NEW: Plaza Premium launches a ‘Plaza Express’ lounge in Gatwick’s North Terminal

Plaza Premium, the airport lounge operator, has quietly launched a new lounge concept aimed at the budget end of the market.

Called Plaza Express, the first lounge has just opened in Gatwick’s North Terminal. It is a conversion of the old Virgin Holidays v-room lounge.

If you remember, the Plaza Premium lounge at Gatwick North (reviewed here) is a conversion of the former Virgin Clubhouse. The v-room lounge, which has been closed for several years now, is adjacent to this. The two lounges operated with shared facilities including a kitchen, so it makes sense that Plaza Premium would also acquire this space.

Measuring around 670 square metres, it is half the size of the adjacent Plaza Premium lounge which is 1,350sqm.

The description on the Plaza Premium website makes it clear that this is for the leisure market rather than ‘serious’ business travellers:

“Our vibrant lounge invites families and travellers to embrace the holiday spirit. Chill out on the beach chair and relax in our spacious holiday atmosphere, setting the vibe for a stylish kick-off to your travel escapade.”

And, indeed, the furniture is less luxury five-star hotel and more IKEA:

The lounge is particularly focussed on families with a dedicated kids area.

The food offering has been simplified with a ‘pizza corner’ and burger bar. Although not fancy, you can’t argue with two crowd pleasers and if they can do those two things well then it might be quite good. Hot dogs, salad bowls and nachos are also available, I’m told.

Free alcohol has been stripped back to just beer and house wine, rather than a selection of spirits. Canned cocktails are available at extra cost.

However, it is difficult to complain about the facilities when entry is as low as £18 per person for a 90-minute slot.

I’m told two packages are available:

• Package 1: £18 for 90 minutes access with beer
• Package 2: £25 for 2 hours access with beer & wine

This makes it one of, if not ‘the’, best-value lounges in the UK given that most now charge £35+. Plaza Premium next door is £45 for a two-hour slot so this is almost half the price.

For now, the Plaza Express lounge will NOT accept Priority Pass or other lounge membership schemes. If you have one of these you will be sent next door.

We do not think that American Express Platinum cards are accepted. In theory these get the cardholder plus two guests into any Plaza Premium-branded lounge. The lounge is not listed in the Amex Global Lounge Collection directory so I suspect Plaza Express is exempt.

The lounge is currently open from 5am until 4pm daily. The website says 7am but this is wrong – you can book from 5am.

Conclusion

Lounges at Gatwick have become very busy as lounge access has proliferated, both via membership cards such as Priority Pass and via perks to premium customers of tour operators such as On The Beach.

At the same time, lounges have become very expensive if you pay cash. A family of four would pay £166.50 (assuming one child 11+ and one child under 11) to access the Plaza Premium lounge, whilst Plaza Express would cost £69. Given that £69 doesn’t get you far if you sit down for a four-person family meal in the terminal, it should prove attractive.

If Plaza Express has got its pricing right, it should be able to expand the market for lounge access, attracting more price sensitive customers. Faced with £166.50 for a family of four in the main Plaza Premium lounge I think 95% of us would become price sensitive if there was a £69 alternative.

Plaza Express Gatwick North is now open, with walk-ins welcomed. You can find out more, and book, on the Plaza Premium website here.

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How to get FREE airport lounge access via UK credit cards (April 2025)

Here are the five options to get FREE airport lounge access via a UK credit card.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with two free Priority Pass cards, one for you and one for a supplementary cardholder. Each card admits two so a family of four gets in free. You get access to all 1,500 lounges in the Priority Pass network – search it here.

You also get access to Eurostar, Lufthansa and Delta Air Lines lounges.  Our American Express Platinum review is here.

You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for the first year. It comes with a Priority Pass card loaded with four free visits to any Priority Pass lounge – see the list here.

Additional lounge visits are charged at £24.  You get four more free visits for every year you keep the card.  

There is no annual fee for Amex Gold in Year 1 and you get a 20,000 points sign-up bonus.  Full details are in our American Express Preferred Rewards Gold review here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard gets you get a free Priority Pass card, allowing you access to the Priority Pass network.  Guests are charged at £24 although it may be cheaper to pay £60 for a supplementary credit card for your partner.

The card has a fee of £290 and there are strict financial requirements to become a HSBC Premier customer.  Full details are in my HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard review.

Got a small business?

If you have a small business, consider American Express Business Platinum which has the same lounge benefits as the personal Platinum card:

You should also consider the Capital on Tap Pro Visa credit card which has a lower fee and, as well as a Priority Pass for airport lounge access, also comes with Radison Rewards VIP hotel status:

PS. You can find all of HfP’s UK airport lounge reviews – and we’ve been to most of them – indexed here.