Airport Lounge Access by Airline

Airport lounges are a nice alternative to finding a spare seat in crowded gate areas and food courts, or waiting in a line for an available seat at one of the few restaurants in the airport. And consider this: Business travelers know that when their airline may finally announce an airport delay, 15 minutes can easily turn into an hour or even longer. And that’s when the thought about airport lounge access crosses your mind…

Even if you’re a patient business traveler, you know that you still have to arrive at the airport anywhere from 90 minutes to three hours prior to your flight, depending on destination.

That’s why an airport lounge can help make a difference. But the challenge for those who rely on multiple airlines is that their annual mileage points may not be enough to get that complimentary access to every airport lounge. Most airlines offer an annual fee to access their lounges — which could add up to $500 or more depending on your status. However, many travelers have realized that it may be more cost effective to simply purchase access to the airport lounge on a daily basis (so check with the airline directly for their options). If your flight is running several hours behind, this may also be a more cost effective alternative to thoughts of leaving and returning to the airport, etc.

To better navigate the process, it’s helpful to know which airlines have partner programs to share access to their airline lounges. There are three major alliances that exist. Nevertheless, some airlines maintain their own airport lounges.

Airport lounges typically include amenities such as workstations, wi-fi access and dataports. They include food, beverages and other snacks (check with your airline club to determine if there is a fee or if a limited vouchers are provided). And then there’s the benefit of having comfortable seating areas, couches, TVs, and more. And airport lounges that are located in international airports may sometimes also include showers, conference rooms and more.

Airline memberships will usually provide travelers with access to all airport lounges associated with that airline. Airline memberships frequently come with a series of other benefits, but relevant features as it relates to airport delays may include assistance with reservations, seat selection, stand-by list placement and same-day ticketing.

And if you have an airline membership with a single airline, you should check out whether those benefits carry over to partner airlines within airline alliances.

Business Travel Destinations tracks and updates airline lounges by airline from time to time, and the following list provides you with links to airport lounges by airline and airline alliance:

Although we try our best to maintain this listing, airlines and airport lounges change from time to time, and we do not track every airline. Check directly with your preferred airline for the most up to date information about airline lounges before you travel.