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So being more of a budget type traveller, I’ve only been in an airport lounge once (when I put in a silly low offer of £15 to upgrade and they must’ve been desperate).
I’m taking my family on Safari in November, and been looking at booking into a lounge at Edinburgh pre departure to make it that bit more special. But best I can find is £39pp (10% off) for about 2.5 hours, which still seems quite bit steep to me.
To put it in context, the flights were the cheapest available and my best friend is a safari guide, which means the whole trip is pretty much peanuts (for me it is about £700 for 8 days), so don’t think I’m spending tens of thousands and skimping on lounge access!
Just thought I’d ask in here, anyone with more experience that can suggest ways of bringing the cost down a bit? Will be 5 of us in total (I’m taking my parents and my brother & sister are flying the day after to surprise them there).
Any advice appreciated 🙂
Depends what you get for the £39 I guess, if it’s just somewhere a bit nicer/quieter to sit, maybe not the best value, but if it comes with free booze and good food…
Who do you bank with? I regularly use the lounge at EDI and get access via a relatively cheap upgrade to my RBS account. When factored in with annual travel insurance it’s really good value. Wife and I get free passes, kids are £25 each for a guest pass but they easily eat their way through that cost in food.
Aspire lounge is nicer space but food isn’t as good
Plaza Premium less premium space but better food
not used Escape lounge.
EDI is a complete cattle market nowadays. Lounge access makes the whole experience tolerable.
I used to fly a lot. So much that I ended up as a KLM gold frequent flier and wasn’t far off becoming platinum status, so I got access to all their lounges and their partners lounges. The KLM lounge in Newcastle is run by their partner Aspire, who also sell entry tickets to non frequent fliers as part of package deals and parking upgrades.
The thing nobody tells you is that there’s two doors behind the receptionist, one leads to a place of calm serenity with free bolinger, warm croissants, excellent WiFi and an unrivalled view of the apron, where waiters quietly reprimand business fliers who feel it necessary to broadcast their phone conversions. The other is a portal to a windowless pit of noise, free cans of fosters, yesterday’s stewed lamb, some unidentifiable pastries, an general lack of seating and the occasional brawl worthy of the Bigg Market on match day. It was so bad that aspire would have KLM vouchers to hand should they run out of capacity in the “real” lounge.
Id rather sit in Costa quaffing a limp chocolate twist and a low powered latte.
im on the side of not being tight, but getting value for money and spending my money on something that would enrich my life a little. so i avoid airport lounges 😀
free food and drinks? we-ell its not is it. i just dont think theyre worth it, or not in the experiences we've had (east midlands). £40 pp? id rather take a pack up thats better quality than their bog-standard reheated fayre, find a couple of chairs somewhere and read a book or listen to music to while away the time and then spend my money on a nice meal at my destination.
YMMV
I find it a bit odd when people fly budget airlines and use a lounge, unless you already have access. The whole experience of budget flying from the moment you enter the building is something to be endured. I was listening to some snobby bloke talking to his son in the queue at the gate saying thank god they used the lounge and it was worth every penny to avoid the riff raff as it was so intolerable being in this crowd. We then proceeded to be victim of Ryanair slight of hand where they kept us in the stairwell like a holding pen for at least 30 mins while they actually turned the plane around. Then of course being on a Ryanair flight for 2.5 hours. Finding a corner to sit before the gate opens is probably the least traumatic part of the whole grim experience.
I wouldn’t pay that for the Edinburgh one. We got it free one time and it was basically a self service Wetherspoons.
Emirates at Glasgow on the other hand. Champagne, good red wine and cooked to order steak.
Lounges only ever make sense to me if the airport is either rammed and/or you've a decently long wait/layover. I've used the lounge at Heathrow for breakfast and shower facilities without having to scrum with hoi paloi, and it was worth every penny. If you can get a seat in the terminal with a view of the apron and coffee nearby while you wait 30 minutes to self-load, not so much
Echoing most...when I flew a lot I ended up in the BA LHR T5 lounge before most flights, it's nice but I wouldn't pay more than the food I might otherwise eat for it, so maybe £20? Exception would be for a stopover as mentioned by others.
