Part 25: Bucharest Otopeni Airport (OTP) and the TAROM business class lounge
After a one-month-long hiatus in which I was busy catching up on work, social life and moving apartments it was time for the return portion of the trip. For those who are just casually reading along this might sound bizarre, but for those who paid careful attention to post number one understand what I mean. The ticket I booked was basically a simple Norway to Romania return ticket, with the outbound flight allowing a side-trip to Russia. On my inbound flight back to Norway, I managed to get a side-trip booked to Baku, Azerbaijan. Having visited Georgia and Armenia before I was immensely curious how the third Caucasus republic would be like in comparison. The opportunity to fly Paris-Baku-Paris on a codeshare with Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) – which has proper business class seats – was an additional reason why opting for Baku instead of other destinations which could theoretically be booked on the same ticket.
With my flight departing at 2.50pm, I took an Uber to the airport around 12.30. Traffic was a breeze and it took just over half an hour to reach the airport. Otopeni can be immensely overcrowded during rush hour (5-9am) when dozens of Wizzair, TAROM and Blue Air flights depart, as all have very big bases at OTP. Then there are quite some other early morning departures (couple of Ryanair flights, most big EU carriers who have an aircraft stationed at OTP overnight) which can make security checks a giant mess (unfortunately there aren't priority lines). But come at any other time of the day, and the lines are a breeze. Within 10 minutes after leaving my Uber I was already through security and passport control.
After passport control OTP feeds passengers directly into a duty free shop. After a few hundred feet through a narrow corridor with small shops and bars on both sides of the pathway, the crowds thin out as most passengers head downstairs into the bare-bones basement for the bus gates. Further ahead is the more modern part of OTP with some proper gates in a shiny glass terminal. The TAROM lounge is accessible by taking the escalator upstairs at this point. Upon seeing my boarding pass in business class the lounge dragon let me into the lounge. Even though the lounge is TAROM/Sky Team branded, it is actually used AFAIK by most airlines, having entered many times with *G on Aegean Airlines or Lufthansa flights.
Even though I have visited the lounge before on several occasions, I have never reviewed it – so let's begin with the best. Even though it was quite crowded when I arrived (80% of people however left within the next 15-20 mins) it is normally an oasis of quietness. Seating is great, with tables, bean bags and couches available. Many seats either overlook the terminal from above, or have good views over the tarmac (unfortunately, towards the corner of the airport so you will see 2-3 planes at most which happen to be parked at the gates here). There are plenty of plugs and Wi-Fi is fast, as opposed to the spotty public network in the airport.
Seats in the TAROM business class lounge – the third picture is taken when the lounge emptied out, compared to the first two pics when most tables where occupied.
View towards the tarmac from the lounge
View down over the airport terminal.
There are even some cool features in the lounge, such as this giant TAROM route map (which is outdated though!).
With that done, let's get to the bad part. The selection of booze is decidedly average – with just a few spirits, one wine available and no champagne. Food is even worse. Don't ever come to the lounge thinking you will be fed. It doesn't matter if you arrive in the morning, afternoon or evening: the entire day it's just dry crackers and peanuts only. Drinks are self-serve from a long counter opposite the lounge dragon desk.
Food/drink counter at the lounge
I spend about an hour in the lounge catching up on email and drinking a Romanian beer.
The only lounge beer is Ursus, served in cans. A decent enough Romanian brew!
As the lounge really ain't much, I headed back downstairs to the departures terminal to stretch my legs.
In Short: The TAROM lounge is quite poor compared to other European lounges when it comes to food and drinks. Food is lacking altogether (unless you can survive eating peanuts) – and the drinks selection is decidedly average. It's a pity as these things are so easy to fix if TAROM would want to – as the lounge itself doesn't look bad at all, has good seating, good views and good internet. Go there if you need a place to sit in quiet to work or relax before the flight, but don't count on food and don't come early to the airport thinking to have a nice experience.
Next Up: A surprisingly great Air France flight in euro-business class. [SPOILER: something with too much champagne and cognac]