How much time do you waste trying to find the lounge?
Nov 3, 2015, 6:14 pm
#1
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Original Poster
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How much time do you waste trying to find the lounge?
Is it just me and my inability to love airport signage or do the rest of you also spend what seems like an eternity looking for lounges?
A recent trip I am currently on.
Doha, followed signs for the lounge and then they vanished, which normally means I have passed it. Walked past it 4 more times before asking where it was. Info desk sort of pointed me in the right direction and about 20 mins later I went up the escalator. Was told this was the Qatar First lounge and I had to go to the next one. Next one said it was the Qatar business lounge and I had to go to a third one because I was CX J. Took an hour to find the lounge.
Hong Kong. The signs point to nowhere, I have never transferred at HKG before and the only time I flew out of there before was on PR so I used Priority Pass for a contract lounge (which was nice) So following signs for the CX lounges, which have great reviews on FT. They lead to nowhere again. Eventually discovered it was upstairs on a gate pier, then told it was the wrong lounge for my CX J ticket to KUL, so I had to go next door. But it was not possible to go next door directly, I had to walk back up to the shops, take the elevator downstairs and then go back up. The lounge absolutely sucked.
Singapore. CA J ticket got me entry to the SATS Gateway lounge. Transfer desk told me it was next to the Tumi Store. So I walked all the way to the other end of the terminal without seeing either the lounge or the Tumi Store. Walked back, asked in another luggage store where Tumi was and he told me it was near Victoria's Secret, which I also could not find. Total about 40 mins later I found the lounge which was within sight of the transfer desk.
Kuala Lumpur. I am here now. Tell me it's not me, but if you follow the signs for the Cathay lounge you just walk around in circles. I checked, I am not going mad. The escalator that you have to come up is off to one side and the sign right by it tells you that you need to walk straight past it.
I am sure I have not got this much exercise before whilst looking for lounges, and I am also sure that in other places I am more adept. CPH, easy to find the lounges, Heathrow they are unmissable. MAD lounges everywhere and good signage, Bogotá, simple to spot the lounges and how to enter them.
So am I crap at following the signs in the above airports or has anyone else noticed bad signage?
A recent trip I am currently on.
Doha, followed signs for the lounge and then they vanished, which normally means I have passed it. Walked past it 4 more times before asking where it was. Info desk sort of pointed me in the right direction and about 20 mins later I went up the escalator. Was told this was the Qatar First lounge and I had to go to the next one. Next one said it was the Qatar business lounge and I had to go to a third one because I was CX J. Took an hour to find the lounge.
Hong Kong. The signs point to nowhere, I have never transferred at HKG before and the only time I flew out of there before was on PR so I used Priority Pass for a contract lounge (which was nice) So following signs for the CX lounges, which have great reviews on FT. They lead to nowhere again. Eventually discovered it was upstairs on a gate pier, then told it was the wrong lounge for my CX J ticket to KUL, so I had to go next door. But it was not possible to go next door directly, I had to walk back up to the shops, take the elevator downstairs and then go back up. The lounge absolutely sucked.
Singapore. CA J ticket got me entry to the SATS Gateway lounge. Transfer desk told me it was next to the Tumi Store. So I walked all the way to the other end of the terminal without seeing either the lounge or the Tumi Store. Walked back, asked in another luggage store where Tumi was and he told me it was near Victoria's Secret, which I also could not find. Total about 40 mins later I found the lounge which was within sight of the transfer desk.
Kuala Lumpur. I am here now. Tell me it's not me, but if you follow the signs for the Cathay lounge you just walk around in circles. I checked, I am not going mad. The escalator that you have to come up is off to one side and the sign right by it tells you that you need to walk straight past it.
I am sure I have not got this much exercise before whilst looking for lounges, and I am also sure that in other places I am more adept. CPH, easy to find the lounges, Heathrow they are unmissable. MAD lounges everywhere and good signage, Bogotá, simple to spot the lounges and how to enter them.
So am I crap at following the signs in the above airports or has anyone else noticed bad signage?
Last edited by JohnnyColombia; Nov 3, 2015 at 6:37 pm
Nov 3, 2015, 6:34 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2015
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Same here. If you're a frequent biz traveller then sure you probably know where the lounges are by heart. But as a once every two years thing, more often than not I give up and resort to asking the information desks for directions.
Nov 3, 2015, 6:43 pm
#3
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Is it just me and my inability to love airport signage or do the rest of you also spend what seems like an eternity looking for lounges?
A recent trip I am currently on.
Doha, followed signs for the lounge and then they vanished, which normally means I have passed it. Walked past it 4 more times before asking where it was. Info desk sort of pointed me in the right direction and about 20 mins later I went up the escalator. Was told this was the Qatar First lounge and I had to go to the next one. Next one said it was the Qatar business lounge and I had to go to a third one because I was CX J. Took an hour to find the lounge.
