Enter to FCL at FRA using cash
 

Hi all,
Im about to travel to the US with LH in PE class.
Im holding TK elite (which is gold status) so I could use the senator lounges in FRA airport.

I read that LH now might allow passengers to use the First class lounge (not the terminal one) by paying at entrance or for people who hold AMEX Centurion card (I hold Platinum card).

Is it still valid? Does anyone tried it?

last week Ive been in VIE and the agent in the lounge told me that if I want to use the HON lounge I can pay ~110 Euros to enter.

thanks for the help

They might let you into FCL B with a LH BP , price is at least 130 EUR, could also depend on how busy the lounge is on the day.

As chris63 said, it is not impossible. They offer that to LH SENs as well, with a J ticket for 200 Euro, PE for 300 Euro.

Great, thanks for the help!
They really not publish this information anywhere.

No, they don’t because it’s a specific F pax or HON benefit, absolutely not a pay as you go lounge

It's indeed publisded under Lufthansa website: Home/lougnes/Upgrade Zur First Class Lounge

Yes. It has been around for a long time, but not even lounge personnel is aware of it.

Could that be because nobody uses the privilege of paying EUR200 or 300 to get in the F lounge ?

The facility is a lot nicer than the SEN lounge, but not EUR200 nicer :)

There don't seem to be too many takers.

I wouldn't generally say the offer is not worth it, really depends. Most of my long-hauls are now in F anyway, but in the right situation (flying on a non-F-route, long layover, hungry and feeling I need to treat myself ...) I wouldn't rule it out and have done it once before; that's how I know that the process of getting in is really complicated, as the staff had to make a million phone calls before I could drop the cash and get in.

200 Euro is not cheap, but it also works at the nice FCL at MUC's satellite. Why not look at it like this: Currently they offer food from one of Germany's best ***chefs and a meal at his restaurant would set you back more than 200 Euros alone. At the lounge you can enjoy the food with a view, take a rest in one of the day rooms and/or a shower, drink as much Louise with your meal without having to worry about a hefty price tag when ordering another glass, enjoy an espresso at the outdoor terrace; at FRA it also include the ride to the plane. If the situation is right, it's worth 200 to me, cheaper than the VIP services at MUC and FRA.

I can definitely see myself dropping a 200 EUR on FCL entry in the right circumstances. If I were to go to a really nice once-in-a-lifetime trip, but not nice and cheap enough that I can do it in F, and had no other expectation of being able to get in these lounges (i.e. not knowing the nice folk here at FT who are happy to guest a humble Y traveler such as myself), it's not that expensive.
But you can't look at it in the utilitarian view of "food is worth this much, Louise or LPGS is worth that much", rather as paying for the experience.

You probably misunderstood my post: I don't count the glasses of Louise to drink my money back. Just tried to put the 200 Euro in relation to the goods and services provided.

Of course, different strokes....

But a one-in-a-lifetime trip for me would probably involve a second person, so that would be EUR500. And that would set the pips squeaking.


But as worldclubber suggests, I could just about see it happening if faced with a looong connection. I'd get irritated in the SEN lounge, probably want to get my head down, and a Hilton dayroom is going to be EUR100. I'd rationalise the additional EUR100 spend in the transactional/utilitarian way you despise :)

Waste of money.

OP is "about to travel to the US". What are the chances of enjoying an espresso at the outdoor terrace at FRA? Mind you, one drinks the espresso rather fast, so one does not have a high risk of getting ill. ;)

When is your travel date? I can guest you into the FCT during my connection on Monday. There—money saved.

Preferences differ.

I have never bought a LV bag, waste of money for me, not for others. Live and let live.

I said it also works at the FCL at MUC, which does indeed have an outdoor terrace.

I’ve never bought an LV bag either. I’d say it’s a bigger waste of money than paying for an FCL but at least you can use it for longer.

Unless he is your partner or child, he has to be on the same flight as you. Might not be as easy as you think.

Is a 200 Euro meal at any Michelin starred restaurant a waste, too? Because you could buy enough food to survive for under 10 Euro, even at an airport ...

I’d say there are many, many Michelin starred restaurants where 200 EUR (per person) is a waste of money.

Strangely enough, most of these restaurants have a long waitlist for reservations. :confused:

People seem to disagree with you.

Back on topic: There are ways to get access to the LH FCLs other than F tickets or HON status.

I find this logic strange. Because people wait in line for something that means it isn’t a waste of money?

It just means that what you consider a waste of money may be seen differently by others. Many others.

"Waste of money" depends on preference and very much on individual taste. There is no objective definition of waste of money, but you make it sounds like there is, i.e. whatever you consider a waste.

No, there are some things that are objectively a waste of money. This is one of them. You can think differently. As you point out, many people do. But they are wrong.

Subjectivity isn’t a refuge for bad decisions.

That is your subjective opinion. Otherwise your statement must be false. The only waste of money is to burn it (literally).

