London City Airport is finally getting lounges

Business travellers and frequent flyers will welcome the news that London City will sport not just one but two lounges.

By David Flynn, July 21 2020
London City Airport is finally getting lounges

London City Airport plans to open two airport lounges, bringing an end of the oddity of this very business travel-oriented airport being uniquely loungeless.

As we noted in our review of British Airways flight BA1 from London City to New York, selected passengers are offered a complimentary meal at an airport cafe, but most time-pressed corporate travellers arrive well less than an hour before departure – in fact, for BA1 you can even check in for the flight as late as 15 minutes before departure.

Read more: What it's like to travel on British Airways' all-business class BA1 flight

London City's proximity to the capital makes it a popular choice for short-range business trips.
London City's proximity to the capital makes it a popular choice for short-range business trips.

However, not everyone likes to cut things so fine, while some use their lounge time to tackle last-minute work.

Additionally, London City Airport has been slowly but steadily repositioning itself to attracting more leisure travellers: a mix that's been hastened in these these strange coronavirus-impacted times, with the airport now attracting a 50/50 split between the business and leisure segments.

To help gear the airport towards the habits of leisure travellers, London City Airport CEO Robert Sinclair has revealed that the airport is now planning to open not one but two lounges, according to UK travel blog Head for Points.

There's no solid detail on who will run those lounges – will British Airways roll out a boutique version of its new-look 'light and airy' lounge design, or will both spaces be operated by specialists such as Plaza Premium and No1 Lounges?

Regardless of which brand appears on the shingles, business class passengers and frequent flyers alike will welcome the news that London City is finally getting its own lounges.

Also read: Berlin Brandenburg Airport lounges from Lufthansa, maybe Oneworld too?

David

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.

Joe
Joe

03 May 2013

Total posts 674

Alleluia to that! Departing and transiting that airport was always a zoo to say the least. Very welcome news.

31 Mar 2014

Total posts 395

Now the zoo will shift from the terminal to the lounge

Joe
Joe

03 May 2013

Total posts 674

In all fairness I should have mentioned that arrival into LCY is always sheer bliss; super fast, painless, efficient and literally only a 15 minute train ride to anywhere in central London.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

31 Jan 2016

Total posts 89

Joe, I agree with you, something must be wrong...COVID...!!!

LCY is a great airport which often flys under the radar. Bigger isn't always better which is very much proven with the super quick experience of getting through check-in and security.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

04 Mar 2014

Total posts 204

LCY is great for flying around Europe, so much easier than trekking to LHR or LGW.

While its busy, you can still turn up to the airport 30mins prior to departure!

JTG
JTG

Singapore Airlines - The PPS Club

11 Jul 2014

Total posts 50

I used to love the convenience of this airport. When I was living near Canary Wharf I once left home 70 minutes before my 8am flight, got to LCY and realised I didn't have my passport. Still managed to get a taxi home and back and make my flight. Another 'memorable' experience was taking 12 minutes from opening of the aircraft doors to being in my local pub with a beer in hand

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

24 Jan 2018

Total posts 733

12 minutes, why you lazy ..... but seriously, that's impressive (the Big Easy or Boisdale's?).

Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer

08 Jun 2018

Total posts 91

Probably overdue, but LCY has always been an absolute joy to fly from. Sadly it may be that the NY flights are a casualty of the current situation, they were under load pressure even before this kicked off. But for weekends away it was a delight to fly from. Selfishly I would hope for a BA lounge as one of the two, but some rare good news in the sector at the moment.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

09 Apr 2020

Total posts 2

Arrivals are great but departures are usually a nightmare, totally overcrowded in all areas, including the gates which are like cattle pens. The security check area is almost always total mayhem too. Unless the new lounges are large, I don't imagine that things will be a lot better. LCY is suffering from its own success, so convenient but too many passengers.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer - Chairmans Lounge

01 Sep 2011

Total posts 415

At long bloody last.

Amt
Amt

12 Nov 2018

Total posts 14

Might as well make the whole terminal a lounge if BA card holders are let in, at any given time they outnumber regular passengers. I would also assume the ticket prices, especially for business class will need to rise to cover the cost of running lounges. I would love to see some kind of business focused lounge space... office pods, meeting rooms, decent coffee and bar service. Spare us all the free for all, expense and mess of food service.

I anticipate many a tantrum and a lot of negative PR if they build a lounge and exclude or restrict people their god given frequent flyer access. A third party premium lounge option is probably the way to go.

QantasFF

16 Nov 2012

Total posts 59

Only once travelled from LCY, but it was wonderful to stay overnight at a Docklands hotel and travel for 5-10 minutes on the Docklands Railway to get there.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

12 Jan 2017

Total posts 23

Bliss,

A lounge may tempt the missus to not push the 15 minute security check limit each time we fly from there.

Should have never told her about that.

Used to be my preferred arrival airport before receiving UK citizenship. Rarely more than a couple of non-EU passport holders on a flight, so immigration queues were non existent as opposed to minimum 30 minutes at LHR, LGW, LTN or STN.

Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer

31 Jan 2016

Total posts 89

So, that's it. Most ET subscribers love LCY, now, if only we could shift _ _ _ closer to the city center and improve public transport we would all be happier, when we can fly.

You keep on deleting my post. Why suppress the truth? Anyway, for the third time...

You should try living near London City Airport – relentless aircraft noise, booming engines during take off – an environmental tragedy. During lock down, tens of thousands of residents have lived in a peaceful haven, as was the case prior to the arrival of large-scale Embraer aircraft post 2010 – these are the equivalent of an F1 sports car using a go kart track. Proposals for expansion continue with no regard to residents quality of life – PROFIT BEFORE PEOPLE.

Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards

24 Jan 2018

Total posts 733

Nigel ... mate ... bloody well move to Fitzrovia or Marylebone, but please, please, give it a rest, s'il te plait ?

sid
sid

07 Jan 2011

Total posts 53

Hi Nigel,

Your comment is not on topic regarding the lounges at London City airport, and therefore violates our comment policy here: https://www.executivetraveller.com/executive-traveller-comment-policy

It is not our intention to "suppress the truth," simply to keep this discussion on topic. Please feel free to open a new thread in our Community section (https://www.executivetraveller.com/community) and you can discuss this freely.

Thanks,

Sid

04 Dec 2013

Total posts 155

Given that a huge proportion of LCY passengers are regular business travellers who have status, it's hardly surprising there are no lounges or priority queues - they'd be overwhelmed. So it would make perfect sense if they're open only to members of a specialist operator (or pay-per-use) otherwise they'd be even more crowded than the terminal.

Some airlines might still give access - as a Senator or HON with Lufthansa you're given a voucher on check-in to spend. Maybe they'd (or at least the HON) would be given a lounge pass.

Thank you Sid and Boeing-Tragic

You're right Sid - thinking back to tragedies like Grenfell, we should have been talking about the great location close to London for those residents - consequences don't really matter

B-T, sadly, there are always people like you - but in the long run, it always works out for the best

29 Jul 2020

Total posts 1

Hopefully the airport will close completely, it would be incredibly surprising if two lounges actually open at all. The airport is superfluous when there is capacity at airports that disrupt fewer people than LCY.


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