A German man has been ordered to pay Lufthansa €1980 – the equivalent of A$2,875 – for repeatedly visiting Lufthansa's business lounge in Munich without actually flying anywhere.
The un-named lounge lizard bought a flexible business class ticket for €745 (A$1,000) to fly with Lufthansa from Munich to Zurich, but never took the one hour journey.
Instead, he'd just check in at Munich Airport and then settle into Lufthansa's business lounge to eat and drink his fill.
As boarding time approached he'd cancel his flight – without penalty, this being a fully flexible ticket – and rebook for another day. When that day arrived he'd repeat the process all over again.
Lufthansa says he made 36 non-flying visits to the lounge over the course of a year, at which point his ticket expired – but when he tried to buy his next ticket, the airline refused the sale and handed him a bill for the 36 visits priced at €55 per time.
After the frequent lounger refused to pay the issue ended up in court, where the judge sided with Lufthansa.
The airline's argument was that flexible airfares are meant for people who actually intend to fly, which was clearly not the case with this regular visitor to the lounge.
We've not visited Lufthansa's Munich business lounge once, let along 36 times, but we doubt it's worth almost $3,000 for the buffet, bar and currywurst.
A similar scenario played out in China last year, when a China Eastern traveller customer parlayed his first class ticket into over 300 visits to the airline's lounge in the northwest provincial capital of Xi’an – and then cancelled his ticket for a refund when its 12 month validity was about to expire.
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David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
NZ Elite
03 Jul 2014
Total posts 110
Given his thousand dollar ticket expired, he'd already paid about $28 per visit. I'm not sure even that is worth it.
02 Jan 2013
Total posts 140
Legend!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum
07 Feb 2013
Total posts 548
What a loser going to all that effort for a bit of food, like people that go turning up 4 hours early for a flight just because of lounge access
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2199
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
As someone who turned up some six hours early for a flight yesterday, spending some four hours in the SYD T1 QF J lounge, I choose to reject your point of view. (I should point out my early arrival was because my father was flying the same day but several hours earlier, though he did get a good hour or so in the SYD T1 SQ F lounge. The hours in the lounge were just a plus, but a very big plus. A bit like a Luftwaffe cross.)
You are, of course, more than welcome to show up five minutes before the flight closes. I find panicked people sprinting in airports to be good entertainment.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Apr 2013
Total posts 11
Mr Watson if you have access to the first lounge, I'm sure the plane won't leave without you receiving a phone call to confirm how long it will be before you board. Even if you were to walk as slow as a turtle, I'm sure they would wait for a high valued status customer. Back in the old days TAA would even move someone off the plane to give you a seat.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2199
Generally speaking people sprinting to around airports in a panic, weighed down by excessive luggage, are not passengers who would have airlines bumping other passengers for them.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum
07 Feb 2013
Total posts 548
Not sure what your point is? My complaint was at people that turn up 4-6 hours early purely to sit in a lounge and free load not in a circumstance such as yourself. However it seems you are on a hair trigger and a little sensitive today! Not really sure what the point at all of your post is to be honest?
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2199
I object to lounge lizards being referred to as losers, and because this is the internet I obviously need to take great offence and launch into a tirade.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 May 2012
Total posts 76
Tell us what you really think Josh.
I would be happy to spend 4 hours in the QF F or TG F lounges and many others.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum
07 Feb 2013
Total posts 548
When it is still a novelty to you I'm sure 4 hours in the lounge is nothing, for more seasoned and busier travellers things are different
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
28 May 2012
Total posts 76
Its not about being a novelty Josh, its about getting work done if you have checked out of a hotel early or relaxing with a massage, having A dinner meeting and drinks before a long flight. The list goes on.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
20 Sep 2013
Total posts 462
Six hours in a lounge says you are not only nuts,but a genuine free loader.What type of pain did your party put QF lounge staff thu.Shame.. i am most disappointed in you.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
17 Aug 2012
Total posts 2199
You can call me nuts, but don't you dare call me a freeloader.