Edinburgh airport is an absolute hell hole but I can't say I've ever struggled to find somewhere quiet.
However, if you have a free Revolut account you can get lounge access for £33 if that's any more bearable for you.
We then proceeded to be victim of Ryanair slight of hand
If I'm flying alone for work I'll not bother rushing on the plane even if I have priority boarding. I'm not a fan of waiting in stair wells.
It can also bite if it's somewhere like Pisa where the waiting is all outside for some stands.
If I'm flying alone for work I'll not bother rushing on the plane even if I have priority boarding. I'm not a fan of waiting in stair wells.
i always try to be last on the plane, and board at the opposite end to my seat. that way i can walk along and see if there are any spare rows and if so, pretend theyre my seats. my wife? not such a fan of this tactic and thinks that we should do the right thing and sit in our designated seats. flying is such hilarity for us 😀
Edinburgh airport is an absolute hell hole but I can't say I've ever struggled to find somewhere quiet.
This^^
Lounges only ever make sense to me if the airport is either rammed and/or you've a decently long wait/layover.
Mostly this as the true benefit, however don't underestimate the 'special' factor of going to a part of the airport that most people don't and having 'free' food and drinks. It can make getting to the airport feel like the start of the holiday rather than just the start of the journey, particularly if you need to build in a reasonable time buffer to get to the airport in the first place.
If you would get something to eat/drink anyway whilst waiting for your flight then you'll already have consumed well over half the cost of the lounge.
If the spend isn't going to impact what you can do elsewhere in the holiday then I'd say go for it.
It can make getting to the airport feel like the start of the holiday rather than just the start of the journey
I don't really understand this mindset, you still have the flight ahead of you and whatever transfer required at the destination. My holiday only starts when I'm in the accommodation. Transport is a means to an ends.
@dave_h My approach too. The travelling is part of the experience and helps with arriving at the end in a calmer state.
You make it sound like The Orient Express. I think what is happening is you are getting pissed enough in the lounge to not realise how unremittingly terrible sitting on a budget airline flight actually is.
my holiday starts with the 4am guinness at Spoons/whatever at the airport
My holiday only starts when I'm in the accommodation
My holiday starts when I close the lid of the laptop after setting my out of office on Outlook. I'm with @dave_h, choosing to spend your time in airport lounges or a nice(r) hotel room if you've a stop over can make all the difference when you're travelling.
Until a couple of years ago I was very much in the mindset that lounges were a waste of time, but a few things have changed my mind:
1. Access via a bank account upgrade means that I am only paying a small premium for lounges, plus a whole host of other benefits (RBS Reward Black, its actually about £36 per month but we max out on the annual travel insurance part including extended trips so good value)
2. EDI. I think thee is a strong case for the airport now being the worst in UK, and very high on the list of worse in Europe. It is always rammed
3. Food and drink option in EDI are expensive, rammed and pretty rubbish
Air travel is a chore, a little bit of calm in the lounge is a nice thing. But, and a big but, OP is quoting £200 for family of 5 to access. Absolutely no way would I be paying that.
Edinburgh is pretty shite but I'm guessing you haven't sampled some of the other UK regional airport highlights. I don't fly very often so my experience is limited but Leeds Bradford must be up there. Who builds an airport at 200m altitude in Yorkshire, no public transport and then to top it off gives it an incredibly short runway.
Manchester. On any day. Far worse than EDI on a weekend in July. Only Manchester would make you get off a transatlantic flight with a one year old in tow and deny you access to your child's pushchair until after immigration. Or somehow configure the security scanners so that every other bag is flagged for inspection. An entire operation devoid of care, politeness or efficiency. Bafflingly bad.
