Finding the Best Airport Lounges

One of the best perks of flying first or business class is getting access to the pre-flight lounge. Especially with overseas flights where you have to check in two to three hours early, it’s great to have a comfortable place to while away the extra time and most of the lounges not only offer business centers with power outlets for laptops and phones, but also free beverages, snacks, newspapers, and magazines.

The Swiss Air lounge at New York’s JFK (a Star Alliance partner) is one of the nicest, with a hot buffet in addition to the standard nuts, cookies, and crackers. Complimentary wine, beer, sodas, juice and mixed drinks are also available at almost all airline club lounges. The new Air France club at Charles de Gaulle in Paris is huge, with separate dining and business areas and loads of take-on-the-plane snack food.

When I got stranded for hours in Stockholm and Chicago on a recent trip to Norway, I fervently wished I had a club membership, especially after paying $20 for a beer and peanuts at the Stockholm airport. You can buy a one day club pass from most airlines for around $25, while yearly fees range from $400-$500 depending on your frequent flier miles. If you have miles stockpiled, you can use those to buy a club membership as well (generally around 70,000 miles for an annual membership)

There’s also a company called Priority Pass (www.prioritypass.com) that offers a membership good at over 500 airline lounges worldwide. Prices are roughly the same as the individual airline clubs.

And, while amenities vary at every airport throughout the world, with the price of food and alcohol in the airports, a club membership easily pays for itself if you travel regularly.