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

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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.

Plaza Express lounge in Gatwick Airport's North Terminal

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:

Plaza Express lounge in Gatwick Airport's North Terminal

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.

Plaza Express lounge in Gatwick Airport's North Terminal

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.

Plaza Express lounge in Gatwick Airport's North Terminal

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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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.

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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.

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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.

HSBC Premier World Elite Mastercard

A good package, but only available to HSBC Premier clients Read our full review

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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:

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

Category

General

Comments (36)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Chris W says:
    31 Jul31 July 06:43

    What is the appeal for a family to spend £166 to access a cr*ppy Gatwick lounge before a flight beyond the parents drinking their bodyweight in alcohol? Do people honestly think they are a fancy start to a holiday?

    Surely you would instead focus on timing your checkin better so you spend as little time as the airport as possible?

    • JDB says:
      31 Jul31 July 07:07

      Yes, even at £69, we would just as happy to remain on the concourse. I’m not sure why being at an airport suddenly creates the apparent need to consume large amounts of cheap food and drink.

      The irony of a second rate lounge provider going further downmarket is more delicious than it’s food offering.

      • BBbetter says:
        31 Jul31 July 13:25

        Agree with Lady london – before opening to priority pass, plaza premium was a decent lounge chain with many striking the right balance with occupancy, food and ambience etc.
        But thats probably what contributed to revenue shortfall that led to opening to the masses from priority pass.

    • Andrew. says:
      31 Jul31 July 08:30

      A “Temperance Lounge” would be fun. Tea and cake.

      • Richie says:
        31 Jul31 July 08:50

        It’d be packed in January though.

        • Tariq says:
          31 Jul31 July 17:26

          For the first two weeks anyway, same two weeks that the gyms are busy.

      • Lady London says:
        31 Jul31 July 11:48

        +1 tea and cake.

        Btw I wouldn’t call Plaza Premium a “second class lounge operator”. It’s true that they have markedly deteriorated the quality of Plaza Premium Lounges at Heathrow and at Gatwick the only special thing is Plaza Ptemium’s snootiness claiming they’re full with a vast empty lounge clearly visible when turning away Priority Pass, but in Asia Plaza Premium quality is still reliable in the 3rd party lounge world.

        • PeterV says:
          1 Aug1 August 09:05

          Absolutely this. The UK is a total outlier if we want to judge global development trends in lounge quality. This may (or may not) be related to the alcohol consumption habits of the local populace 🙂

  • aseftel says:
    31 Jul31 July 07:10

    Amex Platinum does not provide access to Plaza Premium First lounges, so there is already precedent for carve-outs within the portfolio.

    • LittleNick says:
      31 Jul31 July 08:44

      Is it possible to pay a supplement to access one of these first lounges with a priority pass/plat or dragonpass? Bit annoying full rate has to be paid and no subsidy for using a lounge pass?

  • Alan says:
    31 Jul31 July 07:14

    So the budget EasyJet lounge is no longer the budget offering LOL.

    So EasyJet is £30, but you do get spirits and it’s 3 hours, vs £18 for 1.5 hours. But considering check is meant to be 2 hours the 1.5 is really the right sort of timing.

    I think this is an excellent offering. Assuming the food is ok, this price seems excellent if you were going to eat at the airport. Seems to me you are not even paying a premium to have a lounge access.

    My vote would be more of these to more airports please.

    • Matarredonda says:
      31 Jul31 July 08:14

      Well said.
      To answer the other ‘snobs’ questions, if you plan to eat at the airport a lounge is a good way to do so and not all children are u ruly unless they are thinking of their own!

      • chris w says:
        31 Jul31 July 10:30

        Why would you plan to eat at an airport though? Crap food at exorbitant prices you have to wolf down while always keeping your eye on the departure screens?

        If I did not have lounge access through a CC I would focus on spending as little time in airports as I possibly could.

        • Alan says:
          31 Jul31 July 11:54

          Everyone is different. Personally I don’t want to risk travel issues so arrive early to an airport. So you are out travelling for many hours and maybe you need to eat somewhere so why not plan to when you’ve got time to kill.

          I know roughly when the gate will be announced so don’t have to keep watching the boards.

        • PeterV says:
          1 Aug1 August 09:09

          It’s because in many cases, the alternative is eating on the plane, Chris, which is a categorical no-go for many including myself. You may also find yourself in transit and hungry…

  • paul says:
    31 Jul31 July 07:42

    My only requirement of a lounge is to escape (or cut down on) families and their unruly kids.

    This is definitely one to avoid.

  • ed_fly says:
    31 Jul31 July 07:51

    I misread the headline as plaza premium launches a ‘pizza express’ lounge. Can imagine it being quite a loud environment and not particularly pleasant.

    • Andrew. says:
      31 Jul31 July 08:27

      I also misread it as “Pizza Express” lounge. Good that they serve pizza though!

  • Bernard says:
    31 Jul31 July 08:16

    You’d have to drink a lot of spirits to make the £166 offering ‘worth it’ vs. A sit down meal in the main terminal areas. £100 premium to the pizza express lounge.
    So fair to say for a family relax and pizza grazing the express lounge might be worth it, while the main offering only ‘breaks even’ if you’re a functioning alcoholic (like the red trouser ski types)?

    • Rob says:
      31 Jul31 July 08:27

      Plaza charge for premium spirits and champagne in their branded lounges anyway.

      You do need to get over this obsession with people who have been more successful in life than you though 🙂 I’m sure that living in a relatively tiny £5m house on a dull residential street in Fulham is far less exciting than you think.

      • tony says:
        31 Jul31 July 21:57

        I think that’s unkind, Rob. In my experience, the chinless wonders of the red trouser brigade tends to reflect people whose parents did better than yours.

  • Numpty says:
    31 Jul31 July 08:23

    In the picture, is that red telephone box small, or is it far away?

  • Richie says:
    31 Jul31 July 08:57

    I like Wagamama at the North Terminal, I hope they participate in their soul club.

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