We then proceeded to be victim of Ryanair slight of hand where they kept us in the stairwell like a holding pen for at least 30 mins while they actually turned the plane around.
Haha.... yes the old Ryanair trick where they say you're "boarding" but the reality is the plane has only just landed and the passengers are still on board! A pathetic attempt to make them look efficient/on time. The most ironic bit is that it's the people who have paid for priority/speedy boarding (whatever it is) who end up standing on the stairs 🤦♂️
We've only been in a lounge twice (as guests of mates who use them all the time) and it was very nice - we were flying Virgin but not sure who the lounge was operated by. We'd like to use them again but most of flights are now on Emirates staff tickets (thanks daughter #3 👌) and we usually don't know if we've been accepted until just before check in closes at which point we've got 1 hour before boarding so a lounge would be a waste of money 🙄
But, and a big but, OP is quoting £200 for family of 5 to access. Absolutely no way would I be paying that.
Repeating the point that if the OP is planning to eat/drink at the airport regardless, or having a pre-flight meal would avoid a cost of an in-flight meal or food immediately at the destination, then the cost difference of the lounge is significantly less.
We have a bank account that gives us travel insurance and a few lounge passes each year. Typically they're the Plaza Premium. The current price to buy passes for guests, or extra passes for ourselves, is £24 (and looking in the app you can trade a pass for a £15 voucher to spend in one of the other restaurants in Heathrow).
I really can't see why you'd go to a lounge at a UK departure airport and definitely not pay £40pp for it. I'd just be getting to the airport at late as possible and spending the minimum time there. There must be somewhere better to spend £40pp on a meal at or near the airport.
If you've got a long stopover or are flying evening/night coming home then they're worth every penny for a comfortable seat and a shower. The further you get from the UK the more interesting (and generally better) the food becomes. We once spent a very entertaining 7 hours on a stopover in Nairobi in a lounge with a free pour spirit bar making White Russians with all the coffee creamer.
I rarely fly, but I did once get a free entry to the lounge at Copenhagen for a few hours. Being a novice at this I got overwhelmed at the huge free self service bar. Loads of beers I had never tried before! What to do? Well I started at one end and methodically went for it. Some very good beers in the mix there iirc.... There was food too, but can't remember that particularly. It was a bit odd though, being about 11 in the morning when I started... and being the only one in there for most of it.
Anyway, not something I would pay for, but it was an opportunity that arose.
It really depends...
I like to get to the airport early... 2 or 3 pints in a lounge, plus smash a load of sarnies into your face, and pinch a load for the fight, it can work out decent value.
Plus it's a nicer place to sit if the terminal is busy.
Edinburgh is pretty shite but I'm guessing you haven't sampled some of the other UK regional airport highlights. I don't fly very often so my experience is limited but Leeds Bradford must be up there. Who builds an airport at 200m altitude in Yorkshire, no public transport and then to top it off gives it an incredibly short runway.
If you think Leeds is bad, you've never been to Manchester terminal 3.
It's on a different level.
That's one place I WOULD pay for a lounge as a matter of course, but there isn't one, because of course there isn't one.
But best I can find is £39pp (10% off) for about 2.5 hours....
anyone with more experience that can suggest ways of bringing the cost down a bit
Err, plan your day better so you're not wasting 2.5 hours sitting at the airport.
can make getting to the airport feel like the start of the holiday rather than just the start of the journey
What sort of holidays DK you go on where the airport part is in any way comparable to the holiday bit?
I don't really understand this mindset, you still have the flight ahead of you and whatever transfer required at the destination. My holiday only starts when I'm in the accommodation. Transport is a means to an ends.
This
Whichever wally said it is better to travel than to arrive clearly wasn't doing fun enough stuff on his holidays ...
I’d seriously not bother with the outlay.
It’s a real roll of the dice based on time of flight. They can be very busy. Also, many are just not worth going too unless you’re desperate for free wifi and machine coffee.
