The oneworld alliance has started the process of opening its own branded lounges. We recently saw the first lounge open at Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN), and we’ve now seen the opening of the second lounge.
Details of the Amsterdam Schiphol oneworld lounge
As of Thursday, February 22, 2024, we’ve seen the opening of oneworld’s newest lounge location, at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS). To cover some of the basics:
- The lounge is open daily between 5:30AM and 10PM
- The lounge is 473 square meters (5,091 square feet), with seating for 118 guests
- The lounge is located in the space of the former British Airways Lounge, which closed back in 2022, and has undergone a major renovation
- The lounge is located in the non-Schengen part of the terminal, on level three, in the space of Lounge No. 40
- The lounge features a self-serve buffet, a full service bar with cocktails and barista coffee, shower suites, and more
- The lounge follows standard oneworld lounge access policies, so is open to oneworld Emerald and Sapphire members, as well as oneworld first and business class passengers
Below are some pictures that have been shared of the new lounge…
This is a logical airport for oneworld to open a lounge
Amsterdam Schiphol is a logical location for oneworld to open a lounge. Keep in mind that the intent of the oneworld lounge network is to offer lounges at airports where oneworld carriers themselves don’t operate lounges, but where there are a significant number of oneworld carriers with lounge needs.
Amsterdam is of course a huge hub for SkyTeam member KLM, which dominates the airport. Meanwhile Star Alliance operates its own lounge at the airport, and now oneworld is operating its own lounge there as well.
The airport is served by a variety of oneworld airlines in the non-Schengen area, including American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, and Royal Jordanian. Finnair and Iberia fly to the Schengen area of the airport, so passengers on those airlines wouldn’t have access to this lounge.
I recently had the chance to check out oneworld’s new lounge at Seoul Incheon, and I’ll be reviewing it soon. In terms of soft product, I’d definitely recommend managing your expectations with these lounges, as I didn’t find the lounge to be much better than your typical contract lounge in terms of food and drinks, aside from bartender-made cocktails.
The alliance has also certainly chosen a memorable design for its lounges, for better or worse. I still can’t decide whether I love it or hate it.
Bottom line
Amsterdam Schiphol is the second airport to get a oneworld lounge. The alliance is planning on opening lounges at several airports with a oneworld presence, but without lounges operated by oneworld carriers. That’s why Amsterdam is a logical location, given that several oneworld carriers fly there, without any oneworld airline operating a lounge.
What do you make a oneworld lounge in Amsterdam?
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