What is the attraction of lounges?

[Hvr]

I'm a low-class snob, but classy ones exist too.

Bogan?

 

[kapook]

One gets to chill in a relatively exclusive place, food, drink, showers and snob value!

 

[bismarck]

Assume this might have come up before.so sorry if it has.

I was chatting with some friends some of whom I have guested into the QF Syd J & F lounge.
Their impressions were that J was bursting at the seams. Would have been more space at the gate.
The F lounge is sterile and lifeless. Full of high class snobs that meant they felt a little out of place.
They would prefer more practical things such as a pool table or more a pub / bar style where you can freely interact and make noise.
Despite us calling it QF Pub and some people treating it like a pub I dont think international lounges really look like this.

Thought it was interesting and more of a millenials take on it. Most of us want the opposite and to date most lounges lean towards this. Obviously space is limited and you cant please everyone.

The TK lounge in Istanbul is like this. Has foosball tables, playstations, indoor driving range etc etc

It's great for a longer stop over

 

[MEL_Traveller]

But I guess the lounge is meant to be a taste of what the service will be once on board i guess. First class lounges arent for everyone i guess.

Taste of service on board? In economy or business?

With multiple DSC promotions these days the F lounges are just about for everyone.

 

[VPS]

I think it was more of a comment of being out of place. The atmosphere moreso than the people in it i guess
Staff are wearing white jackets, formal table dining service, everyone calls you sir. Its more of a formal environment that could make someone who hasnt experienced it before and only ever sat in Y feel out of place.

Personally I love the environment and service in F. But i can see it from the perspective of someone who hasnt been in many airport lounges before it is very different from sitting at burger king.

Just because some people might feel uncomfortable in the F lounge, I resent the implications that others there are high class snobs. I am a self funded WP and am neither high class or a snob

 

[VPS]

No, I can understand where they're coming from ... had a long-weekend away in Singapore staying in a hotel obviously used by lots of businesspeople during the week, and it had it's own "lounge" from which to get breakfast. I was in my t-shirt & shorts because it was summer & I slept-in & I was on holidays & the lounge's posted dress-regs were fine with that, and yet felt a tad uncomfortable going to get breakfast when everyone else was in suits ready to go to meetings.

But that’s your personal opinion you felt uncomfortable. At any stage did someone suggest you were dressed inappropriately. I certainly don’t conform to the power dressing brigade but I don’t give a rats whether anyone is wearing a suit or a t shirt. I’m lucky my job has never required power dressing

 

[MEL_Traveller]

At any stage did someone suggest you were dressed inappropriately.

Clearly in Australia some people do impart that suggestion. So much so, apparently, that QF had to introduce a dress code at select clubs.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

QF had to introduce a dress code at select clubs.

Introduce or enforce, I wonder?

Many places enforce a dress code, even surf clubs. I guess it comes from some people showing no regard for the standards adopted by the committee's, the boards or by the governing authority acting on behalf of the members.

I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong, but it does seem to me that no matter how relaxed club rules are, there will always be those who want to buck the system to show they're "individuals" no matter how much disquiet they cause.

Nothing new about that. You just have to watch a few episodes of "The Young Ones" (which I do actually enjoy)!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Introduce or enforce, I wonder?

Many places enforce a dress code, even surf clubs. I guess it comes from some people showing no regard for the standards adopted by the committee's, the boards or by the governing authority acting on behalf of the members.

I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong, but it does seem to me that no matter how relaxed club rules are, there will always be those who want to buck the system to show they're "individuals" no matter how much disquiet they cause.

Nothing new about that. You just have to watch a few episodes of "The Young Ones" (which I do actually enjoy)!

I wasn't intending to discuss the merits of dress codes, just address the potential feeling that someone might feel out of place wearing a t-shirt (given a lot of FFers using QF lounges seem to hold that view).

 

[Forg]

But that’s your personal opinion you felt uncomfortable. At any stage did someone suggest you were dressed inappropriately.

No ... but that doesn’t change the fact of my mild discomfort, apparently mirrored by others in a quasi-similar situation.

 

[nutwood]

This thread came to mind yesterday evening, whilst I was sitting in the Melbourne business lounge (Qantas). I was returning from Sydney to Launceston and had finished my work in Sydney some hours earlier than anticipated. I switched my flight out of Sydney to the next available, with the thought of settling down in Melbourne and getting through a back log of lap top work.
Alas, it didn't quite work out. The useful work station area at Melbourne had vanished, a victim of renovations. I wined, I dined. I sat there with my laptop propped on my knees, listening to all those around me who had no problem with propping their phones on the table, shoving in ear plugs and conducting personal conversations at a considerably louder volume than those about them who were actually conducting personal conversations.
For the life of me, I couldn't see the point of being there. I departed, found a peaceful gate and got on with my work. Laptop on my knees, just the same as the lounge but a whole lot more peaceful!

 

[Forg]

That QF Melbourne lounge is pretty old innit?
I’ve noticed lots of talk about quiet areas in international & newer domestic lounges, probably a direct result of complaints like the above!

