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Pimp My Airport Lounge
As a travel writer you might expect I spend a healthy amount of time in swanky airport 
lounges eating lobster tail and getting foot massages.
Well, I don't – far from it.
The reality is closer to trying to find a spare outlet to charge my chronically low computer battery and simultaneously napping in the fetal position on the airport floor while traveling on the most budget friendly (read: logistically absurd) route.
This, however, does not need to be the reality for all travelers. For those with access privileges to global airport lounges, according to a recent article by USA Today, many airlines are investing healthy sums of money in order to spruce up their lounges to start wooing back once-loyal customers.
Some of the perks being mentioned? Lufthansa is offering lounge members traveling through their Frankfurt hub a full service spa where massages and facials ease the pain of an excessively long layover. Same goes for the Virgin lounge in JFK airport where 15-minute massages are complimentary and pedicures can be enjoyed for a modest $20-$40 upgrade.
Delta's Sky Clubs lounges have recently added upgraded "Luxury Bars" where top-shelf cocktails are now available, and the same Virgin lounge in JFK now offers full-service menus and appetizers for hungry travelers killing time between flights.
Also noted in the USA Today article: although airline lounges have historically been the private realm of first-class seat holders and loyal frequent fliers, many airlines are now offering $50 day passes to general coach citizens as a way of raising ancillary income.
So am I going to pop the $50 for a layover in the lounge? Probably not, but it's comforting to know that it's there. Besides, in the types of places I travel, such as Kalibo, Philippines, the airport offers $2 massages to the general public while you wait at your gate.
When JFK gets that service going you can count me in for sure.
[Image: kalleboo via Flickr]
lounges eating lobster tail and getting foot massages.Well, I don't – far from it.
The reality is closer to trying to find a spare outlet to charge my chronically low computer battery and simultaneously napping in the fetal position on the airport floor while traveling on the most budget friendly (read: logistically absurd) route.
This, however, does not need to be the reality for all travelers. For those with access privileges to global airport lounges, according to a recent article by USA Today, many airlines are investing healthy sums of money in order to spruce up their lounges to start wooing back once-loyal customers.
Some of the perks being mentioned? Lufthansa is offering lounge members traveling through their Frankfurt hub a full service spa where massages and facials ease the pain of an excessively long layover. Same goes for the Virgin lounge in JFK airport where 15-minute massages are complimentary and pedicures can be enjoyed for a modest $20-$40 upgrade.
Delta's Sky Clubs lounges have recently added upgraded "Luxury Bars" where top-shelf cocktails are now available, and the same Virgin lounge in JFK now offers full-service menus and appetizers for hungry travelers killing time between flights.
Also noted in the USA Today article: although airline lounges have historically been the private realm of first-class seat holders and loyal frequent fliers, many airlines are now offering $50 day passes to general coach citizens as a way of raising ancillary income.
So am I going to pop the $50 for a layover in the lounge? Probably not, but it's comforting to know that it's there. Besides, in the types of places I travel, such as Kalibo, Philippines, the airport offers $2 massages to the general public while you wait at your gate.
When JFK gets that service going you can count me in for sure.
[Image: kalleboo via Flickr]