That said, the one in Dar-es-Salaam was alright, if your safari is to Tanzania.
2. EDI. I think thee is a strong case for the airport now being the worst in UK
I give you Luton, where the queue for immigration starts on the aircraft steps. And a special prize for the genius who decided that the shuttle bus from the terminal - well, 100m from the terminal- to the railway station should be cash only, so forriners have to go back inside and find an ATM. Unless - as I have often seen - locals are embarrassed by the inconsiderate scheme and pay for them.
What sort of holidays DK you go on where the airport part is in any way comparable to the holiday bit?
Every single one. Why would you possibly not want to find the enjoyment in everything you do?
My holiday only starts when I'm in the accommodation
My holiday starts when I close the lid of the laptop after setting my out of office on Outlook. I'm with @dave_h, choosing to spend your time in airport lounges or a nice(r) hotel room if you've a stop over can make all the difference when you're travelling.
Yep, eff waiting until you're at the accommodation before clocking on to holiday mode.
Airport lounges are a mixed bag mind you.
Why would you possibly not want to find the enjoyment in everything you do?
Doesn't really matter whether I want to or not. I certainly don't expect to as that would lead to repeated disappointment.
I love climbing, mountaineering, skiing, riding, kayaking, riding, speaking foreign languages, chilling with mates/ family and that's why I go on holiday.
Standing in queues and sitting around in airports waiting for flights just doesn't register on the enjoymentometer.
We used to get airport lounge access as a freebie with the current account we used to have. They're really variable, and there's no way I'd pay forty quid a head for any of them - you'd have to get through a LOT of 'free' food and drinks to make that worthwhile.
And I get the 'airports are nothing more than a necessary evil' thing, but there is something kinda special about having a pint at ridiculous o'clock in the morning that says "we're going on holiday"
I think this is our record 🙂 
That's a late night, not an early morning 😁
And a special prize for the genius who decided that the shuttle bus from the terminal - well, 100m from the terminal- to the railway station should be cash only,
There's no bus there for a few years, it's a rail link.
You lot have high expectations of a mass transport hub.
Standing in queues and sitting around in airports waiting for flights just doesn't register on the enjoymentometer.
Maybe you need to get yourself in the lounge. I agree, airports are generally not a lot of fun but if there's something that makes it slightly more enjoyable why not do it? Might not be a lounge for you but probably beats sitting there think how much you hate being in the airport
Wow, was hoping for a couple of replies but that’s a lot of info to go with!👍🏻
Don’t get any offers through bank sadly, just the travel insurance and breakdown cover that I make use of more than I’d like to admit🤦🏻♂️🙈
Flying with Qatar via Doha so not exactly budget, am tempted by the “special” thing, the trip is for my parents 70th birthdays as they’re not big travellers and will likely not go on Safari again. It’s an early afternoon flight so would probably be having lunch there anyway.
I live in Leeds (unfortunately) so know all about how poor Leeds & Manchester airports are and the lack of transport to them, especially very early or late flights which are of course usually the cheapest. Off to Milan on Thursday then up to Svalbard for a few days so the travel excitement is still there😎
If you think Leeds is bad, you've never been to Manchester terminal 3.
It's on a different level.
On the list of shitty regional airports, Bristol is the undisputed champion; a motorway service station sized building site with farmers and yokels for customers who've come to ride the escalators.
Who do you bank with? I regularly use the lounge at EDI and get access via a relatively cheap upgrade to my RBS account. When factored in with annual travel insurance it’s really good value. Wife and I get free passes, kids are £25 each for a guest pass but they easily eat their way through that cost in food.
Aspire lounge is nicer space but food isn’t as good
Plaza Premium less premium space but better food
not used Escape lounge.
EDI is a complete cattle market nowadays. Lounge access makes the whole experience tolerable.
I have noticed that about edi the last few times. Feels like they have shut a bit and just smushed everyone into the remaining space.