Hong Kong. The signs point to nowhere, I have never transferred at HKG before and the only time I flew out of there before was on PR so I used Priority Pass for a contract lounge (which was nice) So following signs for the CX lounges, which have great reviews on FT. They lead to nowhere again. Eventually discovered it was upstairs on a gate pier, then told it was the wrong lounge for my CX J ticket to KUL, so I had to go next door. But it was not possible to go next door directly, I had to walk back up to the shops, take the elevator downstairs and then go back up. The lounge absolutely sucked.
Singapore. CA J ticket got me entry to the SATS Gateway lounge. Transfer desk told me it was next to the Tumi Store. So I walked all the way to the other end of the terminal without seeing either the lounge or the Tumi Store. Walked back, asked in another luggage store where Tumi was and he told me it was near Victoria's Secret, which I also could not find. Total about 40 mins later I found the lounge which was within sight of the transfer desk.
Kuala Lumpur. I am here now. Tell me it's not me, but if you follow the signs for the Cathay lounge you just walk around in circles. I checked, I am not going mad. The escalator that you have to come up is off to one side and the sign right by it tells you that you need to walk straight past it.
I am sure I have not got this much exercise before whilst looking for lounges, and I am also sure that in other places I am more adept. CPH, easy to find the lounges, Heathrow they are unmissable. MAD lounges everywhere and good signage, Bogotá, simple to spot the lounges and how to enter them.
So am I crap at following the signs in the above airports or has anyone else noticed bad signage?
A recent trip I am currently on.
Doha, followed signs for the lounge and then they vanished, which normally means I have passed it. Walked past it 4 more times before asking where it was. Info desk sort of pointed me in the right direction and about 20 mins later I went up the escalator. Was told this was the Qatar First lounge and I had to go to the next one. Next one said it was the Qatar business lounge and I had to go to a third one because I was CX J. Took an hour to find the lounge.
Hong Kong. The signs point to nowhere, I have never transferred at HKG before and the only time I flew out of there before was on PR so I used Priority Pass for a contract lounge (which was nice) So following signs for the CX lounges, which have great reviews on FT. They lead to nowhere again. Eventually discovered it was upstairs on a gate pier, then told it was the wrong lounge for my CX J ticket to KUL, so I had to go next door. But it was not possible to go next door directly, I had to walk back up to the shops, take the elevator downstairs and then go back up. The lounge absolutely sucked.
Singapore. CA J ticket got me entry to the SATS Gateway lounge. Transfer desk told me it was next to the Tumi Store. So I walked all the way to the other end of the terminal without seeing either the lounge or the Tumi Store. Walked back, asked in another luggage store where Tumi was and he told me it was near Victoria's Secret, which I also could not find. Total about 40 mins later I found the lounge which was within sight of the transfer desk.
Kuala Lumpur. I am here now. Tell me it's not me, but if you follow the signs for the Cathay lounge you just walk around in circles. I checked, I am not going mad. The escalator that you have to come up is off to one side and the sign right by it tells you that you need to walk straight past it.
I am sure I have not got this much exercise before whilst looking for lounges, and I am also sure that in other places I am more adept. CPH, easy to find the lounges, Heathrow they are unmissable. MAD lounges everywhere and good signage, Bogotá, simple to spot the lounges and how to enter them.
So am I crap at following the signs in the above airports or has anyone else noticed bad signage?
Nov 3, 2015, 6:44 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2008
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in many airports, it is definitely poorly mapped. and some require such a walk between my connecting gates like in fra/muc on my routes that i sometimes dont bother.
Biarritz/Bayonne has a tiny lounge, accessible by first asking the staff at general airport information desk, who escorts you through security, and then unlocks a tiny unmarked, private door virtually at the end of the security belt....leading to what is just a small room with a coffee machine
Biarritz/Bayonne has a tiny lounge, accessible by first asking the staff at general airport information desk, who escorts you through security, and then unlocks a tiny unmarked, private door virtually at the end of the security belt....leading to what is just a small room with a coffee machine
Nov 3, 2015, 6:57 pm
#5
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in many airports, it is definitely poorly mapped. and some require such a walk between my connecting gates like in fra/muc on my routes that i sometimes dont bother.
Biarritz/Bayonne has a tiny lounge, accessible by first asking the staff at general airport information desk, who escorts you through security, and then unlocks a tiny unmarked, private door virtually at the end of the security belt....leading to what is just a small room with a coffee machine
Biarritz/Bayonne has a tiny lounge, accessible by first asking the staff at general airport information desk, who escorts you through security, and then unlocks a tiny unmarked, private door virtually at the end of the security belt....leading to what is just a small room with a coffee machine
Nov 3, 2015, 7:14 pm
#6
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Rule 23 of air travel: The ease of finding a lounge is inversely proportional to the probability of one's being allowed to use it.
