Start here: The Club airport lounges — Club Pass, booking, entry and refunds

Step 1: What The Club is and who it suits

You will learn: who operates The Club lounges, how the conditions define a lounge, a Club Pass and a Lounge Guest, and which traveller the pass is written for.

The site is operated by Airport Dimensions Holdings Ltd., trading as "Airport Dimensions", a wholly owned subsidiary of The Collinson Group Ltd., with its United States head office at 7950 Legacy Drive, Suite #700, Plano, TX 75024 [1]. In the Lounge Access Conditions of Use, Airport Dimensions means Airport Dimensions Holdings Ltd. and is also referred to as "The Club" and "we" [1]. A Lounge is defined as the provision of a waiting area in the departure area of the airport with seating and refreshment facilities, operated and managed by Airport Dimensions, and Lounge Guests are individuals permitted access to the Lounge [1].

Airport Dimensions states that in exceptional circumstances it may need to transfer the fulfilment of a lounge booking to another organisation or entity, and that the operator of each lounge listed on the site is subject to change; guests will be notified if that happens, and it will not affect their rights or the operator's obligations under the terms [1]. The pass is written for a departing traveller buying entry to a departure-area lounge, and lounge visits are charged per person, per visit [1].

Go deeper: The Club airport lounges for every page on this programme; third-party lounge for what it means when a lounge is run by a company other than the airline.

Step 2: Buying a Club Pass

You will learn: what a Club Pass covers, when online booking closes, what makes a Booking Confirmation valid, and which charges sit outside the pass.

In booking a Club Pass, the guest agrees with the operator to abide by and be subject to the conditions [1]. The pass entitles the number of guests on the booking to enter the designated lounge, is non-refundable and is valid for a single visit, with entry restricted to the lounge location identified on the pass and starting no sooner than three hours before the boarding-pass departure time [1]. The lead passenger's name must match one of the boarding passes held by the group [1].

Bookings on the website can be made up to 6 hours before the flight's scheduled departure time; after that, entry can only be bought at the lounge reception and is subject to availability [1]. A Booking Confirmation is valid when it is generated by the booking partners and issued after the customer has provided all required information and card payment has been processed, and the confirmation is non-transferable [1]. Payment of the total entry fee is inclusive of sales tax and/or VAT, and visits are charged per person, per visit [1]. A booking for more than six people requires an enquiry to the operator about group availability, self-assembled groups will not be seated together, and admission for additional customers is at lounge staff discretion, subject to an entry fee set by the lounge and paid at the time of entry [1].

Wording to note. The conditions describe the payment route in two different ways, and both are given here as printed. Payment states that payment of the total lounge entry fee "must be made through The Club website" [1]. The definitions instead describe a Club Pass as "prepaid access purchased through our Booking Partners", and the booking section treats a Booking Confirmation as valid when it is "generated by our Booking Partners" [1]. Booking Partner is defined as "a third party Booking Partner appointed by the Company", and "the Company" is not itself defined in the text [1]. The two statements are reported as printed and are not reconciled on this page.

Go deeper: Lounge access checklist for the booking-and-documents routine before a lounge visit.

Step 3: At the lounge door

You will learn: which documents and which timings get a guest through reception, and the two points where entry is refused.

All guests entering The Club lounges must show a valid boarding pass, and each customer must be in possession of a valid flight ticket and a boarding pass for a departing flight on the same date as the lounge booking [1]. Entry is permitted only on the date of travel, for the time booked and for the number of customers shown on the Booking Confirmation, and the lead booker's details must match the details of one of the boarding passes [1].

Unless the confirmation notes otherwise, entry is restricted to the lounge booked three hours before scheduled departure; the conditions also state that entry may begin no sooner than 3 hours before the boarding-pass departure time and that guests turning up earlier are refused, so the correct flight time has to be entered on the booking to calculate that three-hour point [1]. All lounges reserve the right to refuse entry 30 minutes before the lounge closes, and admittance is strictly subject to holding a valid same-day boarding pass together with the Booking Confirmation [1]. It is the customer's responsibility to confirm that the lounge location is accessible from the terminal they will be travelling from and that its hours match their travel plans; Airport Dimensions will not be held liable to a customer who has booked an incorrect or inaccessible lounge [1].

