Frequent Traveler: Know your airport lounges

When Mariana Field Hoppin, a New York businesswoman, and her daughter Ashley treated themselves to round-trip tickets in first class with British Airways from London to Delhi, they had expected first-class treatment all the way. Instead, waiting for the return flight at Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport, they were treated to a first-class nightmare.

"We were not pleased to discover that not only is there no first-class lounge in Delhi, there is no BA lounge at all," Hoppin writes. "When we reached the upstairs lounge (with no elevator) at 2 a.m. for a 3:30 a.m. flight to London, the place was jammed. Ashley, who had been very ill for a few days, needed to sit, so I asked a kind gent, who gave us seats. The final blow was to find no ladies' lavatory in a lounge with well over 100 people."

The moral is: Whatever class you are traveling, it's wise to check out the lounge facilities at all stops along the route, and be aware that while airlines hype the flagship lounges at their home hubs, they share (often more modest) lounge facilities with other carriers, or use generic lounges provided by airport operators, at the far-flung reaches of their routes.

According to Amanda Allan, a spokeswoman with British Airways in London, first and business-class passengers have the run of the Maurya Sheraton lounge in the international departure wing at Delhi - an outpost of the five-star Sheraton Hotel, in the city. I cannot believe that this is the same "lounge" that Hoppin describes. (Air India's Maharaja Lounge would have been a safe bet.) In Sydney, BA's first-class passengers get to use the Qantas lounge, and in Singapore, Singapore Airlines' renowned first-class lounge. At Heathrow's new Terminal 5, there are six lounges: the Concorde lounge, exclusively for first-class passengers; the First Lounge, for first and gold card frequent-flier members; three business-class lounges, for long-haul, short-haul and gold and silver members; and the Arrivals Lounge, for first-and business-class, and gold card members off long-haul flights.

Having the run of an airport lounge takes some of the pain from flight delays, cancellations and long connecting times. But as many front-cabin travelers have found to their chagrin, some airport lounges are much more equal than others. The best lounges are "airside," a short walk to the doors of the plane, and offer space and quiet, as well as the use of PCs, Wi-Fi, washrooms and showers, a workout room, massage, beauty and health treatments, restaurant-style eating and a wide choice of beverages. The worst lounges are often shared between several airlines, are "landside" (before immigration and security), and often more of a zoo than the main concourse.

The next best thing to a "Good Lounge Guide" are reviews of airline lounges at Skytrax Research (www.airlinequality.com) which help you figure out the best, and worst, around the world.

Star performers in the Skytrax 2007 Best Airline Lounges Survey were Thai Airways' first-class lounge in Bangkok, Qatar Airways' first-class lounge in Doha, Lufthansa's first-class lounge in Frankfurt and Cathay Pacific's first-class lounge in Hong Kong. Predictably, Virgin Atlantic scored top in business-class lounges for its Club House at Heathrow (arguably the best of any lounge in the world), followed by Cathay, Qatar and Qantas. Look for the new BA lounges in the next survey.

Having the run of an airport lounge is a perk that is worth the money whether in the price of a premium-class ticket, or joining a lounge program, like prioritypass.com (which has 500 lounges in 275 cities), or loungepass.com (123 lounges at 100 airports). Priority Pass has a three-tier membership plan ranging from annual dues of £69, or $135, and £15 per visit, to dues of £259 and free lounge visits. Lounge Pass charges a minimum £13.50 per visit - expensive, but what price do you put on a port in a storm?

American Airlines' Admirals Club, Delta Air Lines' Crown Room Club and United Airlines' Red Carpet Club are all worth joining if you are flying their way.
In-flight mobile phone service

Air France claims to be the first airline in the world to offer an in-flight mobile phone service with the start, on Dec. 17, of a long-awaited six-month trial on an Airbus A318 aircraft, with technology developed by OnAir (a joint venture between Airbus and SITA, an airline communications provider).

For the first three months of the trial passengers are allowed only to send and receive SMS (text) and MMS (multimedia) messages using their own cellphones, or devices like Treo or Blackberry, with Internet access. During the second half of the trial, passengers will be allowed to make and receive voice calls once the system has been activated at 10,000 feet, or 3,048 meters. Mobile OnAir technology, certified by the European Aviation Security Authority, does not interfere with the aircraft's navigation and avionics. Phones are used just as on the ground and calls are routed via satellite to your own mobile network provider. Cost of calls is comparable to normal international roaming charges.

(πηγή: www.iht.com, 7/2/2008)