I recently reviewed the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport, and in this post wanted to review the Lufthansa Lounge, which opened just a few weeks ago.
In this post:
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin review
The Lufthansa Lounge is one of two lounges currently open at Brandenburg Airport, with the other being Lounge Tempelhof (which is the contract lounge for other airlines). The Lufthansa Lounge pleasantly surprised me, so let’s get into the details…
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin location
The Lufthansa Lounge is located in Terminal 1 at Brandenburg Airport. After clearing security, head in the direction of the “B” gates. When you get to the end of the first hall you’ll see the entrance to the Lufthansa Lounge on the right.
Berlin Brandenburg Airport map
Brandenburg Airport “B” gates
The lounge is located a level above the concourse, so you can either take an elevator or stairs.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin elevator
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin entrance
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin access
There’s both a Lufthansa Business Lounge and Lufthansa Senator Lounge in Berlin, and access requirements are slightly different:
- The Lufthansa Business Lounge is open to all Star Alliance business class passengers, as well as Frequent Traveller members of the Lufthansa Miles & More program
- The Lufthansa Senator Lounge is open to all Star Alliance first class and Star Alliance Gold passengers (including Senator and HON Circle members of the Lufthansa Miles & More program)
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin layout
I’ve never found Lufthansa Lounges to have particularly inspiring decor, so in that sense this lounge impressed me. Well, at least when you consider that the airport overall feels rather cold, Northern European, and IKEA-esque.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin
The Lufthansa Business Lounge was quite large. Inside the entrance and to the right was the largest room in the lounge, with a bunch of leather chairs.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin seating
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin seating
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin seating
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin seating
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin seating
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin seating
Then there was a separate dining area, with dining tables, high-top seating, and more.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin dining area
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin dining area
While there was a food and drink area, there was nothing on offer due to the lockdown.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin buffet
Near the back of the dining area was a bunch of seating facing the windows.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin seats by the windows
Then there was another narrow seating area.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin layout
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin layout
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin layout
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin layout
I loved the fact that the lounge had floor-to-ceiling windows and views overlooking both the apron and runway. Natural light makes such a difference, even in Berlin in the fall.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin views
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin views
I only have one major complaint about the lounge, which is that there’s a lack of outlets (it’s the same issue I found in the gate seating area in the terminal). You’d think that in 2020, every single seat in a new lounge would have at least one outlet, while this lounge had very few outlets.
It makes me wonder if the airline designed the lounge a decade ago when it was first supposed to open, or…
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin food & drinks
With Germany’s current lockdown, restaurants have had to close for everything other than takeout. Airport lounges are categorized in the same way for those purposes, and aren’t allowed to serve food or drinks for guests to enjoy in the lounge.
However, I commend Lufthansa for getting creative. The airline has essentially started offering food and drinks to go. On your way out you can grab something, and then you can enjoy it in the terminal (or wherever else).
Now, don’t get too excited — drink options include water, coffee, and tea, while food options include sandwiches.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin food & drinks
I got a coffee and a veggie sandwich to go. It’s a well intentioned gesture, but also nothing to get excited about.
Lufthansa Lounge Berlin to-go food
And of course no coronavirus restrictions are going to make perfect sense, and that’s fair enough. However, there’s something funny about not being able to eat something in an empty lounge, while you can eat it in an empty terminal.
Bottom line
I was impressed by the Lufthansa Lounge at Berlin Brandenburg Airport. Berlin isn’t a hub for Lufthansa, as the airline only operates flights to Frankfurt and Munich from there. Despite that, the airline has a very nice lounge that has some of the nicest decor I’ve seen in any Lufthansa Lounge (that’s not necessarily saying a whole lot, though).
I loved the floor-to-ceiling windows and views, while I didn’t love the lack of outlets, which seems like such a major oversight in 2020.
What do you make of the new Lufthansa Lounge Berlin?
Can you access it as Star Alliance gold but flying economy on United?
Ach Du liebe Güte. Karg sieht es aus. Da fällt mir die Senator Lounge der 80ziger Jahre in JFK ein, da gab es noch Eames Lounge Chairs und Fürst Metternich dazu, und dann wurde man zum Sitzplatz eskortiert. Da war allerdings noch Prof. Eser an der DLH-Macht.
