Airport lounges, here's how to make travel less stressful 

Airports, you know, are a place where you find a world varied. Travelers, tourists, business travelers and many other passengers drag their trolleys between a coffee shop and a tax free shop.

Gates are often crowded and, let's face it, most of the time full and with people staunchly defending the seat as close to the entrance as possible, children running wild, and people watching videos or playing with the smartphone With the volume cranked up.

 Is there any way to prevent your waiting from turning into a nightmare? Is there a place where you can relax That hour or so of waiting between layovers, sipping a refreshing orange juice?

There is only one answer: Airport Lounges

What are lounges?

Lounge rooms are located within the airports, after security checks, and are the "VIP" alternatives to the waiting rooms at the various gates scattered around the airport.

Designed by the airline American Airlines in 1939, the first ever was established in New York City airport. The lounges are real lounges which offer guests a range of services in a "comfort zone" designed to spend their time at the airport in the most convenient possible.

I services offered are varied, basically we always find a refreshment area, both for food and drinks, WiFi is always guaranteed and free of charge, there are also TVs and international newspapers. The staff is always available to satisfy even the most demanding with cordiality and professionalism.

Thanks to the lounges, you can get away from the busy and chaotic Gates and make your flight wait less exhausting.

The types of lounges

There are two types of lounges at airports:

Airline lounges

They are accessible to customers who have purchased a ticket from that company in business o first class Or who have a status that includes access as a benefit.

The lounges are generally reserved for passengers of the airline in question and the relevant alliance, and you cannot gain access unless you hold the relevant airline ticket, although, some airlines, are beginning to offer "pay-per-use" services or at off-peak times may also give access to industry membership holders.

Private Company Lounges

These lounges are not owned by any airline; rather, they are funded by private companies that offer "pay-per-use" services, i.e., the ability to access them by paying the relevant fee. It happens, for example, that companies rely on these lounges at airports where they operate a few flights a day, so it is possible to access them as if it were an "official" Alitalia or Lufthansa lounge. For example below the Genoa lounge which, being the only one in the airport, is active in both modes.

These lounges offer hourly, daily, service-based rates, or, if present at various airports, the option of purchasing a "membership" card that allows access in all lounges of that specific company for a specified number of times per year or unlimited depending on the package chosen.

How to access airport lounges

Let's dispel a myth right away: access to lounge clubs is not a thing confidential to the super rich or only to those who own tickets in business o first class.
Everyone, even us mere mortals, can access airport lounges, Let's see in detail how.

First and Business Class

As we mentioned earlier, the major airlines have their own personal Lounge room, to access it you only need to own a ticket First or Business class.

But not only that!

In fact, there are so-called "major alliances", that is, several airlines coming together in large groups and enter into agreements with each other. If you hold a ticket with one of the companies belonging to a large alliance, it is very likely that you can Access to a lounge of another alliance member company., convenient no?

Frequent Flyer

If travel a lot for work, or for passion, you can accumulate a threshold of miles such that you can apply for a "frequent flyer" card, with which you will have access to a range of countless of facilities, one of which of course is to be able to attend lounges at a variety of airports.

The cards can be used in the various alliance groups, if I'm traveling Alitalia and my status is "Winged Arrow Club," I'm in Dallas and I'm about to board an Air France or KLM flight I'll be able to access, say in a Delta lounge, because all these airlines are members of the group Skyteam.

Membership

As we mentioned earlier, there are lounges of private companies that provide their guests with all the comfort and the privileges Of a VIP zone. One of the most famous and widely used lounge services in the world is called the "Priority Pass" which boasts more than 1,300 lounges scattered throughout the airports of all over the world.

Credit Cards

Membership programs are also included in the annual fees of the most widely used credit cards on the market. For example, thanks to the American Express Platinum, In its €60 monthly fee, the membership fee for the Lounges offered by the service is included Priority Pass Prestige we talked about earlier, plus we have a additional entrance If you travel with 2!

Mastercard also provides the same service, you can in fact access the "Mastercard Airport Experiences" which allows you to use the services of "Lounge Key," a company similar to Priority Pass.

Finally Visa is not to be outdone, thanks to its agreement with "DragonPass," all those who own a Visa card can access the Visa Airport Companion program, with the relevant packages.

Day pass

If you are not a frequent airport goer, but when you travel you want to have all the comfort, or if you want, at least for once, to experience the thrill of enter a lounge room, you just have to buy a day pass at one of the facilities offering this service.

Many airlines, as well as private companies, also make their lounges available to travelers for a period limited to a few hours, upon payment of a ticket input.

To give a few examples, for the "Casa Alitalia" lounge at the airport in Fiumicino, you just need to book the ticket online at cost of 35€, otherwise you can buy it directly at the airport (with a 10€ surcharge). For private lounges, on the other hand, prices range from a minimum of 32€ to even over 50€ depending on the airport and services offered.

We have come to the end of our "journey" among the Airport lounges, a convenient service that allows travelers to enjoy VIP lounges with a range of fantastic amenities. Are you about to leave? here are all the lounges we reviewed

• Lounge
• Priority Pass