Beautiful Aegean Lounge (ATH)

I have been through Athens airport in spring this year with a rather tight connection so did not have a chance to use the brand new Lounge Aegean which opened up last year. It’s a stunning 1200 square meter space bathed in natural light and great views out onto the apron. I knew I was planning on a long weekend in Crete in autumn, so I made sure I had enough time in one of my connections to check it out properly.

Access & Location

As stated in the title, this lounge is located away from the Schengen zone. You would have to go through passport control and walk about 20 minutes if arriving from Intra-European flights. This lounge is located on level 3, away from all the hustle and bustle of the airport.

The lounge is open from 6am till midnight.

You are eligible to use the lounge if flying Aegean Business Class on the day or flying Economy and have Star Alliance Gold status.

As you pass up from the escalators you are greeting by a huge open plan courtyard with a staffed reception area to the right who will check you in..

As you can see the space is gorgeously light filled and welcoming. With the shadows of the squares from the large ceiling skylights adding to break up the huge floor space.

The friendly staff quickly showed me through, but not before I took another picture to capture just how gorgeous this space is with the tree in the middle…

 

Aegean Lounge Layout

As you enter via the automatic glass barriers, you are greeted by the same striking blue colours and ceilings in a somewhat more relaxing lighting..

There are some shelves containing various magazines and newspapers if you wanted to pick up any reading material.

You also get a great affect of the entrance skylights inside through what is essentially tinted curved glass wall. It gives it a courtyard feel.

As you can see the large open plan spaces flow out into view on all sides and various types of seating spaces. The grey, cream and brown coloured leather seating area create almost separate zones within. The marble and wood finishes give off a luxurious vibe. All brand new and complementing the vivid blue of the walls.

There are also several private spaces where you can work or relax in, with fully closable curtains..

There was excellent connectively/charging and fast WiFi where ever you choose to sit.

Aegean Lounge Food & Beverage

There are a few different self help refreshment areas with light snacks and drinks but the main buffet area comes with a surprisingly large selection of hot and cold food items.

The selection and quality was very impressive, ranging from various sandwiches, mini baguettes, cuts of meat and cheese deli, salads, quiches, Greek pastry dishes to chickpea curries and soup. Then there were various fruits and yogurts and other sweat treats. It emphatically beats what Air France offer in their new  Paris Terminal 2F Lounge.

I had some good videos of several that I posted on my Instagram stories, unfortunately I don’t have individual pictures of them here, so feel free to check out my saved highlights there!

The main dining area has a very canteen like feel but if you wanted somewhere cosier, you can just take your food to several other places that are more than adequate to eat in comfortably.

Once again, don’t you just love the design of these self bar service areas?

Aegean Lounge Viewing Areas

Saving the best for last, this lounge is very well equipped for some serious plane spotting. There are several high raised pod like chairs facing the taxi ways where you work/eat/drink while watching the aircraft traffic movements..

In the hour or so I was there I managed to spot several wide bodies including Air Canada, Qatar Airways and Emirates..

Overall Thoughts

This is a superb lounge new lounge in Athens, that most certainly make using and connecting with Aegean for various flights enjoyable. It’s a beautifully designed large space. During my 3 hour visit there were not many people at all. Even if it gets busier times, I cannot imagine the lounge getting crowded, as Aegean has far more intra-Schengen flights than extra.

On the service level, I found there were a fair few staff dotted around the lounge, collecting dishes etc but I imagine if you required any assistance of any sort they would be available. One thing I didn’t mention is you can get your shirts pressed here too!

As of October this year,  Aegean also opened a brand new Intra-Schengen lounge with similar deco and facilities now for intra-European passengers.