Airport lounges in the United States were previously reserved for either business travelers with the highest levels of frequent flyer status or those flying on transoceanic business class tickets. Sure, other passengers could pay for a membership but unless your company was paying or you were independently wealthy, it wasn’t worth it for a few visits a year.
The business model has changed over the past few years and access to airport lounges can be earned as frequently as a frequent flyer, just by having a certain credit card. In fact, there’ve been a number of contract lounges that offer access to passengers on an airline without a lounge at an airport. These locations will also partner with programs like Priority Pass, which then sell lounge access to banks to offer as a perk of holding a luxury credit card.
For many lounges outside of the United States, airport lounge access is something you purchase instead of it being a perk from an external source. If you want to sit in a lounge to wait for your flight, it’ll cost £25 for three hours of access, which you can reserve in advance.
While this isn’t what we expect in the US, there’s one lounge that’s now taking this approach.
The Star Alliance Lounge at LAX is selling day passes.
Located in the Tom Bradley International Terminal, also known as TBIT or Terminal B, the Star Alliance Lounge is located on the 6th floor overlooking the terminal’s main thoroughfare.
In 2014, we visited this lounge when we were flying in Business Class on Virgin Australia from LAX-SYD. As we weren’t writing YMMV back then, we have no pictures. I do remember checking out the outdoor deck and the indoor terrace that overlooked the terminal.
There are many passengers who have access to the Star Alliance lounge.
- International First Class Passengers
- International Business Class Passengers
- Star Alliance Gold Customers traveling in any class of travel
Passengers flying on domestic first or business class with United Airlines who don’t have access to United Club lounges also don’t have access to the Star Alliance lounge.
There’s a weird divergence where if you’re a Star Alliance Gold member with any other airline, you have access to a lounge but if you’re a United flyer with equivalent status, it doesn’t count.
But now, if you really want to access the Star Alliance Lounge at LAX, you can purchase a 3-hour pass for $70.
Pricing is supposedly on a dynamic model but I wasn’t able to find a different price regardless of the time or date.
Whether you feel that 3 hours in the Star Alliance Lounge is worth $70 is a YMMV situation. Depending on circumstances, I might find that having a comfortable seat in a lounge on an outdoor deck while sipping sparkling wine and snacking on crudités is worth it before a long flight. OTOH, I could grab a snack in the terminal and find a seat with a charger without paying $70.
I’m just saying that the opportunity is there if you want to take advantage of it. If we’re willing to pay $49 for a few hours at an AAdmirals Club in Austin, is it that much of a stretch to pay $70 for the time in the LAX Star Alliance Lounge?
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Cover Photo: Star Alliance Lounge website
