Houston intercontinental airport (IAH) lounge, Terminal D
Sep 26, 2017, 5:17 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 6
Houston intercontinental airport (IAH) lounge, Terminal D
Hi esteemed members..
Newbie here, looking for some frequent travelers knowledgeable info of Houston International Airport.
The wife and I are flying through Houston for the very first time this coming December. Xmas eve to be exact... Unfortunately we have a terrible connection of roughly 7 hours between our arriving flight from YEG (Edmonton Canada) on United Airlines, and connecting with Air New Zealand for a flight to Auckland, then Sydney Australia.. I'm under the understanding both arrive and depart from terminal D in Houston.?!
Without being long winded, are there any lounges that we could access without being a member or affiliated with? As in can we purchase an access pass to a lounge in terminal D without being club members, in order to relax and kill the connection time??
Appreciate in advance any and all responses. Cheers!
Newbie here, looking for some frequent travelers knowledgeable info of Houston International Airport.
The wife and I are flying through Houston for the very first time this coming December. Xmas eve to be exact... Unfortunately we have a terrible connection of roughly 7 hours between our arriving flight from YEG (Edmonton Canada) on United Airlines, and connecting with Air New Zealand for a flight to Auckland, then Sydney Australia.. I'm under the understanding both arrive and depart from terminal D in Houston.?!
Without being long winded, are there any lounges that we could access without being a member or affiliated with? As in can we purchase an access pass to a lounge in terminal D without being club members, in order to relax and kill the connection time??
Appreciate in advance any and all responses. Cheers!
Sep 26, 2017, 10:44 pm
#4
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off topic---To be slightly pedantic it is Houston, Bush Intercontinental Airport, not international. Houston Hobby is "International" now ;-) but I digress.
Your United flight will arrive, most likely, in terminal C or E, not D. Since YEG has US customs preclearance you should not have to pass through customs and immigration but will arrive as if you are a domestic passenger.
United sells a one time usage day pass for $59, but that does not allow guests; thus two people $118. For the price of two United lounge passes you could join priority pass for 99$ and pay the $27 entrance fee to the Air France or KLM lounge in D. Then you would have 12 months of membership should you need it again. You can also post on this site on the United forum as you get closer to travel and see if anyone can guest you in. Xmas eve will likely be a little tougher than usual since business travel is low that day.
Frankly you could also take an Uber into town and eat in Houston, or one of the burbs. Again, Xmas eve is tougher than normal but many things will likely be open part time. And Houston has outstanding food options.
Too bad you are not going in January, United starts non-stop Houston IAH- Sydney service then ;-)
Your United flight will arrive, most likely, in terminal C or E, not D. Since YEG has US customs preclearance you should not have to pass through customs and immigration but will arrive as if you are a domestic passenger.
United sells a one time usage day pass for $59, but that does not allow guests; thus two people $118. For the price of two United lounge passes you could join priority pass for 99$ and pay the $27 entrance fee to the Air France or KLM lounge in D. Then you would have 12 months of membership should you need it again. You can also post on this site on the United forum as you get closer to travel and see if anyone can guest you in. Xmas eve will likely be a little tougher than usual since business travel is low that day.
Frankly you could also take an Uber into town and eat in Houston, or one of the burbs. Again, Xmas eve is tougher than normal but many things will likely be open part time. And Houston has outstanding food options.
Too bad you are not going in January, United starts non-stop Houston IAH- Sydney service then ;-)
Sep 26, 2017, 10:44 pm
#5
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I would think about leaving the airport. You have sufficient time to get a decent meal and Houston has lots of good options for food. There's nothing wrong with terminal D - but its also not exactly Disney World and that's a long time.
Also, just as an aside, the airport name is intercontinental instead of international. not a big deal, but locals will wince if you call it international.
Also, just as an aside, the airport name is intercontinental instead of international. not a big deal, but locals will wince if you call it international.
Sep 27, 2017, 12:10 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 6
off topic---To be slightly pedantic it is Houston, Bush Intercontinental Airport, not international. Houston Hobby is "International" now ;-) but I digress.
Your United flight will arrive, most likely, in terminal C or E, not D. Since YEG has US customs preclearance you should not have to pass through customs and immigration but will arrive as if you are a domestic passenger.
United sells a one time usage day pass for $59, but that does not allow guests; thus two people $118. For the price of two United lounge passes you could join priority pass for 99$ and pay the $27 entrance fee to the Air France or KLM lounge in D. Then you would have 12 months of membership should you need it again. You can also post on this site on the United forum as you get closer to travel and see if anyone can guest you in. Xmas eve will likely be a little tougher than usual since business travel is low that day.