Weirdly though the burrito bar seating was empty so i got food i actually wanted to eat and a seat.
If you think Leeds is bad, you've never been to Manchester terminal 3.
It's on a different level.On the list of shitty regional airports, Bristol is the undisputed champion; a motorway service station sized building site with farmers and yokels for customers who've come to ride the escalators.
Belfast has entered the chat
Edinburgh has recently switched on new scanners at security, although busy they do shift people quickly now.
Belfast has entered the chat
Belfast International is no fun I agree, but Belfast City is in my experience always efficient, the new scanners help, and the fact it's quite small, so no massive queues usually.
Maybe you need to get yourself in the lounge. I agree, airports are generally not a lot of fun but if there's something that makes it slightly more enjoyable why not do it? Might not be a lounge for you but probably beats sitting there think how much you hate being in the airport
All reasonable points, but I'm not fully convinced. I've been in business lounges in the past for work, and it was indeed a bit of a thrill. "Free" food and drink etc etc
But these days I have no aspirations in that area, can't drink alcohol fur health reasons and can't overload on food without it making me even fatter!
I don't usually actively "hate" the airport. I just box it off in my mind as being a necessary evil and get through it in as catatonic state as I can.
And, thinking about it further, I reiterate that there's nothing really in an airport lounge that I value enough to elevate the experience to the level I expect the rest of my holiday to be at. I love mountains, I love adventure, I love exercise and I love sport. However you package it up, sitting in a comfy chair drinking beer, eating food and perhaps watching a film is still just sitting in a comfy chair eating food, beer etc etc.... I can do that at home. Holidays are about doing amazing stuff, not mundane stuff.
I'd rather spend the extra money on another parapenting session for the boys, or another ww kayaking trip. Or even a nice meal in a nice restaurant in Val D'Isere that looks out over the huge mountains, rather than south Manchester suburbs
I don't think anyone's idea of an amazing time is an airport lounge, so your comparison is off the mark. Read the OP he's trying to make a special family trip just a little more memorable for folks who've probs not ever had the experience before, not actually swapping the safari for a comfy seat and free cup of over brewed coffee.
It wasn't in reply to the OP, it was a follow on to a point made by Dave:
Why would you possibly not want to find the enjoyment in everything you do?
Many years ago, the Virgin lounge at Heathrow was amazing. Air side so you had your own passport control/check in away from everyone else. Lounge was like a posh hotel, you could even get a shave and a haircut! The bar was fully stocked with loads of comfy seating. Even had arcade games from memory.
I was working (contracting) for Gillette and they used to fly us business class to Boston about once a month. So top deck on the re-furbed 747s and the fantastic chauffeur pick up and lounge experience.
Pretty much ruined air travel for me 🙂
Not been to leeds airport in years but the lounge there used to have a window so you could see all the other passengers milling around.
If it's any relevance to you / your party, I was on holiday just last week and part of our group (returning from Tenerife) discovered that the only access to the airport smoking area was via the VIP lounge. Want a fag, that'll be £30 please sir.
To my mind, the lounge only makes sense if you're planning on spending much time there and intend to batter the free shit. The last time I visited the US I bought a beer, a bourbon and a portion of fries in the regular section of the airport ahead of the trip home and it was North of forty quid. I could've spent less money to have the same experience without being surrounded by brash tourists, AND plugged my gorram phone in.
In your shoes, I'd consider "I'm going to stretch my legs, I'll meet back up with you in an hour or so" to be a worthwhile spend of £39. There's little point in Getting Away From It All if you're taking It All with you. 😁
(RBS Reward Black, its actually about £36 per month but we max out on the annual travel insurance part including extended trips so good value)
Did you typo "per year"? Annual travel insurance for the both of us recently came to £59. Dafuq are you spending over four hundred quid a year on? That's Netflix, Amazon Prime, Xbox Ultimate and Bus Fare Home. Probably.
Annual travel insurance for the both of us recently came to £59. Dafuq are you spending over four hundred quid a year on?
