Frommer's : Top 10 airport lounges

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Frommer's picks the top 10 airport lounges
Gary Stoller

Jay Furr's health care company could no longer justify the expense of paying airline club membership fees for employees, so the frequent flier reaches into his own pocket to pay the annual dues.


Hostess Connie Davis delivers beer to James Miller at the British Airways Terrace Lounge at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Furr and many other frequent fliers rely on airlines' club lounges at airports to reduce the stress of life on the road and escape the airport rat race.

"I like the peace and quiet, the opportunity to set up my laptop on an actual desk and use Wi-Fi, and the light snacks," says Furr of Richmond, Vt.

Furr pays $400 annually to renew his membership in United Airlines' Red Carpet Club, which also enables him to enter the lounges of US Airways, Continental Airlines and other carriers in a marketing partnership known as the Star Alliance. The Red Carpet Club at San Francisco airport is his favorite, he says, "because the ambience there is better than at many other airports."

Frequent fliers have different favorites — often influenced by the club or clubs they're in and the routes they fly — but some airport lounges clearly stand out.

Frommer's top lounges

Top airline club lounges at North American airports

• Emirates Lounge, New York's JFK, Emirates
• Porter lounges, Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, Porter Airlines
• Presidents Club, Terminal E, Houston Bush, Continental Airlines
• Oneworld, Los Angeles, British Airways, Qantas, Cathay Pacific
• Terrace Lounge, Seattle, British Airways

Top airline club lounges at foreign airports

• The Wing, Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific
• Upper Class Clubhouse, London Heathrow, Virgin Atlantic
• Satellite Golden Lounge, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Airlines
• First Class Lounge, Munich, Lufthansa
• International lounges, Tokyo Haneda, Japan Airlines

At USA TODAY's request, Frommer's Travel Guides selected its top 10 club lounges worldwide.

The Wing, Cathay Pacific Airways' facility at Hong Kong airport, is the travel guidebook publisher's No. 1 choice. The first-class lounge at The Wing has a library, a 32-seat restaurant and five individual rooms with a shower, a toilet and a relaxing deck chair.

Virgin Atlantic Airways' Upper Class Clubhouse at London's Heathrow airport ranks No. 2. Among other amenities, it has a TV room, a pool table, an observation deck and a roof garden.

Three other club lounges in foreign cities rounded out the top five: Malaysia Airlines' Satellite Golden Lounge at the Kuala Lumpur airport, Lufthansa's First Class Lounge at the Munich airport and Japan Airlines' new international lounges at Tokyo's Haneda airport.

JFK lounge at the top

Frommer's chooses the Emirates Lounge at New York's JFK airport as the top North American club lounge. Guests can shower or receive a massage in the spacious lounge in Terminal 4.

The only U.S. airline in Frommer's top 10 is Continental Airlines, which is merging with United. It's selected for its Presidents Club in Terminal E at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport. The 26,000-square-foot club has three floors and exudes "sophisticated Texas charm," Frommer's says.

Porter Airlines — a Canadian carrier that flies to four U.S. destinations — also is included in the top 10 for its two lounges at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport. The lounges let "the little guy feel a bit more important," says Jason Clampet, Frommer's senior online editor. All departing passengers can enter for free and enjoy such amenities as wireless Internet, iMac computers, food and drinks without charge.

"Airline lounges are a reminder that air travel isn't just a once- or twice-a-year activity reserved only for vacations and special events," says David Lytle, editorial director of Frommers.com. "For frequent fliers, lounges offer sanity and some semblance of the comforts of home. They provide the opportunity to catch your breath between meetings, to freshen up after an all-night flight and to rest and refuel during a layover."

Though frequent fliers cherish the clubs, they complain that some are too crowded.

Bob Montgomery, a frequent flier in Sheridan, Ark., suggests setting up areas for families and "kid-free" zones.

"Some lounges have more screaming kids running around than Disneyland," says Montgomery, who works in the banking software industry and visited more than 20 airport club lounges last year.

Besides fliers who pay or use frequent-flier miles for an annual membership, U.S. airlines sell daily passes and allow some military personnel and passengers with high-price tickets, credit card privileges or elite-level status in frequent-flier programs to enter club lounges. Many foreign airlines have no membership fees and reserve their lounges primarily for fliers with high-price tickets.

Are lounge fees worth it?

Frequent fliers' opinions are mixed about whether the annual membership fee charged by U.S. airlines is too steep.

For new members without elite-level frequent-flier-program status, it costs $475 to join United's Red Carpet Club or $500 to join American Airlines' Admirals Club. American's members have access to 43 Admirals Club and 30 Qantas Airways lounges worldwide.

Priority Travel Group, a division of the Collinson Group, sells a Priority Pass that costs $399 annually for unlimited access to more than 600 airport lounges worldwide.
"I feel the cost is a bit high for what you actually get, but the ability to get some work done in a relatively quiet environment is worth it in the long run," says Mike Praska of Hollandale, Minn., who works in the granite manufacturing industry.

The annual price is fair, says Chicago lawyer Jared Kaplan, who made more than 200 visits to airline clubs last year.

"It needs to be high enough so only genuinely frequent fliers will use the club lounges and to pay for the services and facilities provided," Kaplan says. "Lowering the price would jeopardize exclusivity and might impair the benefits."

usatoday.com

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God forbid if a government owned airline opened a lounge!

Oh hold one, dozens already have or share them. It is just so unjust!

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hook , line and sinker