Dissapointing DXB lounge experience
 

I am posting a disappointing experience (admittedly, a very first world problem!) Mrs Brussels Traveller had and would be interested in your views.

So here is the story - yesterday, she was traveling at night with our two sleepy and tired kids (5 and 3) in economy. She has a Gold card and showed up at the business class lounge where the gentleman at reception insisted that she had to pay $50 to allow our 3-year old in. The lounge was not at all busy.

Now, we all know the rules about allowing only one guest but to insist that she could not enter the lounge unless she paid $50 for our half-asleep 3-year old girl seems to verge on the ridiculous (or desperate).

There was basically no way for this gold card holder to use the lounge without paying the $50. She walked away. It just left a very poor taste and was an exception to usually pleasant lounge experience in DXB.

I agree that it seems a bit harsh, but it is (as far as I understand) interpreting the new rules quite literally : non qualifying passengers pay $100 for lounge access and for under a certain age (cant remember what the cutoff is), its half price. The first child was the qualifying guest and the second one a 'guest' who had to pay.
I think under 3 is free.
The lounge attendants at DXB are not exactly known for their flexibility. After all, we know you cant even collect your membership card or get free access to use hand lotion there .... :D (sorry, I could not help myself)

Rules are rules, so why get upset if they are applied correctly. Why didn't she just pay the $50 and dispute it later.

It has nothing to do with the lounge experience as you have not physically stepped into the lounge

I am in the lounge at the minute and it is busy with all sorts of kids and other people (no surprises there). Why should there be a different rule for you to everyone else ? I am sure you'd be the first to complain if there was nowhere to sit because the lounge was full of all the hangers on and rule breakers. If you are entitled to use the lounge then probably you can afford $50 so just pay the money or go sit somewhere else.

Traveling with kids is tough. Rather than "$50 for the 3-year old", I would looked at it as "$50 for a comfortable place for the 3 of us in the middle of the night" and handed over that cash in minute even as I grumbled about it.

Perhaps your wife could have negotiated a payment of half the requested $50 - on the grounds that your 3 year-old was "half-asleep" ........??

More seriously, I agree with several others here that the requested fee was perfectly legitimate and should have been accepted as such (either that, or rejected as not deemed worthwhile - but with no residual ill-feeling).

I personally have concerns about very young children being permitted access to lounges anyway. And yes, I fully expect to now be informed that a) most children are perfectly well-behaved (especially the children of those informing me), and that b) it's troublesome adults that are more likely to cause the real problems. However, I have seen enough examples of noisy, unruly kids (in particular at certain UK airports which tend to have a lot of departures to 'holiday' destinations) to make me feel that an age restriction could be a good idea.

On a wider note, this very issue raised by the OP could be one of the many ramifications of the new - and unwelcome in IMO - PAYG lounge policy introduced by EK. By which I mean, there is now a sort of 'money mentality' adopted by lounge personnel - where previously none existed ; and as such, the new charges provide an easy response for those cases where staff are met with familiar pleas for discretion : 'just one additional guest ....she's only a 3 year old .....surely you can allow that for a GC holder .....'. Likewise in the case of adult extra guests too.

I've no doubt that the OP will not like my opinion and the reasons offered. But he did invite views from other FT-ers - and these are mine :)

Is it Emirates' fault if your wife made the poor choice of taking exception to an entirely justified request to pay for the 3rd guest, and decided to "save $50" by sitting it out in the main gate area? I'm afraid that any supposedly "very poor taste" left by EK is entirely self-inflicted.

When asking for an exception to a rule, it's best not to do so while just assuming it iwll be granted, as you are only setting yourself up for disappointment.

Just IMHO but I really prefer the concrete option to pay for the extra guests, which makes things crystal clear where things stand, rather than people endlessly fighting at the desk whether the extra guests should be allowed or not, "you let me do it last time", "it's just one extra person", "don't you know I've been a Gold for 50 years", etc etc.

Having the price makes it a very simple decision - pay, or don't go in.

+1

It was surely a little harsh, but, as a lounge welcoming a lot of people, it is healthy to abide by the rules.
I heard several times "last time, they allowed us all in", "I was gold for XX years", and even "I'm flying EK" ...

Is it worth paying 50USD for a family of three for XX hours ? That's your call.

I haven't visited DXB J lounge for a long time, but as a general fact, lounges (EK and others, at DXB or elsewhere) are more and more crowded these days.


As a side remark, I disagree.
She may be gold because of business trips paid by the employer, or she may just be the gold partner of a platinum pax, ... Who knows.

How ridiculous. You're really saying that an employer is going to fly around a "low value" employee such that they can achieve gold card status (50 flights or 50K Tier miles) and that this person is going to be so lowly paid doing this job as not to be able to afford $50 ???? (or as a partner of a platinum who by very definition is going to be flying in paid for J and above (as impossible to get Plat flying in Y) can also not afford $50)

Must be the dumbest argument I've heard in a long time

Rules are rules , but loyalty is loyalty. I know EK runs a super tight ship with their lounges at DXB, but i do believe that maybe the rules should of been bent just this once to allow the pax and her two young children in. I however would be on a very different stance if the pax wanted to guest in 2 other guests who are well above 12+......:cool:


At the end of the day the staff member was just following protocol , and for that it may seem harsh , however with the new lounge entrance cost i would expect this more and more then compared to back in the day ....

So you/your wife thinks the rules shouldn't apply to you? Why?

Your post seems to be the dumb thing. Airline elite membership is choc a block with sales/service/marketing etc folk who have to fly frequently for their work but are just regular joes at home where $50 US could come in handy. Plats in Y happen to. If you read this forum you'll find them.

Now there is an option to pay there will be zero leeway- you can bring an extra guest if you pay.

I achieved Plat for 3 years on the bounce, every single flight in Y - company policy.