Business Lounge versus Terminal Bar

[blue1878]

I've been flying to Thailand for a long time and I always fly Economy class.  This means that in the main when I'm in airport terminals I usually head for the bar.  Normally the only way I can enter a Business Lounge is if I pay.  A few years ago I started flying with Etihad and I joined there FF and did so mainly to earn airmiles.  And the airmiles allowed me to get cheaper flights in the future.  Anyway I started of in Bronze but because I was flying twice a year it wasnt long before I raised to Silver.  One of the benefits was that I gained free entry to Business Lounges in Manchester (UK), Abu Dhabi and Suvarnabhumi airports.  And I started going in the lounges.  I was impressed with the lounges, they had nice seating, free wifi, computers which I could used to connect to the internet plus free drinks and buffet style food.

After a couple of years I decided that Business lounges were not for me.  One major  reason is that I like to have a beer in the airports and the business lounges only had small cans of lager. The thing is I'm a bitter drinker and I prefer draught beer rather than canned beer.  So I stopped going in the Business lounges.

At the beginning of my journey I love visiting a bar in Manchester's T1 and having two or Three pints of Cask Bitter than going into a longer drinking cans of lager.  In the Transit airport I like going to a bar and drink draught lager whilst waiting for my connecting flight..  And then when I fly home I am happy going to the Bill Bentley Pub for a draught beer

Also I find that if I visit an airport bar I'm more likely to talk to other travellers than in a Business Lounge

So which do the rest of your prefer Business lounges or Terminal bars 

[gmoule]

im a frequent flyer of etihad aswell and a gold member,so i always use the lounges,the lounge in london and the business one in abu dhabi is great however the one in bangkok isnt the best but ok,i like the fact i dont spend a penny from leaving home to landing in asia,also a beer in abu dhabi airport can run to £10 so why wouldnt you go to the lounge,i think with silver u get the al reem lounge which has a decent selection of alcohol although shit food

[fatboy21]

Whenever I fly it is always in Business class but like you, I also prefer draught beer to canned beer or lager. I am struggling to think of lounges that serve draught beer although I would not necessarily be looking for any alcohol if my flight was early morning. Plenty of lounges offer draught lager with some serving imported lagers from their own country such as Labatts served in Air Canada lounge in Heathrow.

Usually I enjoy the lounges for peace and quiet where you can get something to eat and drink in a comfortable environment. However, they certainly lack any atmosphere and if you are looking for a 'party' atmosphere, then lounges are not the place to go! 

[Jarrod2518]

i

42 minutes ago, blue1878 said:

" - - which do the rest of your prefer Business lounges or Terminal bars?" 

For quite a few decades with my work I was a very very frequent flyer and was a member of the Qantas Flight Deck Lounge for many years. In the early days the business lounges were an attractive proposition as the airport departure terminals were not particularly interesting places to pass the time. Also you had access to fax and photocopying facilities in the lounges. Today airport departure terminals are like modern shopping malls. Consequently nowadays I give the business lounges a miss. I find the departure lounges are more interesting with a wider and more diverse range of food and drink facilities. In addition with  the modern smart phones and tablets I do not need a fax or photocopier.       

[javasumatra]

The JAL Sakura lounge in Narita has an automated draught beer machine serving Kirin and Sapporo. IIRC, The bar at the Cathay lounge in BKK servers draught beer too.

Some lounges are great. Although BA suck ass in almost every way imaginable, They do serve a rather fab cooked breakfast in  the first class lounge in LHR T5. I really like the Al Mourjan Lounge in Doha and the Qantas lounge in Singapore but the Cathay Pacific first class lounges in Hong Kong are a cut above.

Edited April 11, 2020 by javasumatra

[portrea]

I am also an Etihad Gold card member and work hard to record sufficient miles to retain it every year. For me it requires 3 return trips to Thailand within a rolling year. 

The business lounges are great and are of different standards  depending on which one you choose to sit in . As far as I remember , there is draft beer available in most of them . Personally I prefer a red Wine and there is always a quality wine available . The food while not great is edible with plenty of choice .

Comfort is the number one reason , why I value the lounges . A big armchair is usually available and you have sufficiently privacy on your phone to make arrangements with your Tilac to meet you at Suvarnabhumi Airport or say your final goodbyes , before you board to return home

[Mr Wombat]

The airport I fly from has a bar looking right out onto the Runway (called Windmill bar 555). I love sitting there and watching the planes landing and taking off, and perving on all the hotties walking around. Much better than sitting in a lounge with all the boring cunts

[Baddave]

On domestic flights and short haul European flights i'll head to the terminal bar  On Long haul flights I've been making use of lounges so i can relax a bit between flights. I can grab food and drink(s) and have a freshen up before the next flight. 

[thinkingallowed]

Usually hit the business lounge and enjoy a G&T.

