Originally Posted by pbl22

Fair enough - you are entitled to your view. We clearly have different reasons for lounge access. For me, it is a quiet respite where I can peacefully get some work done before a flight. For you, it is "vibrant", for me it is "difficult to find a seat".

As WellingtonFlyer said, some of us spend large amounts of money each year on NZ and probably feel that we don't really get the extra benefit. Is that elitist? Possibly. But I get far more extra benefits being QF Platinum (as opposed to QF Gold) than being NZ*E (as opposed to NZ*G).

Oh, and by the way, I will never be EP1 because I hardly ever fly NZ internationally. And that doesn't bother me one bit (just like it doesn't bother me that I will never be QF Platinum One, either). I don't really think too many of us here are upset about not being invited to EP1 - the threshold is so high as to be ridiculous, if the rumours are to be believed. We are, though, very curious of a new class of status, of which no-one on this forum seems to be a member.

But if NZ are building a separate lounge in WLG and AKL dom for (supposedly) 6-8 people, that seems a complete waste of money.