DXB J Lounge sucks. Am I the only one who feels that way?
 

So I had a particularly eventful Friday at NYC which ended around 6 pm with an update that all flights from JFK on Saturday have been cancelled. Was able to get a seat on EK202 for Friday night. Hadn't been to the JFK lounge in the evening for the last several years (my preferred flight is 204 which is a morning departure) and realized that they still serve a nice selection of starters, entrees, and desserts at the lounge.

Fast forward 13 hours and I enter the DXB J lounge at B:
1. I see the same food items that I had sampled several years ago. Not only that, I was apalled to see that there was hardly 'any' selection at all - a yellow lamb machbous, a chicken stew with few pieces of chicken and carrots floating around, some really dry looking Iranian kebabs. Looked like no one cared - take it or leave it. I didn't touch a thing - came out of the lounge and decided I'd rather take a chance with the a/c meal!

2. Dessert selection - identical to what it was when the concourse B J lounge opened several years ago. No change at all - it was as if the J lounge menu was frozen in time (I definitely recall seeing more items on display when the lounge first opened).

3. Teeming with people in the morning and not a place to sit. You have to walk the entire length of the lounge to get a place sometimes.

4. Loos are perpetually crowded and queues run to outside the loos - there is no way I was going to stand in one - I am not taking a flight on EK to join the army in the first place...

I've had some good experiences with EK in the recent past but this one begs the question - "Seriously EK - is this your J class experience?" I mean the JFK lounge which isn't that big a lounge has a much better selection of food items, has enough seating to cater to 2 A380s which go within 30 minutes of each other - full in J & F plus the several other Plats and Golds like me who are inside the lounge. And they can't get it right at DXB?

Does anyone else feel the same or is it just me who is nitpicking?

I've not been to the j lounge for a while but agree it's crowded. Do you feel that j is just taken for granted these days?

It can't help letting silvers in the lounges in Dxb.

OP refers to B lounge which doesn't have silvers. Incidentally its the one I have never been in as I'm just a lowly silver (until the flight I'm on now ends, when I reach Gold).

However, I've never seen the J lounge in A that full. Always seats at the main food area and definitely space further afield. C lounge more crowded but still seats available without too much hassle. Compared to outstations (I've only seen HKG and HYD for the EK lounges and other airlines lounges (Oryx in DOH, whatever the paid one is in AUH and SLOW lounges in JNB and CPT domestic I've found the DXB lounges far superior.

I can't help but think that way. My overall impression is that the J lounge is more like a perpetual conveyor belt - just keeps circulating the same food & desserts over and over again for years.

As a Plat I hadn't been to the J lounge for the past 2.5 years or so, but the difference in service levels between the lounge at JFK and DXB is just too stark. The lounge experience at JFK (except for the space) is more comparable to the DXB F lounge.

I mean I used to scoff at the excuse for a lounge that VS has in BOS which EK used for a while. I had decided never to visit it again preferring to sit outside and use the complementary wi-fi at Logan. I have similar feelings now for the DXB J lounge except for the Costa counter there - my only reason to step inside.

The "B" Lounge is currently being refurbished. Could this be the cause of the congestion and poorer food choices?

Beer and a smoking area usually does me, so I wouldn't normally notice issues such as those in the OP.

I think you're right.

Silvers get C
Gold get A or B
Platinum can do what they like ;)

But I agree it doesn't help

If in J, I would recommend using A lounge, it's newer with far fewer people in it. Even when leaving from C or B I'd say it's worth the effort if time permits.

You should always head to the back of the J lounge (just keep walking!) where there's another full hot meal station. There's always a lot more room back there. People tend to crowd into the first available section.

Parts of the J lounge are also being refurbished, which is also cutting down on space.

Aren't Silver allowed to go to both, A and C lounges right now?

I think he was making a recommendation on how it should be. The issue is Silver in other airlines get decent lounge access, even across the network, EK can't cut back the benefits too much.

Also agree about A lounge, I always go to A even when departing from B and arriving at B/C. Only when departing C I might go to C.

It's just a coloured card when it comes down to it. On BA, the Silver card is the mid-tier whereas on EK, Gold is the mid-tier.

With a BA Bronze (equivalent more or less to EK Silver), you don't get any lounge access.

I meant as the lowest tier. I'm thinking back to SAA days where Silver got you access ... well I guess only in SA airports. No partner lounge unless Gold so I guess it is on par. But some lounge access for Silver is the norm across most airlines (lowest level for which one can qualify except the default, i.e. blue on EK)

I also used to do the same at the J lounge in the B concourse . Walk till the far end and there used to be another area with food/drink etc which was quieter as everyone used to sit at the entrance.

However on my last visit in November this area was made into a smoking area .:(


Therefore the B J lounge sucks .....;) as the OP posted in the thread title.

At the risk of dragging the thread into the gutter, I was going to say if it was the BJ lounge it wouldn't suck..but then it would...so carry on....

You beat me to it. What does the A J lounge stand for?...:D

I had the same issue, I walked as usual to the end where is quiet and there is a good food choice but the smell of smoke was terrible. I think this is due to the refurbishment, any news on when it is going to end?

As ever, it depends what time you use the lounge as to the experience you get.
I went through B lounge last week at a quietish time of 8pm for 2 hours or so. As we all know 4-5 hours later would be a different story............
Lounge 75% empty
Shower block completely empty and 100% clean and tidy
No queue at bar / food counter.
Costa coffee, zero customers.
Food counter is awful though - I took a look, baulked, picked up a bottle of Voss and went to Costa for a tea and cake!

As a truly lowly Silver member of Etihad Guest, I hate to say this, but their Silver tier works well. You get in their lounges at outposts as a Silver member travelling in Y, BUT either leaving or transiting AUH, they don't let you in their J lounge, you have to go to the third party Al Reem lounge instead. This reduces the loading into Etihads own lounge significantly.
Al Reem is a poky, crowded sh*thole with a grand total of 2 showers (in different places). Transiting AUH last week, it was that busy, I actually paid to go to the Al Dhabi lounge (much better experience).

Maybe EK should downgrade Silver members in a similar way whilst transiting DXB??

i usualy grab a iced coffee from Costa in the B J lounge and then walk to either A/C J lounge .....