jamesatfish
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2008
- Posts
- 658
Following on from my separate post about security experiences when travelling with an infant, I thought I'd share the same with regards to the airport lounges we've visited with baby in tow.
Again everything is just anecdotal from our personal experiences.
CBR - Qantas Business Lounge (Domestic)
Entry Desk
No problems with entry, desk staff were very friendly towards parents & baby.
Facilities
There is a baby change table in the women's toilet, but it's quite narrow so you need to take extra care that bub doesn't fall off. Plenty of private areas near the back of the lounge for breast feeding.
Other Comments
SYD - Qantas First Lounge
Entry Desk
No problems with entry, desk staff were very friendly towards parents & baby.
I later discovered that the entry staff had proactively looked up our seat allocations, seen that we were not seated together (5A and 5K) and moved someone out of 4A so we could sit closer together, all on account of us travelling with our daughter.
Facilities
I had never looked for a dedicated baby change room before, so I can't remember if they have one or not. The individual toilet suites in the Mens room certainly don't have baby change tables, but the bench next to the basin served as a perfect substitute. As it's just a normal bench you'll need a padded change mat and there's no restraint so a constant watchful eye is required. Plenty of private areas near the back of the lounge for breast feeding.
Other Comments
All of the lounge staff, from the entry desk to the restaurant to the spa, were all very happy to have our daughter in the lounge and went out of their way to make life easier for mum & dad too.
LAX - AA T4 Flagship Lounge
Entry Desk
HUGE troubles getting into the Flagship lounge. As a WP I am only entitled to take 1 guest into the Flagship Lounge (my wife had dropped back to SG before this trip), and they wanted to enforce our 6 month old daughter as an extra guest. Thankfully we were also entitled to access on account of arriving on an international OW First ticket, so finding our incoming boarding passes was enough to sate the dragon.
Facilities
The mens and women's toilets both have baby change tables that fold out from the wall, but they're in the general basin area rather than inside a cubicle so it's a bit harder to spread out all the associated baby items when changing. Not really anywhere private for feeding as it's such a small lounge, and what would normally be the quieter ends of the lounge (away from the entrance) are where the bar and TV are located (at one end) and the entrances to the bathroom facilities (at the other end) so there's plenty of foot traffic at all times.
Other Comments
SFO - AA Admirals Club
Entry Desk
Staff were very pleased to allow us access, and went out of their way to interact with our daughter every time we walked past the desk (which is in between the lounge area and the bathrooms).
Facilities
The men's toilet has a change table in the only cubicle, so if it's occupied then you just have to wait to change. I'm not sure if the light had blown in the cubicle but it seemed more like the blue lighting you get in public toilets where they don't want people to inject drugs - so certainly not ideal for changing. The table was quite old and ratty looking.
Other Comments
The staff went out of their way to help however possible, including providing a jug and some boiling water to allow us to heat up a baby bottle.
JFK - BA Concorde Room
Entry Desk
Staff were very pleased to allow us access.
Facilities
There are no change facilities in the Concorde room, and there are no shelves in the toilet cubicles that can be used for this purpose. The front desk staff suggested I use the business centre (which is just a small utility closet with two computers and a desk, and was unused at the time).
There is a nice quiet lounge area set off from the main area which is great for feeding, and the restaurant staff moved some small tables into that area for us so we could dine without needing to move back into the normal lounge.
Other Comments
LHR - BA T5 Arrivals Lounge
Entry Desk
Staff were very pleased to allow us access (though neglected to mention we could dine in Concorde arrivals rather than at the buffet).
Facilities
The arrivals lounge has a dedicated baby change room, with great facilities for changing, a basin for washing hands and a hygenic nappy disposal unit. There's only one change table but there's a small seat and plenty of space if you have to wait for another family.
Other Comments
The corner lounges in the Concorde dining area are great for babies just mastering the art of sitting up by themselves, as they can tuck into the corner and be reasonably well supported.
LHR - T3 BA First Lounge
Entry Desk
No problems getting access, although the staff were very unfriendly in stereotypical BA fashion.
Facilities
Great facilities for babies, including a dedicated kids room with TVs, video games and soundproof glass - a perfect spot for us to feed and put our daughter to sleep before the flight (especially as there were no other kids in the room). This is the only time I've seen a properly equipped kid's area in a First lounge.
Other Comments
The pre-flight dining staff were very accommodating, and opened up the dining room early as they saw we were with a baby (rather than the others who had tried to get in early and were told to wait outside for another 15 minutes until dining began).
BKK - Qantas First Lounge
Entry Desk
Entry staff was pretty apathetic - they weren't even really interested in checking boarding passes.
Facilities
No particular baby facilities that we found, but room in the individual toilet cubicles to change. The lounge is too small to have a quiet area for feeding but the chairs are quite high-backed in the middle of the lounge so turning one around as a visual barrier worked nicely.
