How Airport Lounges Profoundly Impact Productivity

If you’ve ever sat by the gate awaiting your flight, wishing your portable charger hadn’t run out of juice, balancing your PC on your lap trying to work, absentmindedly leaning back and then forward in rapid succession like you’re doing mini-ab crunches as people are squeezing past, you really need to explore the option of the airport lounge.

The great business management thought leader Peter Drucker once said, “Until we can manage time, we can manage nothing else.” A recent Forbes magazine article stated that business travelers can lose an average of seven hours due to stressors such as lost luggage, poor internet connectivity and flight delays. The good news is, the airport lounge can help you manage time and mitigate some of those stressors. Need consistent internet? Check. Need a comfy, semi-secluded place to rest during a flight delay? Need personal help tracing wayward baggage? Check and check.

Here are a few ways the airport lounge can boost your productivity:

Charge it up: Outlets are plentiful in domestic airport lounges, so charge your chargers and your electronics. Domestic lounges often have charging banks just for mobile phones, so take advantage. (Overseas lounges are not as reliable for outlets, so factor that in.)

Refresh, rinse, repeat: If you have an early morning flight and you just want to get out the door and reach the airport quickly, consider showering at the airport lounge (but verify online that the airport lounge you’re using has one first).

Wait-free java: Unlike the Starbucks counter, access to the airport lounge automatic coffee machine is unfettered. (We can’t, however, promise the same for baristas in the lounge during early morning flights, but they will still be faster than Starbucks). The same is true for the automatic adult beverage machines, which are self-serve style.

Fuel the tank: Every airport lounge has varied offerings, from cookies to fresh fruit to warm food, but the food is free and it’s often preferable to whatever you might be subjected to on your flight (the exception being the chili dogs offered to celebrate a baseball game at one lounge, which had guests questioning the wisdom of it.) For extremely delayed flights, this can make a world of difference.

Reduce boarding anxiety: If your flight is delayed, the less busy lounges will make an announcement when your flight is actually boarding, so you’re not wasting precious work time lurking at the gate, peering over shoulders to see the update screens.

Workstation wishes granted: There’s nothing like being able to spread out and do your work at an actual work station. If you didn’t bring your laptop, desktop PCs are often provided, just like any public library. You will also have access to a printer. For supreme quiet, or meetings, there are conference rooms available to lounge guests as well.

For more information about your airport lounge access eligibility and their specific amenities, please contact our Amtrav experts at 1.800.795.8371.

By: Denise D.