Anyone planning a getaway may want to consider the latest airport lounge deal for a laid-back start to their travels. The struggle for a seat and pricey, lacklustre airport nosh can turn a fun journey into a bit of a nightmare.
It doesn’t have to be all high-flyers and big spenders; with a Priority Pass whipping you into cushy lounges for just £48 each, you’ll dodge the rabble pre-flight. Perks abound in over 1,700 plush lounges and experiences globally, with UK options spanning Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Manchester International, and more.
Vienna-bound travellers can pig out at the award-winning Vienna Lounge in Vienna Airport, lauded as the “Lounge of the Year” by Priority Pass. Imagine swapping airport hullaballoo for cozy seating, tranquility, and breathing room – something Ellie Kemp from the Manchester Evening News knows well after giving one a go.
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You typically get complimentary grub and beverages in these lounges, serving up tasty bites, hearty dishes, and drinks—farewell to extortionate terminal food prices, hello chill vibes without the fiscal sting.
In a bid to see whether airport lounges are worth the extra cash, Ellie decided to give it a go before jetting off to Paris. She explained: “Passengers usually pay a set price to access a lounge, in return for a selection of food and drink nestled away from the hustle and bustle of the Departures waiting area. Manchester Airport, which flies passengers to more than 160 destinations, has nine lounges across its three terminals.”, reports the Express.
“The Escape Lounge promises ‘an oasis of calm’ and is the most economical option, priced at £48 per person instead of £69 with a £24 visit fee. Having never tried a lounge before, I decided to see if that really was the case at Terminal 1 – and I can’t believe I ever waited so long.”
After breezing through security, Ellie likened the lounge’s entry to checking into a hotel. Once inside, after a brief interaction with the staff, she was all set to dive into the buffet and hit up the bar.
Sharing her thoughts on the experience, she said: “As I had arrived at 11.30am, the food was being swapped over from breakfast to lunch. A selection of sandwiches, tomato soup, two salads and some nachos were on one buffet bar, with pastries and cakes nearby.”
Ellie’s foray into the lavish world of airport lounges turned her travel routine on its head, as she proclaimed: “The trio of sandwiches – cheese, egg or chicken and mayo – looked freshly made and I was instantly drawn to them – which is unusual, as I very rarely fancy sandwiches. To begin, I went for a chicken sandwich and a portion of nachos with salsa and sour cream. The sandwiches really were as good as they looked; light, delicious and the perfect ratio of filling to soft bread.”
Her culinary exploration continued, and upon seeing sausages, hash brown bites, curry, pasta, beef stew, and vegetable curry at a nearby table, she had to remark: “For my next course I opted for some hash brown bites, pasta and vegetable curry – which were all top quality, especially the curry, which admittedly I do still think about from time to time now.”
Two hours in, feeling relaxed – perhaps aided by a glass or two of Prosecco – Ellie felt completely ready for her journey ahead. Reflecting on the lounge experience, she said: “I fell asleep easily on the plane after my time in the lounge, so for longer-haul flights I would be looking forward to booking again. It’s changed my approach to travel for the better and just demonstrates that some pre-flight downtime – and a splash of luxury – ahead of a long day of travel does wonders for putting your mind at ease.”
Ellie offered a shrewd comparison of her spending at Manchester Airport’s Escape Lounge, where the entry fee is £29.99 per person, against the expense at Giraffe restaurant in Terminal 1. She said: “Overall, I drank two glasses of prosecco and strawberry juice at the lounge. Two 125ml glasses of Il Baco Seta Prosecco at Giraffe would have put me back by £17, while a cranberry juice would’ve cost £3.75. That’s more than a third of my lounge ticket already spent on drinks.
“I had a total of two chicken and mayo sandwiches – which would be roughly equivalent to two lots of toast from Giraffe and would have cost me £6.50. The pasta, curry and hash brown concoction, and the portion of nachos and salsa, I would say is equal to the average cost of a ‘main’ restaurant meal – such as a Katsu curry or lasagne. So that would have been £14.
“And for dessert, I enjoyed the muffin and pastry, which would have been worth around £6.50, or the equivalent to a cheesecake from Giraffe. All in all, I had around £47.75 worth of food and beverages at the lounge – saving me £17.76.”
For those enticed by Ellie’s clever budgeting, additional discounts await for a smooth takeoff not just from Manchester but across over 1700 airports worldwide. With Priority Pass, travellers can now snag a hearty 30% off their standard annual pass, cutting it down from £69 to just £48.
Despite an additional £24 charge per lounge visit, this deal often works out cheaper than purchasing a one-off lounge pass. This is particularly advantageous for frequent travellers as the more lounges are utilised, the more cost-effective Priority Pass becomes.
To illustrate potential savings, the first visit and sign up for a new Priority Pass customer would total £72 (£48 annual fee + £24 visit fee), with subsequent visits costing £24 each. Therefore, four visits over two trips abroad would amount to £288.
Priority Pass lounges also offer a range of benefits depending on the location. These include the option to pre-book airport lounges to avoid disappointment, access to a variety of wellness packages with Be Relax Spas before a flight, and preferential rates at car rental locations.
For a detailed listof Priority Pass benefits, click here. Alternatively, one-time airport passes can be booked at Heathrow Airport lounges starting from £37 with Expedia or from a selection of UK airport lounges at Holiday Extra for roughly the same price.
