Airport Lounge Access

[teelack 10,501]

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 1,211]

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 1,520]

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 514]

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 10,501]

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 514]

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 10,501]

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 442]

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 8,980]

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 10,501]

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 8,980]

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 June 9 by jacko

[teelack 10,501]

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 736]

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.

[teelack 10,501]

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.

Exactly. Inter terminal travel is usually easy, anywhere. It's getting from one side to the other that's a pain. I was also a bit pissed off that despite being almost as old as Buddha, they wouldn't help me with a bit of electric trollying.

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[yorta2 736]

I know exactly what you are saying. In April, I limped along with my walking stick for the whole length of a terminal without any help, only to find he Departure Gate for my flight had been changed and I had to walk bak halfway again. No help arrived. On the return flights,I didn't have to change terminals, but a lovely lady pulled up in a golf cart and transported me to my Gate.

[Bruce Mangosteen 1,127]

9 hours ago, yorta2 said:

I limped along with my walking stick for the whole length of a terminal without any help, only to find he Departure Gate for my flight had been changed and I had to walk bak halfway again.

My recommendation in general would be to have the airline's app installed on your phone during your trip, even if you decide to uninstall it later.  Other more general apps are available too, but I think the airline's app would have the most accurate gate and departure data for their itineraries.

[yorta2 736]

16 hours ago, Bruce Mangosteen said:

My recommendation in general would be to have the airline's app installed on your phone during your trip, even if you decide to uninstall it later.  Other more general apps are available too, but I think the airline's app would have the most accurate gate and departure data for their itineraries.

Mate, I was flying Singapore Airlines and the onboard seat screen has a selection that gives you the connecting flights info., which tells you flight numbers, terminal routes and departure gate for your flight. The gate must have changed after we landed from Sydney. I was lucky in one way - even though I got to the new gate after takeoff  time, there was an electrical storm in the Gulf of Thailand and my flight to Bangkok was delayed (as were many others). The sad part is I had to wait for another hour and a half for the flight to go; all of us locked in at the gate.... 

[TheFiend 1,214]

I'm Silver status with Qatar Airlines and get lounge access at MAN, the Silver lounge at DOH and Miracle lounge at BKK....Another perk with my status is priority check-in, can use the priority line through security at MAN and priority boarding on all the flights.... 

One advantage of sticking with one airline is the frequent flyer programs and it's perks...... I use the air-miles balance to get discounts our flight costs by using the cash+miles option.

[teelack 10,501]

I thought that I would update you on the upgrade situation.
Malaysia allows me bid for an upgrade to business but I am rarely in the hunt.
Yesterday I was advised that my bid was successful. It was not cheap but here's my reasoning.

My upgrade is from KLIA to Auckland. I should be on the plane about 11 hours and get maybe up to 4 hours in the lounge at KL which is both boring and expensive.

In addition I have been starting to get some leg pains as I still have DVT from exactly 2 years ago.

The cost was about 21000 baht equivalent. It's on the credit card and due for August payment assuming I don't kick the bucket first!

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[awesum4 2,850]

1 hour ago, teelack said:

I thought that I would update you on the upgrade situation.
Malaysia allows me bid for an upgrade to business but I am rarely in the hunt.
Yesterday I was advised that my bid was successful. It was not cheap but here's my reasoning.

My upgrade is from KLIA to Auckland. I should be on the plane about 11 hours and get maybe up to 4 hours in the lounge at KL which is both boring and expensive.

In addition I have been starting to get some leg pains as I still have DVT from exactly 2 years ago.

The cost was about 21000 baht equivalent. It's on the credit card and due for August payment assuming I don't kick the bucket first!

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well being an optimist I would say "if you kick the bucket first (probably because of DVT)  it will no longer be your problem.

Enjoy the upgrade 

[teelack 10,501]

well being an optimist I would say "if you kick the bucket first (probably because of DVT)  it will no longer be your problem.
Enjoy the upgrade 

Thanks for the vote of confidence in my ongoing health!

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[parry 59]

On 6/13/2025 at 1:46 PM, TheFiend said:

I'm Silver status with Qatar Airlines and get lounge access at MAN, the Silver lounge at DOH and Miracle lounge at BKK....Another perk with my status is priority check-in, can use the priority line through security at MAN and priority boarding on all the flights.... 

One advantage of sticking with one airline is the frequent flyer programs and it's perks...... I use the air-miles balance to get discounts our flight costs by using the cash+miles option.

If you ask nicely at check-in they will give you the extra leg room seats too.

[keyman 1,520]

10 hours ago, parry said:

If you ask nicely at check-in they will give you the extra leg room seats too.

That used to be the case, but I don't think they do it anymore. I often used to ask at checkin for the exit row seats with the extra legroom, until some years ago they started charging about £100 per flight.