Originally Posted by
corporate-wage-slave
I only go through Gatwick twice a month of so. In 2012 I made 14 visits to the F lounge, and in about half of them I was the only passenger. As it happens Saturdays is a popular day for me to be there, since the Newcastle flights are often very expensive, being filled with soccer folk, whereas Edinburgh flights are cheap and empty. I am sure the Euro Gold is a factor, but the reality is that Gatwick is primarily a leisure "there and back" (O&D) location, which doesn't give much scope for Gold accumulation. Death by a thousand cuts, slowly, but to the route network rather than the lounge.
I'm never at LGW GF on Saturday but mostly weekdays either late morning (10.30-12ish) or evening (6-8ish) depending on the flights I need to take (most often on Thursdays if it makes a difference but can also be any other). I have not noticed any decline in frequentation of GF over the past couple of years; in fact my last two visits were pretty packed and it really was a chair per person (usually, you get the 'luxury' of a few empty seats to make it feel airier). I guess that while, as you rightly point out, LGW is primarily leisure, BA have opened a few new routes and increased the price differences between LHR and LGW whenever they fly both which has dragged a number of Golds Sussex-bound. As mentioned in another thread, my flight last week was delayed to a very unusual tech problem and nine of us (flight was A319-operated) made our way back to GF, including only two pairs of people, meaning at least 7 GCH or above - this is of course nowhere near 'Geneva levels' but certainly not negligible either.