Sorry Robert, not buying today.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Apr 2013
Total posts 11
I agree with Robert
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum
07 Feb 2013
Total posts 548
Me too, most of the time he is correct in statements too, its just most of the sensitive stiffies on here seem to gang up on the poor guy
Qantas Platinum
04 Dec 2012
Total posts 48
Time is not important. How you behave is. You can spend 4 hours in a lounge. Eat/drink moderate and get a lot of work done. You can also be there for two hours and have 6 whiskeys and start harrassing personnel (I've seen it happen). Who are all these people judging and playing arrogant Mr Frequent Traveller?
VA
17 Dec 2013
Total posts 47
Well, I guess if I was unemployed or had nothing better to do with my day, it may be preferable to hanging out at the library. Barely
But still, it's a tiny bit mental.
Try employment as a day filler
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer Platinum
07 Feb 2013
Total posts 548
Well said
QF Platinum
24 Jan 2013
Total posts 138
I share the sentiment that going to a lounge 4-6 hrs before a flight (in particular a domestic one!) is drastically over the top, but if I'm flying international in F class I don't see the silliness in wanting to spend up to a couple hours in their signature lounges (esp CX Wing in HK, QF First lounge in Syd/Melb, SQ The Private Room in Singapore) and indulge in the spas, cabanas, a la carte/tasting menus and drinks. I wouldn't really call it "free loading" given that I would've spent in excess of $7000 on my fare...
These folks that scam lounge access are just plain shrewd...
24 Apr 2014
Total posts 269
There is nothing wrong with turning up 4 hours early
It's all part of the journey
Some people don't fly often and lounge access is part of the adventure
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
25 Jan 2013
Total posts 240
I don't see anything wrong with arriving early to visit the lounge. I'm often early to the airport or am in the situation where I've done everything I want to and it is the best option or place to kill time.
Still, it is not that fantastic of an experience that I'd want to do what this bloke did and it's still pretty loopy.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
13 Apr 2014
Total posts 3
Gee, I would have thought $28 is pretty easy to consume worth of Wine and Spirts here, let alone in Germany. Clearly some of you are vegans or teetotallers or on a diet, or like sitting outside in airports. Try that for four hours some day and reframe.
Who cares whether people arrive early or late. If you ( like me) had time to respond to this drivel, we all really DO have too much time on our hands.
04 Dec 2013
Total posts 156
At German prices (even airport prices), $28 would be enough to get you well and truly hammered. Booze costs a fraction of what it does in Oz.
Lufthansa lounges generally are nothing special. Although I delayed a flight out of Munich one time after I got to the airport, since I figured an hour in the Senator lounge was a better option than spending that hour waiting for the train at the other end...
04 Jul 2014
Total posts 1
To domesticgoddess: The name of the business game is PROFIT, PROFIT and once again PROFIT. It is never worth it to do what this dumb ass stupid guy did
06 Jul 2012
Total posts 13
Friends. You have not lived until you've spent nearly 4 hours in a self-service regional QC. Currently living the dream.
(had a similar situation been on the competitor, they would've put me on an earlier flight rather than leave me to my own devices....)
QF
04 Jul 2014
Total posts 1
12 hours in the Concorde lounge at LHR was rather enjoyable.....
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Jul 2013
Total posts 203
Argh!! I could think of nothing worse! I spend enough time in airports and airline lounges as it is! I like to keep my time in either down to the bare minimum - despite having access to the OW, EK and SQ First Lounges - I see no benefit in being there any longer than it takes to enjoy a glass of champagne, download any last minute emails and documents, grab a little snack or have a quick shower (if I'm connecting between long haul sectors). There are some lovely lounges out there, but no matter how fabulous they may be there's still little on offer to warrant a visit of any great length.
08 Oct 2011
Total posts 49
I see nothing wrong in turning up a few hours early just because of the attraction of a lounge. Why would that make me a loser? And I am not a freeloader either, considering that a business class ticket cost 3 times that of economy and first class cost about 8 to 10 times of economy. Freeloader would be more appropriate for folks who abused their flexible ticket to visit lounges but never intended to fly and get refund just before their ticket expire.
It all depends on the offering of the lounge, of course. Not all are of the same standard. There are some very basic ones which would not be worth my time but there are also some who offer complimentary massage which required early booking as they are very popular.
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