@Brian, I thought just that from Ben's last visit to the BER lounge on a refundable ticket and posted the same link about this passenger being sued for doing just that. With a glowing report and nice photos here in this blog, I can't imagine Lufty doing it in this case ;-)
Similary in Singapore it is illegal to enter airside without intention to fly as one person found out after seeing his girlfriend off...
@Brian, I thought just that from Ben's last visit to the BER lounge on a refundable ticket and posted the same link about this passenger being sued for doing just that. With a glowing report and nice photos here in this blog, I can't imagine Lufty doing it in this case ;-)
Similary in Singapore it is illegal to enter airside without intention to fly as one person found out after seeing his girlfriend off at that gate. I expect similar laws are also in place to stop someone buying duty-free by just booking a refundable flight ticket.
Am I right that you did this by buying a refundable ticket? This was the first thing that I thought of when I saw this review:
https://viewfromthewing.com/man-hit-2000-euro-bill-scamming-lufthansa-lounge-access/
I know it's not the same, as your intentions aren't anywhere near the same. You never intended to scam. But you know Germans and their rules (though Berlin is a little different). Lufty may send you a bill for the coffee and the sandwich!
The Amex Centurion in Seattle was open when I passed thru last week and there was only to-go food. A can of sparkling water, a small container of salad, a chicken salad warp (there was another choice but I forgot what it was), an orange, a bag of chips and a couple of prepackaged snacks (brownie and dried fruit I think)
Pretty decent, given the circumstances. Seats were blocked for distancing and there were areas...
The Amex Centurion in Seattle was open when I passed thru last week and there was only to-go food. A can of sparkling water, a small container of salad, a chicken salad warp (there was another choice but I forgot what it was), an orange, a bag of chips and a couple of prepackaged snacks (brownie and dried fruit I think)
Pretty decent, given the circumstances. Seats were blocked for distancing and there were areas that were reserved for people who may have 2-4 people in their party.
I loved the grey goose in the LH lounge in Frankfurt last year :-)
I return to Berlin quite often to visit family (Stahnsdorf/Kleinmachnow) and will be visiting this airport for the first time in a couple of weeks. I can't say I'm very excited but nor was I prior to this airport review since it's been an absolute disaster. It feels like Berlin officials cut the ribbon and said "Here you go." and left in a hurry. Everything surrounding this airport is totally lackluster in feel and soon...
I return to Berlin quite often to visit family (Stahnsdorf/Kleinmachnow) and will be visiting this airport for the first time in a couple of weeks. I can't say I'm very excited but nor was I prior to this airport review since it's been an absolute disaster. It feels like Berlin officials cut the ribbon and said "Here you go." and left in a hurry. Everything surrounding this airport is totally lackluster in feel and soon I will have firsthand experience to confirm this.
Those hanging globe light fixtures are already outdated. Or: did they run out of money?
Reminds me of the LHR LH lounge in a lot of ways. The floor to ceiling windows over the tarmac, very similar seats/chairs, and the dining/drink area looks a lot like the LHR one as well.
Also, in reply to John, BER has always been an O&D spot. That will naturally limit the number of flights because Americans will only have enough demand to go in the summer.
Imagine all the electrical wires running thru BER and the lounge lol
I bet they did not want to risk anything by putting lots of outlets :P
@John
EWR TXL is one of the lost underserved routes in history of aviation. I did some analysis using big data and machine learning and it's astonishing. Should be in top 10 lists.
Do you think once travel recovers that we will see more US-Berlin flights?
United had EWR-TXL pre-pandemic, that I assume they will resume at some point.....
I have always been struck by how few nonstop options to Berlin.
And now consider, that this place saw a lot of cost cutting. They had so many nice things planned. Catering was supposed to be even better than MXP/ATH.
After corona the SEN Lounge will open; including a fire place, and many more nice amenities. And even like this, the place is super nice.
The Business Lounge will also get a smoking room eventually.
Eating outside the lounge probably has something to do with the overall amount of space available and the airflow rate of exchange. That's been my experience at my job, for what it's worth.
Is this likely due to the fairly big presence of LH group, considering flights to ZRH/VIE/BRU/GVA? Would that be sufficient should LH expand long haul out of BER to fill in the vacancy of AirBerlin?