Lufthansa Business Lounge Washington
Three Days in Rio de Janeiro – Introduction
Washington-Dulles airport features a variety of lounge options for those passengers departing on most foreign airlines. Lounges include those of Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa, etc. and they are located within the A and B concourse. There are also United lounges in the C and D concourse – where United flights depart from, both domestic and international.
Dulles is connected via an underground train and therefore transitioning between concourses shouldn’t take more than ten minutes. I landed at the (rather ugly) concourse C and made my way over to concourse B where Lufthansa’s lounges are located. Because most of the A and B concourse is used by international airlines, it looks much better than the rest of the airport.. and especially United’s C and D concourses which are really dated.
Lufthansa operates a Business Lounge and Senator Lounge in Washington-Dulles. Lufthansa’s Business Lounge can be accessed by Star Alliance Business Class passengers or those holding a Miles & More Frequent Traveller card. Lufthansa’s Senator Lounge is available to Star Alliance First Class passengers and Star Alliance Gold members. Even United MileagePlus elites (Premier Gold or higher) are entitled to use the Senator Lounge when travelling domestically.
Lufthansa lounges are located in the Midfield Terminal, Concourse B, near the Lufthansa departure gates B49 – B51. Lufthansa’s Business Lounge is located on the lower level, while the premium Senator Lounge is located on the upper level. The Business Lounge is open Tuesday – Friday and Sunday 08:20 – 21:30; Monday and Saturday 08:20 – 17:30, and features the following amenities:
- Non smoking lounge
- Restrooms
- Showers
- Office units
- Wireless network
- TV
- Local magazines and newspapers
- International magazines and newspapers
- German magazines and newspapers
There are two sections to the Lufthansa Business Lounge: a “restaurant” which features food and drinks and then an area with more comfortable seats located to the left of the “restaurant”. To be completely honest, the lounge is a bit ugly and dated and definitely not up to the current Lufthansa Business Lounge design as featured in Frankfurt. While the “restaurant-style” seating might be convenient for those wishing to grab a bite to eat, the chairs aren’t comfortable for anything else. The artificial lighting featured in the lounge is a bit too bright.
A small business centre is located near the food area of the lounge and a bar is located near the front of the lounge; it features a small variety of alcohol including beer, wine, champagne, and premium spirits. Lufthansa agents told me the lounges are usually empty most times of the day and (obviously) more full during Lufthansa’s departures.
A large seating area with more comfortable seats is located to the left of the restaurant. As noted, the furniture is definitely starting to show its age, but the whole lounge was very clean overall. English and German catalogues are located near the bar.
The food and drink area is located near the back of the lounge. While perhaps not as extensive as in Frankfurt, the food consists of a variety of sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, salads, bread, soups, snacks, and more. Drinks include water, juice, soda, tea, coffee, etc. Most of the food looks edible and perfectly fine for a Business Class lounge. A few warm food items are also available.
A few shower rooms are available for use near the bar area of the lounge. Again, the shower rooms aren’t as elegant as the Frankfurt shower rooms, but I did like that they’re a bit bigger and feature proper ventilation (as those in Frankfurt tend to be small and become warm quickly). Shower amenities are of course provided and consist of towels, a toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, shower cap, lotion, etc.
In conclusion, the Lufthansa Business Lounge Washington Dulles is a rather small, but nice Business Lounge for Business Class passengers. While a bit dated, the lounge still provides more food, comfort, and amenities than your average United Club. Business Class passengers definitely appreciate this lounge while they wait for their flights and the lounge is only a plus to all since United elites are able to access it even when travelling domestically. The lounge is mostly used by Star Alliance Business Class passengers departing from the B concourse, however there aren’t any problems accessing the lounge if flying from a different concourse.
