Trip Report: Madrid Barajas Sala VIP Puerta de Alcalá (Priority Pass lounge) and Lufthansa MAD-FRA
At Madrid Barajas Terminal 2, I had to stop by the Lufthansa check-in desk to have them print out my boarding pass (because I had forgotten to print mine). But it turned out to be a good move, because the entrance to the Fast Track security turned out to be at the counter next to the Lufthansa First Class check in counter where I was. At the Fast Track counter, an agent checked my boarding pass, and then let me pass to the special entry for security.
Past security, I went to the first Sala VIP I came across. I didn’t know that there are actually two lounges close to each other in Terminal 2, the Sala VIP Puerta de Alcalá in Terminal 2, and the Sala VIP Puerta del Sol which is closer to Terminal 3. Both are contract lounges for Star Alliance carriers, and are also Priority Pass lounges. The one I visited was the Puerta de Alcalá.
Kind of like the lounge in Valencia, it has a kind of sparse feeling.
There was plenty of seating, though, and nice views onto the tarmac!
I arrived around 12 noon, and there was still breakfast food. I had a slice of Spanish tortilla, a slice of cheese, some root chips, and Japanese arare.
But then at 12:30pm, they rolled out the lunch menu. And I must say, I was pretty impressed by the variety of individual portions of hot food.
They did have a sign up with a list of the different dishes, but it was a bit hard to discern which dish was which. Perhaps later they might have put out individual signs, but at least when I was there, there was no sign labelling the dishes.
I picked up what looked the most likely to be the cod dish, and I was right! This was “cod fish with leek cream and green peas,” garnished with black sesame seeds and some crunchy vermicelli noodles. It was good! Maybe it was about 3-4 spoonfuls, so if I had been hungrier, I could have sampled another dish.
But it was actually already time to board, so I went over to my gate to board my Lufthansa flight.
This flight was very interesting for me, because it was my first time flying to Frankfurt from Madrid. See, I have flown the Valencia-Frankfurt flight many times over the years - and that flight we get a choice of meat or cheese sandwich, sandwich or pastry, or sandwich or yogurt. In other words, a snack.
This flight from Madrid, on the other hand, we were served a hot meal! There was no choice of meal, but it was quite substantial: penne pasta with red pepper and turkey, a roll with butter, and a package of two palmiers.
I guess Madrid just crosses the threshold of hot meal service? Madrid to Frankfurt is 885 miles (1770 km), while Valencia to Frankfurt is 852 miles (1704 km). I know Lufthansa certainly doesn’t serve a hot meal due to competition, because the other airline on this route, Iberia, does not offer anything for free. You even have to pay for water!
