New Belfast City Airport Aspire lounge images released

As we wrote in February, the Aspire lounge at Belfast City Airport is in the process of being refurbished and expanded to absorb the former British Airways lounge space next door. The whole project is a £1.2 million investment.

I was there the other week. The lounge has been partitioned to allow at least some of it to remain open whilst work on the other section continues. Once this is done, the process will swap and the final section of lounge will be refurbished.

EDIT 2024: Click here for our review of new Aspire lounge at Belfast City Airport, and a photo is below

CGI renders of the new lounge have finally been released (see above). According to the press release,

“The updated lounge will integrate a combination of tiled and curved slatted screens, comfortable seating designed with plush upholstery, and enclosed private booths to enhance privacy.

Drawing inspiration from the iconic Giant’s Causeway, the lounge will utilise feature LED lighting to evoke a strong sense of local identity while the use of warm colours will create a calm and relaxing atmosphere.”

Overall capacity is increasing by 70 seats to 178. It is due to open “this summer”. That probably means August / September, but we will let you know.

---

How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (September 2024)

Here are the four options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here. You can apply here.

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum instead.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Avios. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.