Blackcloud

On Tuesday I was in CHC for 1 hour and went to the main lounge, no scanner before security.
On exit of the Koru Club I noticed a sign saying Regional Transfer and pointed left. This took me to a manned Help Desk by the Emergency Exit, the glass doors by the escalators towards the Regional Terminal, who manually let me out through the glass doors. It cuts about 5 minutes, depending on walking speed, to get to the regional gates.
This was the first time I noticed this, but have not been in the CHC Koru for 4 months as I try to avoid transiting through CHC but it eliminates one of my gripes about the new CHC, which is terrible traffic flow through the terminal. I really think the designers just did a very poor job think through the entire passenger process.

billy

I used this short cut last time I used CHC earlier this month. There was an announcement in the Koru Lounge about this. It was said that this short cut is a trial. If it is a question of usage then I hope enough of use use the facility to justify it becoming permanent. I think it requires that the exit door is manned so I suppose they perhaps need the numbers to justify the cost.

cavemanzk

Surely they can just put in an automated door like in AKL? or a new TSA exit portal.

Saxphile

This wasn't in place on Tuesday after 5 pm. Had to go out of arrivals and walk all the way around.

ruff00

Well that a good news. I agree that the commute from the lounge to the Queenstown gate (the very far one) has not been thought through at all.

Markhm

Well to be fair, the birdcage was the original solution that (had it have been better planned) would have been a good solution.

cavemanzk

Will be inserting to see how well the new AKL Regional Lounge turns out to be

ruff00

The regional 'birdcage' so called lounge is a complete waste of time. It is truly awful. Personally I find it insulting to frequent regional flyers.

edmm

I agree. The Christchurch lounge was a great idea, but was very poorly done and has thus failed. I hope they do a better job with the Auckland one, with a "proper lounge" with decent seating, and reasonable food and drink. Why should regional passengers get treated like third class citizens?

T-15.01

Couldn't disagree more. It is not and was never portrayed to be a lounge replacement....it is an alternative and if you want the full service/offering, a 5 minute detour is not that much to ask. I find it is a perfect spot to grab a quick cup of tea before a flight without needing to go upstairs. it is like being disappointed that a regional plane doesn't offer the same as a jet service. What were you expecting?

Saxphile

Inserting (objects into you-know-what) is a good adjective for describing experience in the birdcage.

Blackcloud

The Birdcage is not much different from the new regional lounge model that we have. Against the main lounge it is definitely inferior but it was never supposed to be on par. I do not understand the third class citizens comment, you are second class third class are the people looking into the "protective bubble".
However connecting regional to regional it is not a 5 minute detour, it is far longer as you need to go through security and the full walking circuit is not 5 minutes. The short cut has reduced it from main lounge to regional gates to be under 5 minutes but the main lounge is definitely not an option for a comfortable experience if you have less than an hour between regional transfers IMO.

T-15.01

Well put Blackcloud. It's almost like the way some people post here that they are expecting some sort of royal welcome. Anytime away from home for me, from my nearest and dearest is by default not my first option of how to spend my time, so any creature comforts aka benefits that I am given, I am appreciative of.

A saying I am often reminded of is that you don't often know ir truly appreciate what you have got until it is gone.

Most of the people who aren't able to enter the 'birdcage' would love to yet apparently some of those who can still don't think it is good enough.

ruff00

The birdcage is often crowded, and the offerings are not that good.

Also, it's impossible to take a client in when travelling regional. For those of us who take large numbers of regional flights, and don't want to spend the time (a lot more than 5 minutes) walking to the other end of the airport, and getting through security, it is a substandard product.

The idea of a stripped back satellite lounge is a good one. But the execution and standard of the CHC one is below par.

edmm

I don't agree with you or Blackcloud. You do pay for the access, either by paying for Koru Club, or flying excessive amounts to reach a high status, or by paying lots for international business class and an expensive connecting regional flight.
Regional passengers do not deserve lesser treatment than jet passengers. We usually pay more for our flights, often lots more. Of course we get smaller planes, with lesser service, but there is no reason for a considerably worse experience at the airport. I don't mind a cut down lounge, but the CHC one is too cut down. A good concept but not well executed. And it does take quite a bit of time to get to the main Koru lounge in both AKL and CHC, and lots of time to get to your flight. The best lounge in this regard is WLG, which is well suited for everyone.