Airport lounges, once places to escape from as fast as possible, are now an important part of today’s travel experience. Airlines are stepping up to the challenge by designing comfortable, convenient, sometimes even stunning airport lounges to cater to the business traveler.

If you travel often and have membership in a frequent flyer club, you may already enjoy access to many of the exclusive lounges operated by airlines and their alliance members. But you needn’t be a frequent flyer to take advantage of these perks.

Several North American airlines allow you to purchase your way into the “clubs” that cater to business travelers. For example, you can buy an annual or in some cases a lifetime membership in United Airlines’ Red Carpet Club, Delta’s Crown Club, Continental’s President’s Club and Air Canada’s Maple Leaf Club. With this membership, you don’t have to be traveling on a business or executive fare to gain entry to the lounges. There are certain entry rules and rules of conduct and dress (respectable) to abide by, depending on the airline. Most of these clubs also offer a one-time visit pass, and Continental offers a 10-visit pass book.

Some of the airlines also have club agreements with credit card companies (such as Platinum American Express and CIBC) affiliated with their frequent flyer programs.

If you travel on several different airlines on a regular basis, it might make sense to purchase a pass from an independent program such as Priority Pass, which gives you entry into 450 airport lounges in 15 countries regardless of who you’re flying with, what class you are traveling, or whether you belong to an airline lounge program. You can choose among several membership options starting at annual fees of approximately $100 USD   plus a member fee of $25 USD per visit. Clients of Uniglobe Travel qualify for discounted Priority Pass memberships and can register online at www.prioritypass.com/tp/uniglobe. Members receive a monthly e-zine informing them of any lounge additions or changes plus a handy paperback directory of participating airport lounges around the world, also available in downloadable form.

There are some lounges that do not require any club membership at all and are available to any traveler for a fee (about $US 20-30). These include the Plaza Premium lounges at Hong Kong International and the Europe City Club at the Frankfurt airport.

If you are traveling on a carrier which is a member of one of the three major airline alliances (SkyTeam, OneWorld, Star Alliance), you can usually access lounges operated by those members, too. For example, Delta permits club members access to all Continental President’s Clubs lounges when traveling on Continental and all Northwest WorldClubs when traveling on Northwest Airlines. Likewise, reciprocal club privileges are extended to United Red Carpet Club members when traveling on Star Alliance member airlines and US Airways Club. Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge members can gain entry to Star Alliance lounges worldwide.

In general, customers are admitted if they hold a same-day ticket on the departing airline, or other airlines allied with that carrier. Most lounges are located beyond security in the gate area.