I've found that airport staff, if asked, can usually point me in the right direction. Only problem with that is that I'm a guy, so I'm congenitally unable to ask them.
I've found that airport staff, if asked, can usually point me in the right direction. Only problem with that is that I'm a guy, so I'm congenitally unable to ask them.
Nov 3, 2015, 11:27 pm
#7
Used to be highman123
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 3,541
How much time do you waste trying to find the lounge?
Nice thread! I was trying to find the Cathay Lounge at BKK for a set 30 minutes. Apparently there are two but the one people pointed me to was closed and the Cathay lounge was terrible. A complete waste of time - the Priority Pass lounge saved the day.
Nov 3, 2015, 11:38 pm
#8
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My suspicion is that airline lounges are deliberately omitted from airport maps because they're supposed to be private. If you're a member, you should know where the lounge is located. Alternatively, if your airline has invited you to use the lounge, then you should have been told how to find it or should have been given an invitation with directions/map.
I've been surprised by how few airline employees seem to know the location of their employer's lounges (or care when asked).
I've been surprised by how few airline employees seem to know the location of their employer's lounges (or care when asked).
Nov 4, 2015, 2:41 am
#9
formerly mattking2000
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Re: signage, I think this is a universal problem when you try to map 3-dimensional directions (up/down, left/right, forwards/backwards) onto a 2-dimensional signboard that hangs from the ceiling.
I also usually just ask on check-in "if there is a lounge I can use with my ticket" (thereby bypassing "congenital inabilities" to ask for directions ). I like getting physical boarding passes for flights (even if I have OLCI the day/night before), so I will usually encounter an airline/contract agent either (a) at the check-in counter, (b) at the self-check-in kiosks, (c) after security at an airline desk, and the vast majority of them have been able to point me in the right direction.
I also usually just ask on check-in "if there is a lounge I can use with my ticket" (thereby bypassing "congenital inabilities" to ask for directions
). I like getting physical boarding passes for flights (even if I have OLCI the day/night before), so I will usually encounter an airline/contract agent either (a) at the check-in counter, (b) at the self-check-in kiosks, (c) after security at an airline desk, and the vast majority of them have been able to point me in the right direction.
Nov 4, 2015, 2:53 am
#10
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How much time do you waste trying to find the lounge?
I'm not convinced by the mapping of 3D into 2D argument. I find the signs quite logical but there is nothing to indicate when you've walked straight past it.
Anyway I came through transfers at HKG today and The Bridge lounge was right in front of me. So it proves that moaning on FT works. CX has moved a whole lounge in half a day
Anyway I came through transfers at HKG today and The Bridge lounge was right in front of me. So it proves that moaning on FT works. CX has moved a whole lounge in half a day
Nov 4, 2015, 2:56 am
#11
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The only airport where I've had real trouble finding the lounge is TXL, but I can forgive it slightly, as it's really a special case of an airport. (I can forgive the endless fails at BER much less willingly, mind you...)
As the market I travel in doesn't operate lounges on a 'club' basis, and as I normally travel without visiting a check-in desk, good signage is a must.
As the market I travel in doesn't operate lounges on a 'club' basis, and as I normally travel without visiting a check-in desk, good signage is a must.
Nov 4, 2015, 3:01 am
#12
formerly mattking2000
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I'm not convinced by the mapping of 3D into 2D argument. I find the signs quite logical but there is nothing to indicate when you've walked straight past it.
Anyway I came through transfers at HKG today and The Bridge lounge was right in front of me. So it proves that moaning on FT works. CX has moved a whole lounge in half a day
Anyway I came through transfers at HKG today and The Bridge lounge was right in front of me. So it proves that moaning on FT works. CX has moved a whole lounge in half a day
As a native of HKG, gotta say, don't you love our efficiency?
Nov 4, 2015, 6:35 am
#13
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How much time do you waste trying to find the lounge?
FCO. Wandered for 15 minutes without seeing any signs. Asked an airport staff who didn't know. Asked AZ agent who pointed us in one direction. Found a dead end. Asked another AZ agent who pointed in opposite direction. Found a bus gate. Asked AZ agent at bus gate who said lounge had been closed since the fire and we'd have to go to another terminal, which we no longer had time for.
Basically spent 45 minutes looking for something that didn't exist...
Basically spent 45 minutes looking for something that didn't exist...
Nov 4, 2015, 9:54 am
#15
Join Date: Jul 2011
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I seem to be flying into a new airport every few months. I found signage is bad and agents usually unable to give directions pretty much everywhere. I now use the loungebuddy app to both check what I am entitled to use and for the directions on how to find it (and how many guests I can take, what kind of food it has, whether it has showers, etc.)