Other Comments
Again everything is just anecdotal from our personal experiences.
CBR - Qantas Business Lounge (Domestic)
Entry Desk
No problems with entry, desk staff were very friendly towards parents & baby.
Facilities
There is a baby change table in the women's toilet, but it's quite narrow so you need to take extra care that bub doesn't fall off. Plenty of private areas near the back of the lounge for breast feeding.
Other Comments
SYD - Qantas First Lounge
Entry Desk
No problems with entry, desk staff were very friendly towards parents & baby.
I later discovered that the entry staff had proactively looked up our seat allocations, seen that we were not seated together (5A and 5K) and moved someone out of 4A so we could sit closer together, all on account of us travelling with our daughter.
Facilities
I had never looked for a dedicated baby change room before, so I can't remember if they have one or not. The individual toilet suites in the Mens room certainly don't have baby change tables, but the bench next to the basin served as a perfect substitute. As it's just a normal bench you'll need a padded change mat and there's no restraint so a constant watchful eye is required. Plenty of private areas near the back of the lounge for breast feeding.
Other Comments
All of the lounge staff, from the entry desk to the restaurant to the spa, were all very happy to have our daughter in the lounge and went out of their way to make life easier for mum & dad too.
LAX - AA T4 Flagship Lounge
Entry Desk
HUGE troubles getting into the Flagship lounge. As a WP I am only entitled to take 1 guest into the Flagship Lounge (my wife had dropped back to SG before this trip), and they wanted to enforce our 6 month old daughter as an extra guest. Thankfully we were also entitled to access on account of arriving on an international OW First ticket, so finding our incoming boarding passes was enough to sate the dragon.
Facilities
The mens and women's toilets both have baby change tables that fold out from the wall, but they're in the general basin area rather than inside a cubicle so it's a bit harder to spread out all the associated baby items when changing. Not really anywhere private for feeding as it's such a small lounge, and what would normally be the quieter ends of the lounge (away from the entrance) are where the bar and TV are located (at one end) and the entrances to the bathroom facilities (at the other end) so there's plenty of foot traffic at all times.
Other Comments
SFO - AA Admirals Club
Entry Desk
Staff were very pleased to allow us access, and went out of their way to interact with our daughter every time we walked past the desk (which is in between the lounge area and the bathrooms).
Facilities
The men's toilet has a change table in the only cubicle, so if it's occupied then you just have to wait to change. I'm not sure if the light had blown in the cubicle but it seemed more like the blue lighting you get in public toilets where they don't want people to inject drugs - so certainly not ideal for changing. The table was quite old and ratty looking.
Other Comments
The staff went out of their way to help however possible, including providing a jug and some boiling water to allow us to heat up a baby bottle.
JFK - BA Concorde Room
Entry Desk
Staff were very pleased to allow us access.
Facilities
There are no change facilities in the Concorde room, and there are no shelves in the toilet cubicles that can be used for this purpose. The front desk staff suggested I use the business centre (which is just a small utility closet with two computers and a desk, and was unused at the time).
There is a nice quiet lounge area set off from the main area which is great for feeding, and the restaurant staff moved some small tables into that area for us so we could dine without needing to move back into the normal lounge.
Other Comments
LHR - BA T5 Arrivals Lounge
Entry Desk
Staff were very pleased to allow us access (though neglected to mention we could dine in Concorde arrivals rather than at the buffet).
Facilities
The arrivals lounge has a dedicated baby change room, with great facilities for changing, a basin for washing hands and a hygenic nappy disposal unit. There's only one change table but there's a small seat and plenty of space if you have to wait for another family.
Other Comments
The corner lounges in the Concorde dining area are great for babies just mastering the art of sitting up by themselves, as they can tuck into the corner and be reasonably well supported.
LHR - T3 BA First Lounge
Entry Desk
No problems getting access, although the staff were very unfriendly in stereotypical BA fashion.
Facilities
Great facilities for babies, including a dedicated kids room with TVs, video games and soundproof glass - a perfect spot for us to feed and put our daughter to sleep before the flight (especially as there were no other kids in the room). This is the only time I've seen a properly equipped kid's area in a First lounge.
Other Comments
The pre-flight dining staff were very accommodating, and opened up the dining room early as they saw we were with a baby (rather than the others who had tried to get in early and were told to wait outside for another 15 minutes until dining began).
BKK - Qantas First Lounge
Entry Desk
Entry staff was pretty apathetic - they weren't even really interested in checking boarding passes.
Facilities
No particular baby facilities that we found, but room in the individual toilet cubicles to change. The lounge is too small to have a quiet area for feeding but the chairs are quite high-backed in the middle of the lounge so turning one around as a visual barrier worked nicely.
Other Comments
