When is an airport lounge not an airport lounge? When it’s an “exclusive waiting area”.
That’s what Air Berlin has at Munich Airport’s Terminal 1, and that’s where I am writing this.
its a pleasant enough place with big glass windows overlooking not the airport, but the road running past it, and some deciduous trees that are currently in winter mode.
it is fenced off, but visible from, the rest of the terminal area, so there is a sense of being in a human zoo.
Access is by swiping your Air Berlin or other qualifying frequent-flyer card. my Ethihad Gold card worked very well.
There is plenty of reading material, mostly newspapers in German but also Englis-language copies of Time magazine. The internet is good — although it has dropped out on me a couple of times — and free, but so it is for everyone using the terminal.
Apart from a separate, more comfortable space, it also has a coffee machine that serves up free brews, some fancy teas, and a soda fountain for Coca-Cola products. no food, no alcohol — at least not while I’ve been here.
It’s basic but I guess it does the trick for those who want a space of their own and to feel a bit special. We all deserve that occasionally.
