Air France’s lounge at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) is not the most glamorous lounge, but I was excited to sample the lounge and their offering after it was added to the Priority Pass network in November. In fact, I visited the lounge the week of Thanksgiving in 2015, but was so unimpressed by it I forgot to write about it. Well, I visited it again this week and am feeling slightly more impressed after this visit.
The Air France lounge is small, offers limited views of the runway and taxiways, but decent views of airplanes landing on 26L/R, and 27L, and the United apron which was home to several 787s when I was visiting this week. As I mentioned the Houston Air France lounge is small, and can probably only handle 50-60 guests comfortably. It’s basically just a long corridor broken into a few small sitting areas. The lounge doesn’t even have a bathroom! It’s very basic with a cafeteria/sitting area, lounge style seating, and a tiny TV area. Very much underwhelming.
On my first visit to the lounge, it was after 5pm after the Air France flight had departed and the lounge was lacking food and drink options. In fact, the selection of food and drinks was appalling. You honestly would be better off at a domestic Airline lounge! Yes, I said it! Even a United or American Airline lounge would probably offer better options, and a Delta lounge with brand name alcohol would blow this lounge out of the water!
However, during the flight departure window, approximately 3 hours before departure time, I have learned that both the KLM Crown Lounge and the Air France lounge offers a broader selection of both food and drinks for passengers and Priority Pass members to indulge in!
These are the higher quality booze and wine that is available during AF/KLM Flight times. Once the AF flight departs, expect off brands.
The lounge is nothing like the lounge offerings in Paris or Amsterdam, but I am happy to report that if you visit the KLM Crown Lounge or AF Lounge during the correct hours, the food and drink offerings are upgraded for flying passengers. Both lounges offer similar offerings so it honestly doesn’t matter what lounge you choose, the booze and food is nearly the same, but I find KLM to have a slightly better edge over Air France.