Frankly you could also take an Uber into town and eat in Houston, or one of the burbs. Again, Xmas eve is tougher than normal but many things will likely be open part time. And Houston has outstanding food options.
Too bad you are not going in January, United starts non-stop Houston IAH- Sydney service then ;-)
Your United flight will arrive, most likely, in terminal C or E, not D. Since YEG has US customs preclearance you should not have to pass through customs and immigration but will arrive as if you are a domestic passenger.
United sells a one time usage day pass for $59, but that does not allow guests; thus two people $118. For the price of two United lounge passes you could join priority pass for 99$ and pay the $27 entrance fee to the Air France or KLM lounge in D. Then you would have 12 months of membership should you need it again. You can also post on this site on the United forum as you get closer to travel and see if anyone can guest you in. Xmas eve will likely be a little tougher than usual since business travel is low that day.
Frankly you could also take an Uber into town and eat in Houston, or one of the burbs. Again, Xmas eve is tougher than normal but many things will likely be open part time. And Houston has outstanding food options.
Too bad you are not going in January, United starts non-stop Houston IAH- Sydney service then ;-)
Some great points made, and yes, we will be precleared through customs leaving YEG.
You are correct about the difficulties of Xmas eve also. My guess is many places will be closed early due to the xmas holiday period....
I would think about leaving the airport. You have sufficient time to get a decent meal and Houston has lots of good options for food. There's nothing wrong with terminal D - but its also not exactly Disney World and that's a long time.
Also, just as an aside, the airport name is intercontinental instead of international. not a big deal, but locals will wince if you call it international.
Also, just as an aside, the airport name is intercontinental instead of international. not a big deal, but locals will wince if you call it international.
I may have to ask around once there to see what some open options are, but leaving the airport is a good option, cheers.
Sep 27, 2017, 10:09 am
#7
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Unless you fly Biz or are Star Alliance Gold you are on your own as far as club access goes. I hope you are or are going to join Mileage Plus as that is a good chunk of miles even under UA's new earning rate. Or you could credit to NZ if you plan on flying with them again.
And on Xmas afternoon you will probably find a few places open, though most will close in the late afternoon.
Sep 27, 2017, 3:21 pm
#8
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 6
You will depart from Term D.
99% certainty that you will arrive in C or E.
Unless you fly Biz or are Star Alliance Gold you are on your own as far as club access goes. I hope you are or are going to join Mileage Plus as that is a good chunk of miles even under UA's new earning rate. Or you could credit to NZ if you plan on flying with them again.
And on Xmas afternoon you will probably find a few places open, though most will close in the late afternoon.
99% certainty that you will arrive in C or E.
Unless you fly Biz or are Star Alliance Gold you are on your own as far as club access goes. I hope you are or are going to join Mileage Plus as that is a good chunk of miles even under UA's new earning rate. Or you could credit to NZ if you plan on flying with them again.
And on Xmas afternoon you will probably find a few places open, though most will close in the late afternoon.
Good to know we will need to transfer from one terminal to another... C or E are domestic arrival areas? Or those are UA hub gates?
We are a member of Aeroplan, but not gold flyers by any means. We tend to fly between SYD and YEG once a year, and do collect their miles, and will this trip also... This is however, our first trip transiting through Houston, thus my questions regarding the airport and lounges.
Normally we fly through YVR to SYD, exclusively on Air Canada, but this year we snagged a good deal using UA and ANZ routing on the forward leg through Houston, and returning via AKL to YVR/YEG. Not the greatest connections heading to AU (as already mentioned with the layover in Houston), but the return is far better with a total transit time of 21 hours, as opposed to 30 on the forward leg.
I guess we will both need a good book, and a strong drink or two. Either that, or a pillow for the airport bench....lol.
Cheers!
Sep 27, 2017, 4:13 pm
#9
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B gates are a hub for RJs and A gates are for other US carriers plus AC as well as a smattering of UA RJs.
Sep 27, 2017, 5:23 pm
#10
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 6
Those are hub gates, with E being also Int'l arrival. Thus, D being Int'l airlines terminal they are next to each other and it's easier to just walk than take Skyway. In fact, they share the last eastmost stop.
B gates are a hub for RJs and A gates are for other US carriers plus AC as well as a smattering of UA RJs.
B gates are a hub for RJs and A gates are for other US carriers plus AC as well as a smattering of UA RJs.
Sep 30, 2017, 8:19 pm
#11
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What are the exact hours of your layover? If it's daytime I'd hop in an Uber and go downtown, get some real food and drink, and head back to the airport.
Oct 1, 2017, 2:02 pm
#12
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