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AIRPORT LOUNGES

We leave in two days for the Osaka Expo in Japan.  We then catch the Oceania Riviera from Yokohama to Vancouver.  So my travel series began yesterday and will continue for another month, when we return on May 18 to Honolulu.

Today, the matter of airport lounges.  MSN has a complete article you can read.  Here is my experience.

  • I was once loyal to Star Alliance because I had a lifetime invitation to the clubs of United Airlines.  I've traveled nearly three million miles, giving me this privilege.
  • However, United service and flights deteriorated during and after the COVID Pandemic.
  • This was a time when I decided to fly business class on all my flights.  Turns out that every airline I took at this level automatically provided lounge entrance, and nearly all the international airlines had better food, drinks and services than United.  There was no need to only fly Star Alliance.
  • So anyway, why bother to use an airport lounge?
    • Great place to relax, with free food and drinks.
    • You can charge your devices and get free Wi-Fi, which of course is now available all just about anywhere.
    • Some upscale ones have a la carte dining and showers.
  • If you are not a member of an airline lounge, and don't fly business/first class, you pay extra for this entrance, or join something like Priority Pass.
    • $99/year for this pass, but also $35/person entrance fee for each use.
    • You can pay more and get free visits.
    • Some premium credit cards provide this pass.
    • However, if a lounge has too many visitors, you might be denied entrance
  • Keep in mind that many international airlines also have a first class lounge for those that fly at that level.  They are far superior to the airport lounge covered above.  First class in the U.S. is like business class.
Most of the Star Alliance and other U.S. partnerships have adequate lounges.  The best ones, however, are in other countries.
  • Singapore and Thai Air lounges in the Orient are among the best.
  • I love the ANA Business Class lounge at Narita Airport.  The United Airlines First Class lounge is eerie.  Huge room with a couple of people.  A floor below is the Business Class lounge, which could be packed and noisy.
  • Lufthansa First Class at their Munich and Frankfurt airports are about as good as they get.
    • You get shuttled to the lounge, and taken directly, sometimes by car, too the plane.
    • There is a  first class restaurant.
  • Emirates in first class is not that expensive, and they pick you up at your departure hotel and drop you off at your hotel when you arrive.  Unlimited caviar is served on the plane.  I understand that Qatar Air is as good, if not better.

Condé Nast Traveler has a top 11 lounge list:

Overall Global Winner: Vienna Lounge, Terminal 1, Vienna Airport, Austria
Asia Pacific Winner: Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club, Terminal 1, Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong
Europe Winner: Vienna Lounge, Terminal 1, Vienna Airport, Austria
Latin America and the Caribbean Winner: Advantage VIP Lounge, Curitiba Afonso Pena International, Brazil
Middle East and Africa Winner: Petra Lounge, Amman Queen Alia International Airport, Jordan
North America Winner: VIP Lounge Aguascalientes, Jesus Teran Peredo International, Mexico

Travel+Leisure has another list.  I've been to some of them:

  • Swiss First Class lounge in Zurich.  There are two of them, one in Terminal A and the other in Terminal E.  1000-bottles of wine, a five-star restaurant, two hotel rooms, and at least a hundred whiskies.  Just visited in December of last year.
  • Lufthansa, Frankfurt.  Cigar lounge, 100 different kinds of whiskies, full-service dining room,  shower rooms, one with a full bath.
  • Emirates, Dubai.  Spa, cigar lounge, in-lounge duty free shop, dining room.  Last visited, last year. 

The Saturday Night Live cold opening last night featuring Donald Trump on Easter 2025.  

And, by the way, you might be wondering what happened to Good Friday?  Well, Easter 2025 occurs next Sunday, April 20.  
  • Ash Wednesday was March 5
  • The earliest possible date for Easter is March 22.  The last year this happened was in 1818.  The next one will fall in 2285.
  • The latest date is April 25, and this last occurred in 1943.  The next one?  2038, then 2190.

Some Trump-Easter cartoons.



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