Travel insurance for us and two sons is around £600 per year. Guess it depends what you do on holiday ...
I was on holiday
in the summer, coming back from Paphos airport, I considered getting lounge access for the family, just to give my daughter some respite from the chaos, but when I got to the lounge to check it out it was rammed and looked like the waiting room at Coventry railway station, hard plastic seats and never worth an extra penny...
Only Manchester would make you
I'm sorry that you've clearly had a bad experience, but claiming "only Manchester" is something of a leap IMHO.
I've been through any number of airports and they're of varying degrees of shitness. Manchester Airport is far from perfect of course but it's often been a comparative breath of fresh air when I've escaped from elsewhere. There are certainly worse places to be flying to/from. The UK is pretty unique IME in that unlike literally every other country, we don't mandate that our planeside staff have their sense of humour surgically removed. Flying through the US 25+ years ago made me feel like a Death Row inmate and it's not exactly famed for its improved experience today.
Annual travel insurance for the both of us recently came to £59. Dafuq are you spending over four hundred quid a year on?
Travel insurance for us and two sons is around £600 per year. Guess it depends what you do on holiday ...
What are you doing on holiday that makes it so expensive? Our inclusive bank account (£170 a year) travel insurance covers Winter Sports, Scuba diving. We take per trip insurance for 'downhill mountain biking' when if we're doing uplifted riding.
[edit - though I notice the Co-op policy only covers you for 'mountain biking on tarmac', which is a pretty unusual sport]
worldwide (outside Europe) cover for dangerous sports - off piste snowboarding/DH mountain biking - is when it starts getting expensive.
Annual travel insurance for the both of us recently came to £59. Dafuq are you spending over four hundred quid a year on?
Travel insurance for us and two sons is around £600 per year. Guess it depends what you do on holiday ...
Red Bull rampage?? 😆
Flying with Qatar via Doha so not exactly budget, am tempted by the “special” thing, the trip is for my parents 70th birthdays as they’re not big travellers and will likely not go on Safari again.
Read the OP he's trying to make a special family trip just a little more memorable for folks who've probs not ever had the experience before
With all due respect, if you're journeying with ill-travelled Septuagenarians I'd go out on a limb and suggest that an overly expensive plastic table in an airport is unlikely to be the most memorable highlight of their excursion.
Get in, get out, have a holiday, redo from start.
Did you typo "per year"?
The monthly fee gets you significantly more than just travel insurance
I also have the same RBS account and from memory I have full uk and European breakdown cover, mobile phone insurance, travel insurance, lounge access and a load of other stuff for the monthly fee
If your just sticking your details into a comparison site you might come to find your not really insured. Found out recently just how much you have to declare for travel insurance.
But anyway. Norwich is laughing at all the so called bad airports .
We're into a side discussion about travel insurance now, but got a quote today from a broker (our H/H was up for renewal). Generally if you're doing anything lift assisted it's classed as "Downhill" and is in a high risk category.
Weirdly their provider had just updated their terms and DH mtb was previously 'level 4' and had been downgraded to 'level 3'. But ANY form of winter mountain sports - even on piste skiing - was level 4.
Whereas our policy bundled with our bank (that excludes any form of cycling except on tarmac) includes enough winter sports cover for us. Adding winter sports made the annual policy above £522 for 2 people (an extra £100 on top of DH mountain biking level). Mad.
Finding a corner to sit before the gate opens is probably the least traumatic part of the whole grim experience.
That sounds like my experience waiting for a flight from Gatwick, IIRC, lying on the floor in an area under some stairs, next to my bike bag. I was afraid to go to sleep in case I missed the flight!
This was well before the days of fancy mobile phones with alarms.
Last flight from T5 had queues out the doors for the lounges. When everyone has access, think of the crush inside. Had a very convivial tea and breakfast at Fortnum & Masons instead. Was far superior. And no crowds.