The flight search site Netflights.com lists the 20 best-value lounges as an alternative to stressful airports, even for people on a modest budget.
To help passengers avoid those inevitable airport blues when travelling, the flight search site Netflights.com claims it has inspected airport lounges around the globe and has made a list of what it thinks are the 20 finest ones.
Paying a little extra for access to lounges can help reduce the stress of long-haul travel, which in any case is money that might normally be spent on services in the airport, making it an option for people even on a modest budget.
Of the €66.70 that the average person spends before boarding a flight, according to Netflights, most goes on food (53%), hot drinks (44%) and alcohol (28%). Also, 46% of respondents admit to buying items they don’t even need – just as something to do before the flight.
Collating data from 149 lounges around the world, Netflights uncovers what you can expect to pay where, and what you’ll get. Amenities in each lounge are weighed up against cost, it claims.
With the average cost of accessing an airport lounge only €42.34, and with free Wi-Fi, drinks and premium food all available, there are many reasons to consider this option.
The number one spot in the list of best-value lounges is the Al Ghaza Lounge in Abu Dhabi International Airport, described as being low-cost and with an “exuberant interior and efficient amenities”.
Yet overall, the research reveals that 87% of travellers have never booked themselves or their families into a lounge as they thought it was too expensive (40%), only for members (23%), or just didn’t know how to do it (20%).
20 of the best
1.Al Ghazal Lounge by Plaza Premium Lounge Terminal 2, Abu Dhabi International Airport
2.Strata Lounge International Terminal, Auckland Airport
3.Lounge @ BTerminal 3, Dubai International Airport
4.1903 Lounge Terminal 3, Manchester Airport
5.Plaza Premium Lounge (Arrivals) Terminal 2, Rio de Janeiro Galeao International Airport
6.BGS Premier Lounge Terminal 2, Beijing Capital International Airport
7.Loyalty Lounge Terminal 2, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport
8.Plaza Premium Lounge (Lounge B) Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport
9.Clubrooms North Terminal, London Gatwick Airport
10.SkyTeam Lounge Terminal 4, London Heathrow Airport
11.Neptuno Lounge (AENA VIP Lounge) Terminal 4, Madrid Barajas Airport
12.Pacific Club Terminal 3, Ninoy Aquino International Airport
13.SkyTeam Lounge Terminal 1 (International), Sydney Airport
14.Bidvest Premier Lounge International Terminal A, Tambo International Airport
15.The Club at LAS, Terminal 3, McCarran International Airport
16.Marhaba Lounge Terminal 2, Melbourne Airport
17.Premier Lounge International Terminal, Ngurah Rai International Airport
18.Star Alliance Business Class Lounge Terminal 1, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport
19.dnata Lounge Terminal 3, Singapore Changi Airport
20.Plaza Premium Lounge Terminal 1, Toronto Pearson International Airport
