Priority Pass pre-booking now allowed at Stansted, Manchester, Bristol and East Midlands

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• MT says:

  15 Oct15 October 09:00

  While would much prefer not to have the fee, I equally don’t hold the lounges responsible. They are simply doing what everyone else does and that’s react to supply and demand. The amount they can make from filling the lounges with people booking and walking up to pay their full fee combined with what a carrier will pay is per head considerably more than what PP will offer. This maybe in response to PP receiving lots of complaints (probably via Amex) about never being able to enter a lounge by walk-up, thus making the PP card useless in these airports.

  This at least means if booking a flight in a reasonable time in advance with a LCC you can now ensure lounge access. While yes I would love it to be free, in the real world that isn’t going to happen while demand is so high and supply low, thus I welcome the option to pay and know I have access. Much easier than wondering on the day, will I get access or wont I.

  • Peter K says:

    15 Oct15 October 13:08

    I agree with this.

• Diydegsy says:

  15 Oct15 October 09:05

  I must be lucky as I have always been able to get into T1 lounges so there isn’t always a permanent sign up saying no to pp holders.

• Peter K says:

  15 Oct15 October 09:11

  I seem to be an outlier here. As an infrequent flyer, I find this a good thing. Last time I flew from MAN I paid cash in advance for lounge access, rather than be turned away at the door with PP. This would end up a discount for me for guaranteed lounge access.

  Those saying that it’s an increase in fee to use a lounge card, true, but access at a fee is surely better than no access at no fee. Your PP is basically just a windscreen scraper in the latter scenario, whereas has a use in the former.

  • Ken says:

    15 Oct15 October 09:19

    I agree.

    In addition I’d pay £21 to try the 1903, but wouldn’t pay £50 to try it.

    For people paying directly for PP however, you can see how it must be annoying.

    • Harry T says:

      15 Oct15 October 09:49

      If you have a priority pass from your credit card, you’re still paying for it.

      • Ken says:

        15 Oct15 October 09:53

        Hence the word directly…

        • Harry T says:

          15 Oct15 October 10:05

          I know but it doesn’t really make any practical difference. If you’re paying for it with Amex platinum, you’re paying £650 a year soon and the priority pass doesn’t necessarily get you into a lounge without an extra tariff.

      • Ken says:

        15 Oct15 October 10:36

        It makes a practical difference if you can’t get access.
        I’d never pay for PP and have only had Platinum once – and even before getting it knew the lounge access had little value to me personally.

        If you are in the first year of gold then the passes really are free. At least now flyers from Manchester have a chance of using them.

• Wenby says:

  15 Oct15 October 09:48

  Tried MAN T2 Escape with PP about 6 months ago. It was a Thursday, middle of the day. Signs up we could see from the small queue of people to say they wouldn’t be accepting PP and credit card passes etc as they are full. Got to the desk, the agent wasn’t sure they could let us in and then their colleague said something like – “just these ones but don’t let anymore more in”. We stayed in the lounge for a few hours and it was never more than half full.

  • Bill says:

    15 Oct15 October 10:01

    I’ve had similar experiences in T1.

    I normally inform them (truthfully) that I’m only planning to stay less than an hour and at that point they grant access to a less than half full lounge.

    I loathe Manchester Airport and do my best to avoid it.

• ankomonkey says:

  15 Oct15 October 10:08

  I despise groups like MAG trying to extort further money for mediocre lounges in addition to what they already receive for entrance. I refuse to pay No1 to pre-book and again to enter their crumby lounges. I will do the same for MAG lounges. I may be a tight-wad, but I don’t like being totally ripped off.

• SteveChease says:

  15 Oct15 October 10:35

  Have you not been able to reserve for a while? At Stansted at least

  Or was that just for anything other than priority pass?

• yorkieflyer says:

  15 Oct15 October 10:43

  Uk third party lounges are invariably a poor experience, low quality food and drink with extra charges for anything more palatable to eat or drink. The appearance and behaviour of the majority of customers having bought their access via such as On The Beach just complete ghastly experience

  • m says:

    15 Oct15 October 12:16

    Absolutely, this! The other day, I was at Stansted and couldn’t help but notice how poor the food was. In comparison, when I was returning from Malaga, the lounge was significantly nicer. It offered quality wine and some small tapas dishes that were actually real food, not poison.

• Gav says:

  15 Oct15 October 10:56

  You can also pay £6 to pre book at Bristol. I think MAG took over the lounges there as they have been rebranded as escape etc.
  It was impossible to get in the old aspire lounge with pp most days so this is welcome

  • Rob says:

    15 Oct15 October 13:50

    Thanks

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