bostonbali

I'll soon be flying EK F from VIE. Based on EK's website, they use the 'Air Lounge' for both C and F customers.

This is also a PP lounge, so I have very low expectations.
Does anybody have any recent experiences at this lounge you can share, specifically as a F customer?

Thanks,
Bostonbali

skywardhunter

I was in the lounge in June. I was flying J (though incidentally was upgraded to F at the gate). You being in F will have no bearing on your lounge experience and there is no separate F section as far as I could tell. It's not very big but has nice apron views. The food selection is mediocre and instead of champagne they have Prosecco (I didn't mind). Ok drinks selection, confusing bathrooms. Nothing to write home about but beats sitting in the terminal.

bostonbali

Thanks for the quick reply - I'm keeping my expectations low, too bad I need be at the airport 90+ min before my flight (doesn't sound like the lounge is worth spending much time in).

I was hoping that the lounge would at least have a private 'VIP' room for F pax like the PRG lounge has (which, btw, is also a PP lounge).

How was the F load on the VIE-DXB flight, btw? Were you upgraded due to C being overbooked?

YuropFlyer

What skywardhunter said. The lounge is really nothing to look forward to, especially when in F. I'd simply try to board as soon as possible. But generally said, EK F pax, apart from DXB where a proper F lounge is existing, are always a bit "let down" when sharing the lounges with C pax even at proper EK lounges (which do offer a very good product for C pax..)

But then, that's the (general) problem with outposts..

The lounge isn't THAT bad in VIE, so if you've to stay there for an hour, it's perfectly fine. A cold beer and a nice view of the aircrafts going round will definitely do ^

skywardhunter

Booked F was 0 or 1 at most. The day before my flight EK had flown an A380 to VIE for a launch event as they launched it a few weeks later on the route. The forward mini-cabin in J on my flight (a 777, the A380 wasn't on a scheduled service) had been booked out by Yamaha. They even replaced the headrests with Yamaha branding, so about 4 of us got upgraded to F.

PS: Fun fact. Chatting with the purser at one point she asked if I was EK staff because I appeared to know so much about EK and internal stuff FT Syndrome? I took it as a compliment

extramileage

I went to VIE in June and September and the setup appears to have changed.

The big issue before was severe overcrowding in the Jet Lounge, which was shared with other airlines and while it had nice apron views, was woefully inadequate. You could barely find a seat.

The Air Lounge (located after security but prior to EU exit passport control) now has a separate section for EK passengers. It's fine space wise but has no windows. Definitely an upgrade, however, to the Jet Lounge. F&B offering is basic.

The upgauge to the A380 with up to 100+ people with lounge access (between F/J/Plat/Gold) necessitated a new better solution.

Now that VIE has 2x daily including one A380, a dedicated EK lounge would make sense but I don't think VIE has the space/infrastructure for one (and I'm sure other airlines would ask for their own too).

m3red

was this a flex J ticket?

YuropFlyer

I think this says enough about how badly VIE runs.

ZRH built their new terminal like 10 years before them, with proper space for extension (added EK lounge, now recently 3 huge LX lounges) and generally it feels airy.

VIE feels like it's already old and tired shortly after opening, with many flaws..

But I'm sure every architect was at least a Dr. Prof. there

skywardhunter

It was Out of SA virtually all tickets are Flex.