Airport Lounge Access

[teelack 10,315]

I fly economy most of the time. I apply and occasionally get a paid upgrade, but not often.

 

I have however started to use air lounges to ease the pain.

Here is my questions.

 

It seems to me that prices are all over the place for occasional access. Perhaps the best I have come across is Trip.com. What am I missing? Their prices are lower than the airline /lounge direct charges?

 

I don't fly enough to warrant any of the major Lounge Pass sites. I would appreciate any feedback on the subject.

 

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[sailingbill 1,198]

Teelack I go to BKK every 2-3 weeks and with Amex I get in free  Miracle Lounge. The lady said you can buy in for $30usd. This would be worth it to me since I can get some Curry,desert ,5 drinks and a comfortable environment. At Narita the lounge I think was $50usd, I had status with ANA so free and getting a shower was nice.  Sweet on a 2hour lay, top shelf booze and a chef with rare roast beef or sushi. With your frequent travels look into getting a high end CC even if you don't use it. Decide if the annual fee is worth it. I don't travel anymore but those lounge visits really made my 24 hour trips from Washington tolerable. 

[keyman 1,480]

When I've used them (in BKK) I've just asked at the lounge itself and I think (but not sure as its been a while) I used the CIP Lounge which was about 1500 baht? The ones in Europe were more expensive, but irrelevant for your purposes.

Good luck!

KM

[Odense 513]

On 6/5/2025 at 10:03 AM, teelack said:

I fly economy most of the time. I apply and occasionally get a paid upgrade, but not often.

How do you apply?

 

[teelack 10,315]

How do you apply?
 

Good question. Because I am limited in my choice of airlines I use Malaysia Airlines quite often. They offer all sorts of upgrade but I am sorry but I am not sure if European airlines have similar options.

Incidentally. The upgrades have to be bid for. They have a sliding meter telling you what the percentage possibility is.

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[Odense 513]

I look for the best price with a reasonable connection time so the last flights have been Qatar Airways, Turkish Airways, Thai Airways and Singapore Airways. It could also be FinnAir, Emirates or Etihad.

I haven't noticed any auctions for upgrades.

I wouldn't call sending in an auction bid for "applying for an upgrade" - that still seems to be buying an upgrade - but I am not a native English speaker.

Occasionally the airlines send upgrade offers but those quoted prices are too high for me. I grit my teeth and think of what fun the savings will buy me in Thailand.

[teelack 10,315]

I look for the best price with a reasonable connection time so the last flights have been Qatar Airways, Turkish Airways, Thai Airways and Singapore Airways. It could also be FinnAir, Emirates or Etihad.
I haven't noticed any auctions for upgrades.
I wouldn't call sending in an auction bid for "applying for an upgrade" - that still seems to be buying an upgrade - but I am not a native English speaker.
Occasionally the airlines send upgrade offers but those quoted prices are too high for me. I grit my teeth and think of what fun the savings will buy me in Thailand.

I understand what you mean.
Malaysia allows you to select what you are willing or can afford to pay for an upgrade, but there are minimum figures set. Bearing in mind that for me it is 4 separate flights. Two long two short and I can bid for any part of the schedule.
I can guarantee an upgrade for an exorbitant figure or take my chances with a low ball bid which rarely succeeds.


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[yselmike 438]

1 hour ago, Odense said:

I look for the best price with a reasonable connection time so the last flights have been Qatar Airways, Turkish Airways, Thai Airways and Singapore Airways. It could also be FinnAir, Emirates or Etihad.

I haven't noticed any auctions for upgrades.

I wouldn't call sending in an auction bid for "applying for an upgrade" - that still seems to be buying an upgrade - but I am not a native English speaker.

Occasionally the airlines send upgrade offers but those quoted prices are too high for me. I grit my teeth and think of what fun the savings will buy me in Thailand.

EVA does the same.Put in a bid.The upgrade from my premium economy seat to laurel/business class,started at over €500!

[jacko 8,942]

12 hours ago, teelack said:

I understand what you mean.
Malaysia allows you to select what you are willing or can afford to pay for an upgrade, but there are minimum figures set. Bearing in mind that for me it is 4 separate flights. Two long two short and I can bid for any part of the schedule.
I can guarantee an upgrade for an exorbitant figure or take my chances with a low ball bid which rarely succeeds.


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I have used Malaysian Airlines quite a few times on trips to and from Bali, in Biz Class, always finding a price well below the competition (ignoring Air Asia for a few reasons). The hop from Bangkok  was never really worth it, but the leg KL to DPS, was usually a more modern plane and I could get a couple of beers. 

[teelack 10,315]

I have used Malaysian Airlines quite a few times on trips to and from Bali, in Biz Class, always finding a price well below the competition (ignoring Air Asia for a few reasons). The hop from Bangkok  was never really worth it, but the leg KL to DPS, was usually a more modern plane and I could get a couple of beers. 

For some reason I can't figure out, Malaysia costings are a real mystery.

An English friend considered flying from the UK to Bangkok recently and found business class to be among the most expensive.

 

When you consider that they keep on mislaying their planes you have to wonder why.

 

Also KLIA is possibly the most expensive air port to stop over in. With local tax added a standard bottle of beer is around 400 baht!

 

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[jacko 8,942]

18 hours ago, teelack said:

Also KLIA is possibly the most expensive air port to stop over in. With local tax added a standard bottle of beer is around 400 baht!

I also found KLIA to be a bit of a zoo,  a lot of delayed flights, long queues,  and planes being moved from one gate to another. It looked like a major transit hub and Indians filled the place. That said, my last trip, via SQ, the airport was a bit chaotic too.

Edited Monday at 10:16 PM by jacko

[teelack 10,315]

I also found KLIA to be a bit of a zoo,  a lot of delayed flights, long queues,  and planes being moved from one gate to another. It looked like a major transit hub and Indians filled the place. That said, my last trip, via SQ, the airport was a bit chaotic too.

The only comment I would add is as follows.
While KLIA is indeed a bit of a zoo, I find that the distances to travel between flights easier than Singapore.. The train or bus makes this easy enough for me.
Singapore can see me jogging bloody miles despite asking for help which I didn't get.
Admittedly this is in part due to the very tight schedules that they fly.
Late last year they held my flight up 30 plus minutes to allow people to travel across the airport. How easy it could have been fixed by putting us all on one or two of those electric people movers.

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[yorta2 724]

19 hours ago, teelack said:

The only comment I would add is as follows.
While KLIA is indeed a bit of a zoo, I find that the distances to travel between flights easier than Singapore.. The train or bus makes this easy enough for me.
Singapore can see me jogging bloody miles despite asking for help which I didn't get.
Admittedly this is in part due to the very tight schedules that they fly.
Late last year they held my flight up 30 plus minutes to allow people to travel across the airport. How easy it could have been fixed by putting us all on one or two of those electric people movers.

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Not quite understanding; the internal trains in Singapore (Changi) work well - it only takes a matter of seconds between terminals, although it IS a long way between one end of each terminal to the other.