Taking Flying Easy with No1 Lounges *

When it comes to flying I get so nervous, so that means I’m usually a bit of a mess before I even set foot in the airport. To try and stop this happening on our flight into New York I wanted to try a few different things at the airport to see if I could get rid of my anxious thoughts and just look forward to the holiday that was ahead of us.

The first thing I tried to erase was the feeling of stress getting to the airport on time so we stayed in the BLOC hotel in Gatwick and used their Parking Package. By using that package it entitled us Priority Security passes so we whizzed on through there which helped ease a little of my airport security anxiety that always gets to me the most.

Then there’s the waiting in the airport and as we were flying to the US we had to be there three hours early so what better way to keep myself calm than to check on in to the No1 Lounges and chill out to the max.

Once booked in, we found a table and ordered a couple of glasses of Prosecco at the bar as we thought we’d start the holiday with keeping it classy!

The food menu looked amazing but we had a big breakfast not realising what kind of food No1 Lounges would h

ave on offer which I was kicking myself for when we read the menu. On the menu were the likes of Beef-filled Yorkshire pudding, Forest mushroom risotto, Beetroot & goat’s cheese salad, Fish finger wrap and a Cheese Ploughman. A lot of these could be made vegan, dairy free and gluten free which was really good to see on the menu!

As we were there after 11am there was a ‘help yourself’ bar with a selection of bar snacks which I had a lovely bowl olives from and a selection of handmade cakes and tray bakes where I obviously had a brownie from!

It’s also the little things that matter and that help you keep your mind off that ever looming flight, so there were plenty of plugs, to keep my phone charged up, daily newspapers, and quality magazine titles to take with you, so I took myself a Glamour for the flight and unlimited WiFi that meant I was able to send my last few blog emails and put my out of office on. There is also a quiet library room should you want to totally zone out and not be mesmerised by the panoramic run views from the main room.

Now I’ve experienced what it’s like to use an airport lounge I think it’s something that I will have to use for every long-haul flight I go on. I felt totally chilled, the staff at the bar were really friendly and the Prosecco certainly helped while away those dreaded three hours of waiting.

The No1 Lounge at Gatwick, South Terminal, cost £30 an adult for two hours use. If you book in advance online this will get you access to Premium Security lane that makes your airport experience so much swifter. I highly recommend living the high life before heading onto your flight.