[Anonymous]

[MartynSinclair]

At Heathrow I am always late because I forget to check the boards, but the lounges are in the main peaceful and tranquil, just the way it should be.

Currently in JFK where the announcements and pax requests seem to be non stop. Certainly wont miss a flight, but could do with some peace and quiet.

For once children and ill tempetred business people are not the cause.

On refelction, I do prefer lounges of the silent nature.

[BeckyBoop]

Defo silence. But you do have a point about running late for a flight, there is always one…lol. Some airlines (i think qatar) have people going round and personally telling pax. It would be nice if airlines can setup a free text service instead of calling the flight publically. xx

[MartynSinclair]

The use of technology is a very good point. Text messaging is offered by BAA (departing flights free, inbound charged). I guess though that it would take a lot of posturing, before BAA could deliver direct to BA pax’s.

More of an education though telling pax to check their texts for gate/departure notices.

Makes perfect sense, but when ever did perfect sense become part of travelling!

(I will be pleased to board for some Q time, the announcements for missing passengers are coming through like the saturday football results off the teleprinmter ! u r too young to rememeber that BB).

[Gin&Tonic]

Manchester (Man) has to have the most annoying in lounges with no announcements. The airport departure boards run to the scheduled departure time. So often it shows flight boarding so when you finally get to the gate guess what the inbound plane hasn’t even arrived, or the flight hasn’t started boarding. Really annoying!

[JohnnyEnglish]

Silence without a doubt. Anybody been to Istanbul TK lounge? Announcements are both incessant and unintelligible, except the sterile ‘Have a nice flight’ at the end of each sentence. This turns a moderately respectable lounge into a particularly poor and stressful experience.

(Though I haven’t been to the lounge since they revamped it – am boycotting TK as far as is possible after they refused *G entry to alternate lounges while construction was ongoing).

[IanFromHKG]

My worst experience was at a lounge in Mumbai where the boarding calls were incessant. I remember remarking to my colleague that there was no way anyone would have any excuse for missing a particular flight to Chennai, it was called so many times. The infuriating part was that the one flight they didn’t call was mine. I just assumed it was late and that was why it hadn’t been announced. I missed it…

That and the resultant pain of having to work my way backwards through the terminal, not just from airside to landside but all the way OUTSIDE the building (because that is where the ticketing office customer queues are) and reissue my ticket for a later flight, caused quite the filthiest temper I have had in some time.

So my main request would be for consistency – call ALL the flights, or call none at all. As to which – well, I think that depends on the size of the lounge. Calling all flights in LHR T5 would be dreadful, calling all flights in a small lounge – particularly if it doesn’t have easily viewable screens – is good.

[LPPSKrisflyer]

SIA lounges in SIN are silent and for years they have used text messages at least for PPS members to advise them of all developments right up to gate open and final call if you opt in to the service.

At outstations there tend to be last call announcements which are fair enough as the lounge should be clearing of all SIA passengers at that time and occasional announcements of ‘new departure times’ because of course SIA never have any delays just as the boards at SIN have ‘new time’ on them rather than delay.

I prefer silent lounges and for that matter silent airports.

[Irons80]

If you download your boarding pass to the BA app on a smartphone, I’ve noticed that certainly whilst you are in LHR (not sure about elsewhere) it updates itself with the gate, boarding and departure times (but I cannot say you should 100% rely on this!)

[LuganoPirate]

If I nod off in the lounge, I want silence. However if I don’t see, as a result of sleeping, the plane is boarding, then I’m grateful for the announcements!!!

[NTarrant]

If there are plenty of screens and they are easy to see then silence is fine. I would prefer to have the flight called. The going around by a member of staff happens at the lounge used by BA and LH at Abu Dhabi and there are no screens.

[RichardB]

I prefer silence and when flying lufthansa they send me text messages about delays and gate changes automatically. Often at BHX the gate change text message shows the gate before the gate is posted on the main displays, then I can wait in one of the wings of the terminal and not in the central area where the airport operators would prefer you to wait (next to the shops).

On a similar topic I’ve noticed how the “boarding” status at places like T3 LHR doesn’t really mean the plane is boarding. More that they want you to hurry up to the gate. Once I asked why (AY LHR-HEL) the display had shown boarding for over 5 mins when nobody was getting on yet. Answer was “the plane is full so it will take a while for so many people to get to the gate”. End result – I arrive based on gate closing time on the boarding pass, not made up reasons that don’t reflect what is actually happening.

[BeckyBoop]

Then again it depends on how many flights the airline runs each day If it is only a handful or less then calling it is fine. x

Richard you have a point about LHR boarding status being inaccurate i cant think the amount of times flights have gone from straight to last call before showing or giving you the gate no, makes me want to scream!!! Xx

[LuganoPirate]

That always annoys me as well. Sitting in the lounge, drink and snacks to hand, the “boarding now” flashes up so hastily finish drink and off to gate to find a long queue waiting to board. Aaarrgghhh!!!

[TerryMcManus24]

Silence Krup.
Last Eti flight I took from Bangkok back to the Smoke was at the unearthly time of 2-30am but about 30 minutes before departure the Thai Lounge staff ( Royal O Club) gently woke up all of our sleeping travellers …with a “quiet smile.”

Wife had also crashed out but true to form I was still enjoying my 3rd or was it 4th G&T….and surfing on the free wi fi……has to be done

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