I especially enjoy them when flying via the middle east. Hit the lounge before the first flight, eat and drink on that flight, a few more in the lounge again before having a shower and getting my head down for the second flight.

[rioman]

Even if not travelling business class think that the priority lounges usually  in airports are good value and use them whenever I have more than 1.5hours.  Have level of security where can have laptop/phone charging/open while picking up food/drink.  More comfortable seating/even sleeping options.  Also quieter, which I like.  Usually these around 1000-1500b and I think I get my money's worth - if had couple drinks in regular place at airport and something to eat it usually over half that anyways. Never did this when I was younger so maybe just an age thing.  

[Shaksey]

Quite a few lounges do draft as mentioned already.

BA still have very good spirits in their First Lounges. JW Blue is what i always have in them. They also have seasonal promotions with drinks companies with various different special spirits etc.

[The Blue-Eyed Sheikh]

Business lounge for me.

I don't have a strong preference for draft vs. bottled beer, and as has been mentioned multiple times upthread, there are quite a few lounges that offer draft beer; most lounges offer decent, if not spectacular, spirits if mixed drinks are your thing.

I will occasionally stop at an airport restaurant - the quality of the food in the business lounges (as opposed to the first class lounges) has gone downhill (in my opinion) since I started flying long-haul international on a semi-regular basis.

But the ability to shower during a layover (and most of the business lounges that I would layover at have them) on a trip to LOS is a strong driver to making a bee-line for the business lounge as soon as I'm through security.

TB-ES

[ronthebrummie]

I travel economy, but have a Priority Pass standard card costs me £69 a year and £20 per visit to a lounge in BHX - DXB - BKK

If i have a short layover I dont bother, but a 3-4 hour layover its worth £20 I`d spend that on food and drinks in the normal lounges anyway.

[blue1878]

You learn something  new everyday.  I didnt know that in some business lounges you can get draught beer.  I'm now only visiting Thailand once a year so if I wanted to enter a Business Lounge I'd have to pay.  I think I'd still rather visit a Terminal bar than a Business Lounge but that is my preference, I know others prefer Lounges.

I normally start my journey to Thailand from Manchesters T1 and it has two bars that are close together and they both sell draught bitter and one of them sells cask bitters.  And it normally has 4 cask bitters on the go so I like to try them before going to the gate and boarding my first of two flights.  

Since 2016 I've started flying with Emirates again.  So for my outward bound journey I'm happy to just visit a Terminal bar in Manchester & Dubai.  Manchester because of the Cask Bitter and Dubai because of short time I'm in the terminal before boarding my connecting flight BUT at the end of my holiday I would now be tempted to book to go in a Lounge but that is only because by the end of my holiday I am fed up of drinking lager.  So in the lounge I would have a few glasses of white wine

[Whalley]

On April 11, 2020 at 03:27, blue1878 said:

So which do the rest of your prefer Business lounges or Terminal bars 

 

You've paid for it so might as well use it.

Guinness, Molson Canadian and Coors Light on tap when I travel Air Canada and use the lounge.

 

.

[blue1878]

On 13/04/2020 at 18:55, Whalley said:

 

You've paid for it so might as well use it.

Guinness, Molson Canadian and Coors Light on tap when I travel Air Canada and use the lounge.

 

.

I would only be tempted to use a lounge at Manchester airport if it had a bitter on tap

[Whalley]

On April 11, 2020 at 03:27, blue1878 said:

I've been flying to Thailand for a long time and I always fly Economy class.  This means that in the main when I'm in airport terminals I usually head for the bar.  Normally the only way I can enter a Business Lounge is if I pay.

 

Given the exhorbanate prices airlines charge to use their lounges if you do not have free access, would make it my last choice just based on cost.

[rioman]

5 hours ago, Whalley said:

 

Given the exhorbanate prices airlines charge to use their lounges if you do not have free access, would make it my last choice just based on cost.

Plenty of the airline lounges will not let you in unlee you business class with them/affiliate for any price - JAL lounge was only one open at Narita couple wks ago and I certainly tried.  However, in normal operating times the alternative private lounges - credit card, priority pass, or just pay as you play - are very good alternatives and not a bad cost.  I find the cost of these lounges much more reasonable than business class/economy premium type spread.

[Kandinski]

Not a beer drinker but noticed plenty of taps in lounges around the globe. No idea though what the product is and couldn't care less; I visit lounges to relax...

[blue1878]

On 15/04/2020 at 19:32, Kandinski said:

Not a beer drinker but noticed plenty of taps in lounges around the globe. No idea though what the product is and couldn't care less; I visit lounges to relax...

I think I come from an age group that when we turned 18 we all wanted to go out to pubs and night clubs and drink beer.  And going abroad on holiday we all headed to the bars in the airport terminal for a few beers before flying away.  I'm a bitter drinker but in Thailand I have to drink lager.  So for me its important to go the bar at Manchester airport for my last few pints of bitter before having to drink lager all the time