If the lounge you are in is a lounge (other airline, pure contract like Priority Pass or American Express) which does absolutely no monitoring of your airline's flights, and there are no FIDS, you will need to rely on websites, or simply set for the predicted boarding time.
  • In some cases, you will need to bite the bullet and leave the lounge "on time" in order to clearly check the status of your flight. If your flight ends up being delayed, it will be up to you whether it is worth going back to the lounge or just waiting out the time at the gate.
 
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