When the Executive Club lounge concept was launched in the early 1990s, those lounges could only be used by status passengers.

There were separate Club Europe and Club World lounges at key airports (such as LHR and JFK), in addition to First lounges at those airports. Most airports only had Executive Club lounges (AMS, FCO and STR are good examples), where a Club Europe ticket with no status wouldn't let you in.

The move to allow Club Europe passengers lounge access at most outstations started with the Terraces concept's introduction at the turn of the millennium, which amalgamated the old Club World, Club Europe and Executive Club lounges together (both in terms of entry requirements and the physical space at some airports).