Airport Lounges in India 

•  So, what are these Airport lounges actually?

An airport lounge is a hospitality facility operated at many major airports in India. Airport lounges in India offer, for selected passengers, comforts beyond those afforded in the airport terminal itself, such as more comfortable seating, quieter environments, and often better access to customer service representatives.

• What do they offer?

They offer services like Snacks, Hot Food & beverages, Lounge Bar, Free Internet Stations / High speed WIFI, Recharging stations for laptops, mobiles & iPads at every seating point, TV and Music entertainment, Newspapers/magazines, Flight Information and Announcement, Business center facility (Printer/Copier/Workstation/Meeting facility), and Nap-room in some lounges too. Most of the Credit card companies and banks run various offers and discounts to avail these services.

 

• Airport lounges can be very useful, when your flight got delayed or cancelled, so you will have to wait for few hours or so and at airport lobbies are full of people and noise & disturbance. these lounges can be better and more comfortable option at that time.

• Who own & who run these lounges?

These lounges are owned in majority by Airline companies, some by Airports and a very few by Credit card companies throughout the world. In India, the story is almost same, Majority is owned by Lounge operators like Airlines companies, Foreign operators and Airports too. they operate along with the companies whose they provide services in lounges. They have a long running contract with Clubs, Bars, Restaurant chains, etc.

 

Plaza Premium Lounge, A lounge operator company

   

  Below are some of the Lounges in India:-

• Travel Club Lounge by TFS, Domestic Departures Mumbai Terminal 2:- There is a visually stunning lounge at Mumbai airport that offers ample seating space and some amazing overhead and plug points. They have a live kitchen that has snacks, sandwiches, salads, fruits, scrumptious meals, and much more on offer.

• American Express Lounge, Domestic Departures, Delhi Terminal 3:- The lounge has to seat for approximately 20 people. They had a large couch around the lounge, which they knocked off, and most seats are now for 2-3 people each. the lounge also has some fabulous views of the tarmac. They offer snacks, juices, drinks and also have a Bar as you can see in picture below.

• Plaza Premium Lounge, International Departures, Hyderabad:- This lounge is open 24*7, and have an amazing side view. there is a separate VIP room or indulge in a relaxing spa session. You can have variety of menu including Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic beverages.

• Vistara Lounge, Delhi International Airport Terminal 3:- This lounge has excellent ambiance and they offer delicious buffet and live food counters, and Wi-Fi services. they also offer private rooms where you can unwind.  Here you can relish multi-cuisine food along with some amazing alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. This lounge has individual workstations, a reading room, and a VIP room. Only Business Class passengers and Club Vistara Gold passengers can access this lounge but you can get access with a Day Pass too!

• Above Ground Level, International Departures, Bengaluru:- This lounge has a comfortable seating area with attractive and swanky interiors. They offer a variety of cuisines and you can choose from a huge spread. They also have a fully furnished Business Center. You’ll need your credit card to gain access to this lounge. 

• We have seen what they offer, now we will see what charges they ask for these services:-

For basic services like Snacks, Hot Food & beverages, Lounge Bar, Free Internet Stations / High speed WIFI, Recharging stations for laptops, mobiles & iPads at every seating point, TV and Music entertainment, Newspapers/magazines, Flight Information and Announcement, 

Business center facility (Printer/Copier/Workstation/Meeting facility) they charge a fixed fee that is different for different lounge and airports. That fee varies from 800 to over 2000 rupees.

Some credit card companies offer free Lounge access to users, but those are not general credit card, those are mostly Premium or Super premium card. You just have to give a one time basic fee of around 5000-10000 rupees to access free in lounges. The company who majorly offer free access credit are HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, YES Bank, CITI Bank, KOTAK MAHINDRA Bank.

For additional facilities like Spa, Bar(additional pay), and Nap-room, you will need to pay an additional amount. Consumers may avail of certain specified therapies such as head, neck and shoulder massage, and foot reflexology, at select airports.

These all services can easily be accessed by the Airport lounge aggregators platform. One of the Biggest aggregator in India is Dreamfolks.

• Airport Lounge Aggregator:- 

It facilitates consumers' access to the airport-related services like lounges, food and beverages, spa, meet and assist airport transfer, transit hotels or nap room access, and baggage transfer services.

Dreamfolks is an airport lounge service aggregator, DreamFolks is India's largest airport service aggregator platform facilitating an enhanced airport experience to passengers leveraging a technology driven platform. To avail DreamFolks services, you can connect with your card issuing bank or your membership service provider.

A user can avail DreamFolks services through Bank debit or credit card, or through the membership service provider. They facilitate Consumers with access to all 54 operational lounges in India and various lounges across select airports outside India.

To know more about Lounge aggregator Dreamfolks, read this report by Frost & Sullivan:- https://www.dreamfolks.in/img/doc/industry-report-frost-sullivan.pdf