Ends of the spectrum - a tale of 2 lounges
On my recent trip to Warsaw, I had the opportunity to experience the extremes in lounges and lounge offerings. In all, I visited 4 lounges:
1. the international departure lounge in MAA,
2. the Lufthansa Business Lounge in FRA on my way out from FRA to WAW,
3. the Chopin departure lounge in WAW en route FRA, and
4. again the Lufthansa Business Lounge in FRA (different terminal) on my way back to MAA.
However, the most striking and contrasting experiences I had were within 15 hours of each other, at the International departure lounge in MAA and the Lufthansa Business Lounge in FRA, which I'm writing about here.
The best thing I can say about this lounge, is "Free wi-fi". Otherwise, please don't bother with it. Arrive later at the airport, and give it a pass. You won't have missed anything. Heck, even the domestic lounge (which isn't much to speak of, by itself) feels like hospitality at the Burj al Arab, Dubai, compared to this.
I had a 1.50 am departure, and so I made my way through check in, immigration and security (no business class lines here, unlike I had in Mumbai) and entered the lounge around 0015 hrs, ie just a quarter past midnight. I've never, ever, seen any lounge as packed as this one.
Firstly, the lounge area is rather small, and the seating spaces are quite limited (they'd even temporarily converted a couple of rooms to add a few more seats). I managed to get one of the last available seats in the place.
It was also quite noisy, thanks in particular to a family that was "skype-ing" with someone in the US, on their laptop, without headphones. And at full volume, which meant the rest of us in the lounge knew what the US folks had for breakfast and lunch that day.
Food was virtually non-existent. There were a couple of starters, some sandwiches, cookies and bottles of water. Coffee - yes, alcohol - no.
It was so pathetic, it wasn't worth taking any more pictures of - also partly because there wasn't anything else left to photograph!
My recommendation: Avoid at all costs, unless you want free wi-fi.
On arrival, I had to pass immigration and change terminals. I took the opportunity to get out of the airport for some fresh, nicotine-laden air, and came back. I had to pass security again, as I was in the Schengen area now, before heading to the lounge. I had a 4 hour layover, and so I knew I had enough time and more, for the lounge.
After some window shopping, and a slow and wistful stroll past the Senator lounge, I reached the Lufthansa Business Lounge (at least, one of them - there's a handful of them all over the place!).
The first thing that struck me was the insane amount of seating space - and remember, this was just one of the many LH Business Lounges at FRA airport.
I picked a spot near the windows, as I watched one of LH's aircraft being re-supplied before its next trip to wherever.
The food spread was reasonable, given the time of day - it was around 9.45 am on a Sunday morning. There was a selection of cold cuts, toast, a variety of cheeses, sliced and chopped vegetables for salads, scrambled eggs, and a variety of nuts.
Also a pretty decently stocked bar, with both alcohol and juices.
They even had a separate counter for fruits, coffee and cereals. Given my rather unenjoyable breakfast on the flight, this came in quite handy, more so since I wasn't sure what I'd be served, if at all anything, for lunch on my next flight.
Oh! And a special counter with tubs of mini pretzels, spiced nuts and gummy bears!
But the best part of the lounge was the free access to high-speed internet. There was also a separate quiet area with power outlets for those who wanted to charge their laptops/devices, or work. After a light breakfast and some coffee as I was doing my work, it was time to head off to board my next flight.
In all, this lounge was like an oasis in the desert, particularly given the horror of an experience I'd had in MAA.
1. the international departure lounge in MAA,
2. the Lufthansa Business Lounge in FRA on my way out from FRA to WAW,
3. the Chopin departure lounge in WAW en route FRA, and
4. again the Lufthansa Business Lounge in FRA (different terminal) on my way back to MAA.
However, the most striking and contrasting experiences I had were within 15 hours of each other, at the International departure lounge in MAA and the Lufthansa Business Lounge in FRA, which I'm writing about here.
International departures lounge, MAA
To start - Lufthansa (and a handful of other airlines) use the Port Lounge, which also accepts Priority Pass members on payment of the lounge access fee.The best thing I can say about this lounge, is "Free wi-fi". Otherwise, please don't bother with it. Arrive later at the airport, and give it a pass. You won't have missed anything. Heck, even the domestic lounge (which isn't much to speak of, by itself) feels like hospitality at the Burj al Arab, Dubai, compared to this.
I had a 1.50 am departure, and so I made my way through check in, immigration and security (no business class lines here, unlike I had in Mumbai) and entered the lounge around 0015 hrs, ie just a quarter past midnight. I've never, ever, seen any lounge as packed as this one.
Firstly, the lounge area is rather small, and the seating spaces are quite limited (they'd even temporarily converted a couple of rooms to add a few more seats). I managed to get one of the last available seats in the place.
It was also quite noisy, thanks in particular to a family that was "skype-ing" with someone in the US, on their laptop, without headphones. And at full volume, which meant the rest of us in the lounge knew what the US folks had for breakfast and lunch that day.
Food was virtually non-existent. There were a couple of starters, some sandwiches, cookies and bottles of water. Coffee - yes, alcohol - no.
It was so pathetic, it wasn't worth taking any more pictures of - also partly because there wasn't anything else left to photograph!
My recommendation: Avoid at all costs, unless you want free wi-fi.
Lufthansa Business Lounge, FRA
On the other hand, this was a great lounge.On arrival, I had to pass immigration and change terminals. I took the opportunity to get out of the airport for some fresh, nicotine-laden air, and came back. I had to pass security again, as I was in the Schengen area now, before heading to the lounge. I had a 4 hour layover, and so I knew I had enough time and more, for the lounge.
After some window shopping, and a slow and wistful stroll past the Senator lounge, I reached the Lufthansa Business Lounge (at least, one of them - there's a handful of them all over the place!).
The first thing that struck me was the insane amount of seating space - and remember, this was just one of the many LH Business Lounges at FRA airport.
I picked a spot near the windows, as I watched one of LH's aircraft being re-supplied before its next trip to wherever.
The food spread was reasonable, given the time of day - it was around 9.45 am on a Sunday morning. There was a selection of cold cuts, toast, a variety of cheeses, sliced and chopped vegetables for salads, scrambled eggs, and a variety of nuts.
Also a pretty decently stocked bar, with both alcohol and juices.
They even had a separate counter for fruits, coffee and cereals. Given my rather unenjoyable breakfast on the flight, this came in quite handy, more so since I wasn't sure what I'd be served, if at all anything, for lunch on my next flight.
Oh! And a special counter with tubs of mini pretzels, spiced nuts and gummy bears!
But the best part of the lounge was the free access to high-speed internet. There was also a separate quiet area with power outlets for those who wanted to charge their laptops/devices, or work. After a light breakfast and some coffee as I was doing my work, it was time to head off to board my next flight.
In all, this lounge was like an oasis in the desert, particularly given the horror of an experience I'd had in MAA.
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