More than one in four Australian travellers still use airport lounges when they fly, with comfort cited as a priority over food, wi-fi and other amenities.
The Pureprofile research, commissioned by Money.com.au, was based on a nationally representative sample of more than 1,000 Australians, weighted and stratified by age, gender and location.
It found 26 per cent of respondents use airport lounges, with 17 per cent accessing them through rewards credit cards or frequent flyer memberships and nine per cent paying for access through single-use passes or annual memberships.
Comfortable seating and quiet spaces were rated the most valued lounge benefit, cited by 67 per cent of respondents, ahead of complimentary food and drinks (61 per cent) and access to Wi-Fi, showers and other amenities (45 per cent).
Money.com.au head of insights Sean Callery said Australians still saw value in airport lounges but were becoming more selective about how they accessed them.
“Airport lounges have attracted growing criticism in recent years for becoming overcrowded and offering less than they once did,” Callery said. “But despite that, they still offer something travellers value: a comfortable space away from the chaos of main terminals, with complimentary refreshments and a few extra bells and whistles.”
Callery said Australians were almost twice as likely to access lounges through bundled travel perks as by paying for entry, with the value coming from lounge access being included as part of a broader package rather than an additional fee.
Use varied by generation. The survey found 41 per cent of Millennials use airport lounges, followed by 37 per cent of Gen Z, 23 per cent of Gen X and 15 per cent of Baby Boomers.
Gen Z were the most likely generation to pay for lounge access through a single-entry pass or annual membership, at 20 per cent, followed by Millennials at 16 per cent. Millennials were the biggest users of bundled lounge access through rewards credit cards or frequent flyer memberships, at 25 per cent, followed by Gen Z at 17 per cent.
Callery said younger Australians were bucking the trend toward bundled access.
“Gen Z are the generation most willing to still pay for airport lounge access, with the split between paying for entry and accessing it through bundled travel perks almost evenly divided,” he said.
“Premium travel experiences have become part of the travel culture for many younger Australians, and airport lounges add to the overall experience both online and offline.”