Wow! Your attitude leaves me speechless ...

If you consider a day room, the time saved for going landside and through security again, a three-star Wohlfart meal, a bottle of Louise, many other amenities ... and a ride to the plane for 200 Euro a waste of money, I wouldn't want you to be a consultant of my company.

And don't forget about the duck. ;)

According to your reasoning, burning money isn’t a waste if one was to accord subjective value to the act of burning money. What about performance art that involves burning money?

I eat at the FCLs all the time. The food isn’t that good. A duck that costs $.50 to make isn’t worth $200 either. You also wouldn’t hopefully drink a whole bottle of Louise.

Not sure if paid access includes a ride to the plane. If it does, paying $200 for a ride to a plane is silly.

I will correct my slightly imprecise statement. Burning money is not a waste as it gives off heat. Perhaps a pilot who crashed a cargo plane carrying pallets of banknotes in Antarctica would appreciate a warming fire of Benjamins.

^

At least in most cases. ;)

Beware, true anecdote: In the middle of the 1990s, before mobile phones became popular, some good friends and then colleagues of mine (not hearsay!), unexperienced hikers, went almost all the way to the top of Ben Nevis one day with unsuitable equipment and suddenly fog came in, so thick that they couldn't find their way back down. At one point they decided that they should stop for the night and were afraid they were going to die, as it was very cold. They had a lighter but couldn't get a fire started., despite all the trees. Since they thought they were going to die anyway, they used all the cash they had and, no kidding, bras and other things to get the wood burning to keep them warm and signal where they are. The next morning, Scottish Mountain Rescue found them with a helicopter and brought them all back alive. May not have been a waste of money to burn the cash. :cool:

Nobody ever said I would pay 200 Euros for the ride to the plane. I am out.

The FCT doesn't have any Michelin stars.

The quality of the food is not quite at the level of Germany's restaurants with 1 or 2 stars (not even speaking of 3 stars) IMHO.

They certainly have strong suits, though. Champagne is obviously a crowd-pleaser at the FCL/FCT. I bet their champagne cave is better than that of a good number of 1*/2* restaurants.

Yes. FCT/FCL food is definitely as good as it should be, but to say you’re getting Michelin starred dining (as much as I hate that metric because I’ve had many not so great Michelin starred meals, but we can use this flawed metric for now) is absurd.

The only way in which $200 is not a waste for the lounge is if you pound a $175 bottle of champagne or whisky or something like that. I assume the other items are worth around $25 or so. But even then I’m not sure it’s still not a waste. You don’t exactly go about pounding expensive alcohol, at least if you want to appreciate the taste and subtlety after each and every sip.

And there’s no need to take it personally when you are wrong. Everyone makes bad decisions. But don’t seek refuge in subjectivity. That’s for the weak.

Don't take this out of context, please.

I never said the FCL has *M food, at least not outside of the specials such as the current one.

It was a comparison that what is a waste of money for some (who wouldn't drop 200 Euro for a meal) does not have to be a waste for others (who would he happy to stand in line to be aloud to spend far in excess of 200 at a restaurant). I don't condemn either.

I'll give it one more try. You are not the kind of person I would want to have a glass of Louise with, but I don't think you are stupid either and may get it at some point:

Everything in the world is about subjectivity and whole industries survive because of that. When it comes to subjectivity, one can be more (me) and less (you) tolerant. People make decisions what to spend their money on and who am I (or you) to judge them.

If I feel like going to the FCL for 200 Euros I will, no matter what you think about it, because one alternative would be to fly a lot more for a lot more money and spend much more time away from my family and become HON. I could even "waste" time on mileage runs. Not for me.

Talking about a waste of money: Didn't you say somewhere today that you find the short-haul experience in an exit row seat better than J, but would still spend/waste extra cash to buy business class fares to get HON miles ... :D

But we know those specials are merely created by *M cooks. Those cooks don't actually run the FCL kitchen.

You gotta realize it's a marketing scheme that has been employed on everything from canned soup over airline catering up to smart casual dining.

Not trying to slam the F&B in the FCL/T. For the most part, I very much enjoyed it the times I had the chance to be there.

Your opinion is subjective, someone may wish to spend the money not to mingle with the *Gs in the SEN lounge. And what is this ‘subjectivity is for the weak’ nonsense?

In general, no. This month, they have a special with the ***chef actually being there for some days.

But that's not my point anyway, so let's move away from the food discussion. The point is that for some people the FCL experience may be worth 200 and for some it's not. I'm glad humans are like that, otherwise we would all live in the same "best" place, wear the same "best" clothes, drink the same "best" drink ...

Your a newly minted HON & one that has previously stated you don’t eat much
LH FCL/FCT food is high quality, was 15 years ago & still is

The Ducks are intended to be collectors items, so added value there

What’s wrong with having a bottle of Louise ? End of a long day & work over ? Or a holiday celebration, as HON I’m free to choose;)