Airline lounges business lounge at
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, Finland Airlines operate airline lounges as a service to premium passengers, usually passengers flying
first class and
business class, with high level
frequent flyer status, and premium travel credit card memberships. Most major carriers have one or more lounges in their
hubs and focus cities as well as in the major airports they serve. The major US airlines—
American (
Admirals Club),
Delta (
Delta Sky Club), and
United (
United Club)—operate dozens of lounges, while smaller airlines like
Alaska Airlines (Alaska Lounge) tend to only operate a handful of lounges in their hub and focus cities. Airlines outside of Australia and North America generally do not sell lounge memberships, and instead reserve lounge access exclusively for very frequent flyers and passengers in premium cabins. However, a passenger who has a lounge membership in an airline in one of the three major
airline alliances (
Oneworld,
SkyTeam, or
Star Alliance) may have access to the lounges of the other members of that alliance. For example,
Qantas Club membership provides access to the Admirals Club lounges due to a reciprocal arrangement with American Airlines; similarly, a member of the United Club or other Star Alliance members can access lounges of
Air Canada and
Air New Zealand. It is, however, not uncommon for non-alliance members to agree individually to allow usage of each other's lounges. For example, although Alaska Airlines operates just nine Alaska Lounges, its members have access to American Airlines
Admirals Club (and vice versa). While Alaska Airlines is now part of the Oneworld alliance, this arrangement predated their membership. Several
credit card companies offer their own branded lounges accessible to certain cardholders.
American Express operates
Centurion Lounges in the United States as well as
HKG.
JPMorgan Chase and
Capital One have announced plans to open their own lounges for cardholders.
Pay-per-use lounges Private companies, such as Airport Dimensions by Collinson Group, Aspire Lounges by
Swissport, Plaza Premium Lounge, and Global Lounge Network, also operate generic
pay-per-use lounges. In Australia, Canada, and the United States, a common method to gain access is by purchasing an annual or a lifetime membership, while in Asia and Europe this is usually impossible. Membership fees are sometimes discounted for elite members of an airline's
frequent flyer program and may often be paid using miles. Certain high-end credit cards associated with an airline or lounge network, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Delta Reserve, and United MileagePlus Club credit cards, include membership to Priority Pass and associated lounge access for as long as one owns the card. Lounge access can also be attained with an airline status card, which is common in Europe. The top frequent-flyer levels often offer access to any of an airline's lounges or partner airlines' lounges, when traveling in any class of travel on any of the partner airlines (usually it is required for the cardholder to be booked on one of the carrier's flights within the next 24 hours). Most airlines also usually offer free lounge access to anyone in their premium cabins (
first class or
business class) on their days of travel; in North America this is usually only available to passengers on intercontinental or transcontinental flights. Pay-per-use lounges can be accessed by anyone, irrespective of airline or flight class. Some offer further benefits when booking directly with them rather than through a reseller. Independent programs, such as Collinson's
Priority Pass, offer access to selected airline lounges for an annual fee, while Go Simply, Holiday Extras, LoungePass, and some offerings by independent and airline lounge programs offer pay per use and/or prebookable access without need for membership. Premium credit and charge cards may also offer lounge programs for members. Some banks, like
ABN Amro and
HSBC, offer lounge access for premium clients.
American Express also offers access to lounges belonging to
Priority Pass and is expanding its own line of lounges. Airport lounges can be pre-booked through a
travel provider, along with additional ancillary
travel services such as
airport parking,
hotel bookings, and fast-track security passes, to ensure a comfortable
travel experience from start to finish. == Amenities ==