Review: Yerevan Airport Lounge

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My original trip to the airport didn’t work out quite the way I had hoped. I initially showed up at 12:30AM, only to be sent to the Qatar Airways ticketing office, where I was informed that the flight had been delayed by 10 hours due to fog. See my previous post for more on that.

Qatar Airways ticketing office Yerevan Airport

After getting a few hours of sleep, I returned to the airport at around 9:30AM the following morning — Yerevan Airport is beautiful, which I wasn’t expecting. Nowadays we see a lot of mega-airports that are modern and have great architecture, though it’s rare to see a small airport that’s this nice.

Yerevan Airport exterior

The check-in area was a good size, and this time around I was happy to see that Qatar Airways check-in was actually open, meaning that I had a chance of getting out of here (in fairness, I was also sure to check that the plane had taken off from Doha before leaving for the airport).

Yerevan Airport check-in hall

There were a good number of people at check-in, and even though I was the only business class passenger, they had the business class check-in open. Within a few minutes I was presented with my boarding pass and lounge invitation.

Qatar Airways check-in Yerevan Airport

Qatar Airways check-in Yerevan Airport

After check-in I headed through immigration and security, both of which were efficient, and within five minutes I found myself in the maze of duty free shops (which an ever-increasing number of airports force you to walk through).

Yerevan Airport duty free shops

Yerevan Airport only has six gates, and the layout of the terminal couldn’t be easier. The terminal is just one big room, with all the gates next to one another.

Yerevan Airport gate area

Yerevan Airport gate area

Concessions were fairly limited, though there was a Cinnabon… mmmm.

Yerevan Airport concessions

At first I couldn’t find the entrance to the lounge, though after backtracking I realized that the entrance to the lounge was in the duty free shops just past the security checkpoint. There I took the elevator up a level to the lounge (the concourse is on level three, while the lounge is on level four).

Elevator to Yerevan Airport Lounge

The airport just has one lounge — the Converse Bank Business Lounge — which is accessible by all premium passengers, and is open 24 hours per day.

Yerevan Airport Lounge reception

This is also a Priority Pass lounge, so plenty of people with major premium credit cards can get in as well. The number of Priority Pass members has increased greatly the past couple of years, since now there are quite a few credit cards with lounge access. The following are some of the popular premium US credit cards that come with Priority Pass memberships (along with their respective guesting privileges):

Much like the rest of the airport, the lounge was airy and had plenty of natural light. Past the entrance you could turn either left or right. Turning right, there were chairs arranged in rows, a few couches, and then also some daybeds.

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating

In the far corner of the lounge was a smoking room.

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge smoking room

Back on the opposite side of the lounge was the buffet, and past that was the cafe area, with a bunch of tables seating 2-3 people each, as well as some high-top seating.

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge buffet

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge dining area

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating

Then there was some more traditional lounge seating, with chairs arranged in rows facing one another.

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge seating

Past that were a couple of semi-private areas, one of which was a TV room, with seating for maybe 10 people.

Yerevan Airport Lounge seating

Yerevan Airport Lounge seating

Yerevan Airport Lounge seating

The entire lounge looked out over the interior of the terminal — you could only see the apron and runway in the distance.

Yerevan Airport Lounge view

The food and drink selection in the lounge was alright.

Yerevan Airport Business Class Lounge buffet

Food options included chips, yogurt, cereal, breadsticks, finger sandwiches, croissants, muffins, and all kinds of other sweets.

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge food selection

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge food selection

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge food selection

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge food selection

There was a little panini maker, which I guess was intended in case you wanted to warm up the finger sandwiches?

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge panini maker

In many ways the drink selection was more extensive than the food selection. There were two coffee machines, tea, soda, juice, water, wine, and a decent enough selection of liquor.

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge coffee machines

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge tea selection

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge soda selection

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge drink selection

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge drink selection

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge wine selection

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge liquor selection

The lounge even had shot glasses — it’s not every day you see that!

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge shot glasses

The lounge’s restrooms were located inside and to the left, and were clean.

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge bathroom

Yerevan Airport Business Lounge bathroom

The lounge had Wi-Fi which was free and fast. The lounge was quiet when I was there, and even quieter after the flight to Moscow boarded (Moscow seems to be the most popular destination from Yerevan).

Yerevan Airport departures board

At around 11:15AM I noticed that the inbound flight from Doha had arrived, so I decided to head down to the departure gate, which was gate 4.

Qatar Airways A320 Yerevan Airport

Yerevan Airport departure gate

The gate area was really empty, as there were at most about 30 people on the flight.

Yerevan Airport departure gate

That doesn’t include Santa Claus statue sitting in the gate area. 😉

Santa sitting in the departures area Yerevan Airport

At around 11:40AM boarding was called, and I was the first onboard. As I boarded I saw the Qatar Airways supervisor who had helped me rebook overnight. He confirmed that he still hadn’t slept — poor guy!

Yerevan Airport Lounge bottom line

Yerevan Airport was so much nicer than I was expecting. This has to be one of the nicest small airports out there. The lounge was also solid, with plenty of seating, fresh decor, and a decent food and drink selection. I wouldn’t arrive earlier than you need to (especially given how easy the airport is to use), but there are worse places to kill time.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).