The centrally located airport gets its first lounge
It might surprise you to read that LCY, the airport closest to central London, doesn’t have an airport lounge. The airport has been around for nearly 40 years and serves airlines with premium cabins, including BA and Lufthansa.
What has been announced?
London City’s first executive lounge will be run by Aspire. The lounge is expected to open in “early 2027”.
The airport is notoriously tight for space, although in the medium term, that is expected to be alleviated by the upcoming airport expansion. LCY sits in a sliver of land in a congested part of the city, meaning that expanding it is difficult. There are also significant restrictions on the aircraft movements at LCY, which is why you only have narrowbody planes landing there.
Aspire haven’t released a lot of information, but there are some renders that show a very attractive and modern space. Compared to some other Aspire lounges (I’m looking at you, the Aspire in T2 Manchester) it is outstanding.
There is a promise of a cocktail bar and barista station, with “artisanal food and drink”. Aspire describes the lounge as having a “five-star hotel-like lobby”.
The lounge will be business-friendly, with dedicated work booths, and it will also offer completely private booths. This sounds similar to facilities being mooted for the upcoming (second) Aspire lounge at Manchester’s T2.
Which airlines will use this lounge?
Right now, there is no confirmation on which airlines will send their premium passengers, or those with status, to this lounge.
In their press release, they were at pains to point out that the lounge will be “unaffiliated with any airline” and noted that entry will be allowed either by paying (online or as a walk-in) or through the Aspire annual membership.
LCY is a unique airport in that its main benefit is proximity to Canary Wharf and ease of access from central London. It’s an airport that is useful for saving time, and that means that passengers tend not to arrive too early at the airport. It is also likely that there is a higher percentage of passengers with status. That means that if every premium passenger or status holder were given access, this would be a very busy lounge.
Right now, the airlines that fly from London City with a premium cabin are:
- British Airways
- KLM
- Lufthansa
- and Swiss
Bear in mind that Aspire is owned by Swissport, which already services British Airways at LCY.
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