It's a real setback when your flight is delayed and you realise that you will have to stick it out at the airport for a lot longer than you expected. What do you do with this unasked-for spare time?
Do you open your laptop and try to finish that document? Do you spend more money in the duty-free shops, on cologne and perfume that you will have to pass on as gifts at Christmas? Or do you head to the airport bar, order a drink, and strike up conversation with similarly bored and frustrated people about how it's all a conspiracy to make you shop and drink more?
Despite the free Wi-fi and ready access to alcohol, these lost hours in airports can be excruciating. For those of sufficient means (and little patience) the airport lounge is the first port of call to kill a few hours.
The best lounges, like the British Airways Concorde Room at Heathrow Terminal 5 or Cathay Pacific's The Wing at Hong Kong International Airport, are luxury personified with furniture and decor that wouldn't look out of place at a Mayfair hotel. En suite rooms to nap in, as well as state-of-the-art business centres that convert to boardrooms if required, are becoming more common.
The very best lounges also provide ways to pamper oneself with luxury day spas or indulge in cigar rooms and classy restaurants that have world-class chefs.
With spas and high-end restaurants almost de rigueur now, a new breed of first-class airport lounge has emerged. These use innovative technology to stand out and provide a more memorable experience for passengers.