 

[Jemm82]

listening to all those around me who had no problem with propping their phones on the table, shoving in ear plugs and conducting personal conversations at a considerably louder volume than those about them who were actually conducting personal conversations.
For the life of me, I couldn't see the point of being there. I departed, found a peaceful gate and got on with my work.

I couldn’t agree more (use VA lounges). I’ve told my husband a number of times now that il’d rather sit outside the lounge as other areas in the airport are quieter. In certain international airports like Changi I cant stand the lounge...a lot noisier and crowded then loads of areas in the airport which are even nicer to relax in.
I honestly don’t get why people have to FaceTime or Skype as loud as possible in a lounge. It’s frustrating as the main perk of a lounge for me is to relax. I remember back in the day when VA lounges were much quieter.

I’m probably a bit more picky about this as I don’t eat from the buffet and hardly drink, if ever. Really the perks of a lounge for me are: coffee, quiet, seats, less busy/nicer toilets and easier to follow flight updates as I’m hearing impaired. Also, I really appreciate being able to check in at the lounge rather than the general check in area. However if its very busy most of these perks lose their value.

 

[drron]

I admit to getting pretty jaded with lounges these days.just spent some time in the ANA suites lounge at NRT.Didn't drink a thing nor eat anything.Just tried catching up with my TR.
About an hour before boarding went to the gate.got a couple of seats to the side and enjoyed the people watching.

I guess the best of the lounges for me this trip is the TPR in Changi.It really is peaceful.

 

[HockeyMonkey]

Speaking personally, the biggest attraction of lounges is the ability to a shower in the evening after a day working but before taking a long haul flight home.

My employer has a discount economy travel policy, so if I haven't been able to snag an upgrade, the lounge folks are also great to help get the best possible seat after checkin has closed.

Nice food and drink and a quiet atmosphere is an added bonus.

 

[elemist]

I've only read the first and last couple of pages, so apologies if this has already been mentioned.

I think the overall value of lounges has probably dropped off a bit to what they used to be, and thats due to the improvements to the overall airport experience. I know domestically in Australia at least most airports have made big leaps in food/drink options at the terminals and there's now a good range of options for places to eat and drink. WIFI is now available for free or at very reasonable rates in most terminals, and even power points etc are more freely available.

I've also found in recent years the general seating has improved and there just seems to be a lot more of it in general, so it's much easier to find a quiet space to work or just chill out.

I'll be flying international through Singapore in F later this year and have been browsing lounge options. To be honest i'll probably pop in to the lounge for a little while just to experience it and so i can say i've been there, but i'm actually really keen to check out the terminal itself!

When flying J domestically though, i still appreciate the lounge. Somewhere i can get a couple of free drinks and something to eat while i eat. I'm also one of those people that leaves there stuff where it is when i go to grab a drink/something to eat (i keep an eye on it of course), but i appreciate that it's more of a controlled environment where its less likely someone will walk off with it.

 

[Deleted member]

I don’t fly often enough to find lounges that passé .
So, for now, I shall continue to enjoy the escape from the “madding crowd”

 

[Forg]

I don’t fly often enough to find lounges that passé .
So, for now, I shall continue to enjoy the escape from the “madding crowd”

For me, this is true!

but ...

I think the overall value of lounges has probably dropped off a bit to what they used to be, and thats due to the improvements to the overall airport experience. I know domestically in Australia at least most airports have made big leaps in food/drink options at the terminals and there's now a good range of options for places to eat and drink. WIFI is now available for free or at very reasonable rates in most terminals, and even power points etc are more freely available.

... this is true too. We took my mother & sister on JQ to Melbourne last year in June, on the way there we went into the QF lounge but on the way back it's the new JQ/Tiger/etc terminal in Melbourne & we didn't think it was worth dragging Mum all the way across the airport to get to the QF lounge & then drag her all the way back.
However we found a bar & had a chat, and apart from the extortionate prices was probably more relaxed than the lounge.
Transit time to the gate is a bit of a bummer in that terminal, but it would've worked out well & we'd not even have had to wait in a not-yet-moving line for boarding had a bunch of tourists who didn't speak English paid the extra to get themselves the exit row (something which isn't allowed unless you speak English) ... all sorts of chaos ensued.

 

[Ralphie]

I debated this point when I wandered into a very crowded QANTAS lounge in Brisbane last Friday. There was no hot or meal like food out, so it was a ham and cheese sandwich (no chance of getting near a toasting machine) and as I don’t drink alcohol, just a small glass of coke, that I had to juggle as I wandered looking for a spare seat.

As it was a work trip and thus any meal would be reimbursed if I’d eaten something more substantial outside of the lounge, I really thought about leaving (before getting the food). I stayed basically because I really appreciate the access to clean and spacious bathrooms.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I think the overall value of lounges has probably dropped off a bit to what they used to be, and thats due to the improvements to the overall airport experience.

Perhaps that, but also because everyone seems to have lounge access these days. Business class lounges are essentially economy class lounges, and first class, business. Very few lounges offer genuine restricted access to class of service, those that do - Thai F, Lufthansa F, SQ TPR, perhaps even the Concorde Room... still offer some glimpses of what lounges used to be like.