I’ve started a new personal tradition of visiting European Christmas markets.  Before I get to Vienna, I’ll share the trip details.  Flying standby requires a little extra planning so at the last minute I chose Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) as our gateway to Europe. This is all based on which flight loads look best for us.  We arrived at IAD from out origin at about  12:00 EST so we had several hours to kill. Using the great benefit of my Priority Pass Lounge Card, included with my Chase Sapphire Reserve Visa, we had a couple lounges from which to choose for our four hour wait. 

• Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse (Concourse A)
• British Airways Galleries Lounge (Concourse B)
• Turkish Airlines Lounge (Concourse B)

There’s also a restaurant option of Chef Geoff’s in Concourse C.

I had never been to any of the IAD lounges so I wanted to experience all I could.  We started at the Virgin Clubhouse.  We entered the lounge and found it mostly empty.  There was a limited selection of food.  While the lounge was quiet and comfortable, I was a little disappointed.  I’ve flown Virgin Atlantic Upper Class and expected more from its fun, hip reputation.   

After we finished our coffee and eggs, we moved on to the Turkish Airlines Lounge. We found this club much more inviting and comfortable. The food and drink options were typically Middle Eastern including hummus, tabbouleh, olives, lamb and beef. There was a nice vegetable and fruit selection and of course, Turkish coffee. One wall had several televisions with American football playing as well as two TVs, each connected to a Roku. The largest of all screens seemed to be for Turkish self-promotion. There was plenty of seating, though it did fill up as we got later in the afternoon.

The British Airways Club is only open until 2:00 PM so we didn’t try it.
Turkish Airlines has done well with their club and that will be my first choice when killing time at IAD.