Go deeper: boarding pass for what counts as a valid same-day boarding pass, and lounge access checklist for the documents to have ready at reception.

Step 4: Inside the lounge

You will learn: the house rules that apply inside a Club lounge, how the conditions allocate liability, and one sentence printed with a word missing.

Lounge opening times may alter from time to time at the operator's discretion, and access is subject to availability at the time of the request [1]. All children must be accompanied by an adult, and accompanying infants under 2 years old are admitted free of charge [1]. Access is subject to customers behaving and dressing in an appropriate manner; guests who do not comply may be asked to vacate the lounge, entry may be refused or a person removed for being drunk, disorderly or acting unlawfully, and service may also be refused because of capacity limitations or intoxication [1]. The operator permits the entry of service animals [1]. Lounge Guests under the age of 21 may not consume alcohol, the provision of alcoholic drinks is at the discretion of lounge management and may be limited, and lounge-provided food and drink must be consumed in the lounge [1]. Stays may be extended only at the discretion of lounge staff, any additional charge being paid by the customer directly to the lounge [1].

On liability, Airport Dimensions states that it is not liable to Lounge Guests or third parties for direct loss of profits, loss of revenue, or indirect, special, punitive, exemplary or consequential loss or damages, and that its aggregate liability will not exceed the amount paid to it by the Lounge Guest; those limitations do not apply to loss or damages arising from death or personal injury caused by its negligence, or to other loss that cannot be excluded by law [1]. The guest agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Airport Dimensions and its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates and their respective officers and agents against liabilities, claims and expenses arising from injury, death or property damage connected with the guest's use of the lounge, except that the indemnity does not extend to acts of gross negligence or wilful misconduct by the indemnified parties [1]. Airport Dimensions is not liable for failure to perform an obligation due to an event beyond its control, including events such as acts of God, terrorism, war, civil unrest, earthquake, flood, disease, epidemics, pandemics or quarantine, and in such an event it will inform the guest and use reasonable endeavours to comply with the terms [1].

Wording to note. One sentence in the Conditions of Entry is printed with a word missing: "To the fullest extent allowed by law, Airport Dimensions accepts no responsibility for the of the Lounge Guests and shall not be responsible for any personal belongings brought into a Lounge by Guests" [1]. The gap appears as reproduced here, and the sentence is not completed or reconciled on this page [1].

Go deeper: Lounge etiquette and house rules for how conduct, dress and alcohol rules usually work across lounges.

Step 5: Changes, refunds and complaints

You will learn: why a Club Pass cannot be cancelled, what can be changed and by when, and where a complaint goes.

All bookings are non-refundable and cannot be cancelled, but the booking date and time can be changed up to 6 hours before the scheduled flight departure time [1]. If the booking cannot be used and is not amended before that point, the Club Pass expires, and once expired the voucher is not redeemable [1]. Airport Dimensions will not refund any unused bookings under any circumstances and is under no obligation to refund in full or in part, or to offer any other compensation, to Lounge Guests [1].

Where the operator transfers fulfilment of a booking or the operator of a listed lounge changes, guests are notified [1]. A customer who wishes to make a complaint is directed to the Contact us form [1].

Go deeper: Lounge access during delays for what changes when a flight is late rather than the booking date.

Step 6: Your first concrete action

You will learn: the five checks that turn the conditions into a single, completed booking.

1. Confirm that the lounge is reachable from the terminal you depart from and open for your travel times, because the operator will not be liable for an incorrect or inaccessible booking [1].
2. Book more than 6 hours before scheduled departure, with the correct flight time and the right number of guests on the booking [1].
3. Keep the Booking Confirmation and check that the lead name matches one of the group's boarding passes [1].
4. Arrive no earlier than 3 hours before the boarding-pass departure time and not within 30 minutes of the lounge closing [1].
5. If plans change, amend the date or time more than 6 hours before departure, because all bookings are non-refundable and an unamended pass expires [1].

Next: The Club airport lounges for the programme hub, lounge access checklist for the pre-flight routine, guides for topic-by-topic walkthroughs, and Start here for the rest of the learning paths.