The Munich Air France KLM Lounge is awesome (when it’s empty)

The Munich Air France KLM Lounge is awesome (when it’s empty)

My discovery of the Air France KLM Lounge at the Munich Airport (MUC) was kind of an accident. I had no idea that it even existed until I saw the signs for it while waiting for a flight to CDG on Air France.

Truthfully, the only redeeming thing about this lounge was the food. It wasn’t a very comfortable place to do any serious lounging in my opinion, but I certainly appreciated a full plate of eggs and bacon at 6 AM.

My full review of the Air France KLM Lounge at the Munich Airport (MUC)

Yeah. There’s an Air France KLM Lounge at the Munich Airport. I certainly wasn’t expecting to see it, but I’m not going to fault it for being there. The following is a full review of my experience.

Location

The KLM Air France Lounge is located on the second level in Terminal 1 (near the D gates). Accessing it will require ascending a set of stairs or taking your chances on a sketchy looking elevator.

air france klm lounge location map munich airport

This lounge is easy to find thanks to all the signs pointing to it, but the actual entrance is another story. It basically looks like the door to where they keep all the janitorial supplies.

Lounges at the Munich Airport
You’ve arrived! Almost. What you’re looking at in this pic is actually the entrance to the “Airport Lounge Europe” lounge, but you have to walk past it (to the right) to find the entrance to the Air France KLM lounge. Why they gotta make it so difficult?
Air France KLM lounge entrance Munich Airport
The (not so) grand entrance. Maybe Air France spent their entire budget on the CDG / Terminal 2F Lounge and there was nothing left for this one? There obviously wasn’t enough for even a KLM logo, so that’s the only logical explanation.

Layout

The best way to describe the layout of this Air France KLM Lounge is to say that it looks and feels exactly like a budget Priority Pass offering. It consists of one rectangular shaped room sectioned off by modular wall panels.

Munich Airport Air France KLM lounge layout
I could end this review right here with this one pic, and you could go on your way knowing that you’ve seen the entire lounge. Seriously. This is it.
Munich Airport Air France KLM lounge overview
It’s actually a nice looking lounge despite how basic (and small) it is. BTW, the placement of that fire extinguisher tells me that fire is a problem in this place. You’ve been warned.
Munich Airport Air France KLM lounge fire extinguisher
Another fire extinguisher. What are they not telling us?

I didn’t find it to be a very relaxing environment thanks to how open and exposed everything was. It felt more like a waiting room of some sort, and not a luxurious airline lounge. That said, it did feel like one heck of a nicer waiting room than the Hawaiian Airlines Premier Club at the Honolulu Airport did.

Munich Airport Air France KLM lounge privacy panels
I will admit that they did the best they could with the space that they had. The partitions helped to break up the space (slightly), and they look great.
Munich Airport Air France KLM lounge view
Oh, and the view? It’s pretty awesome depending on how vivid your imagination is. 

Interior design can be summed up as being 100% Air France. There is nothing that even comes close to hinting that this is also a KLM lounge, which was unfortunate considering how nice my last visit to a KLM Crown Lounge was. Most everything is either blue, red, or white, so…vive la France I guess.

Munich Airport Air France KLM lounge pic
Looking back towards the main entrance (and the food). Not to give away too much too soon, but I think you’re going to want to keep scrolling for the bacon and eggs pics…

Seating types

It’s fairly obvious they tried as hard as they could to make this a comfortable space with many different types of seating. There’s workstations (with power outlets), cafeteria style tables and chairs, couches, and cushy seats everywhere you look.

Munich Air France KLM lounge work space
Is it a bar? Or a dedicated work space? I’d imagine it all depends on who gets there first.
Munich Air France KLM lounge seating area
RIP to any introverts who get stuck sitting here when there are no other options.
Munich Air France KLM lounge chairs
Laugh all you want, but those curved chairs are a lot more comfortable than they look!
Air France KLM lounge chair types
Definitely go for the curved chairs over the square chairs. The novelty (and comfort) will distract you from how awkward the layout is.
Munich Air France KLM lounge most comfortable chairs
Consider yourself lucky if you find either of these two red chairs available. They’re essentially the two most comfortable chairs in the entire lounge.
Munich Air France KLM lounge dedicated la premier area
I say “essentially” because there is a couch that exists all the way here in the back. Unfortunately, it requires a La Premier boarding pass to access it (and how exactly they police that I have no idea). 
Munich Air France KLM lounge cafeteria tables and chairs
There are even tables and chairs designed for the sole purpose of cramming as much food into your face as possible before your flight. Thanks Air France! 

I had no problem finding a comfortable place to sit thanks to being the only one in the place. I would’ve hated to be in there when it was crowded though. I have no doubt that it would’ve been extremely miserable.

SANspotter in the Munich Air France KLM lounge
It’s not often I get to try every seat in an airport lounge (Goldilocks style), so I quite enjoyed my visit thank you very much.

The food

Ah, yes. The food! If it wasn’t for the impressive amount of food available, I could’ve easily declared this to be one of the most disappointing airline lounges that I’ve ever been in. However, the food was good enough to make this something special.

Self serve food bar Air France klm lounge Munich Airport
It may not look like all that much from a distance, but I promise you that it’s worth moseying over to the self serve food bar (John Wayne style). 

Even at 6 AM, there was everything from eggs and bacon to pastries and muffins. All of it was high-quality stuff as well.

Air France klm lounge food Munich Airport
Basically, it’s eggs and bacon on the left and hard liquor on the right. The breakfast of champions!
Air France klm lounge breakfast food Munich Airport
Shoutout to whoever it was who had to wake up a 3am, drive to the airport in the pouring rain, and whip all this stuff up (with a smile) for complete strangers. You’re my hero.
Air France klm lounge breakfast bar Munich Airport
The “build your own breakfast” section was impressive as well.
Air France klm lounge non alcoholic beverages Munich Airport
Drinks galore! This is the “mild” refrigerator…
Air France klm lounge alcoholic beverages Munich Airport
…and here’s the “wild.” Basically, no matter how stiff of a drink you need, you can get it in this lounge. Even at 6am.

I’m not a coffee drinker, but I assume what they had available was pretty good. As I sat there scarfing down my plate of eggs and bacon, I watched everyone who came in make a beeline straight to the coffee machine. The look of satisfaction on their faces spoke volumes.

Air France klm lounge breakfast plate Munich Airport
“AvGeek Lord, thank you for the bacon before me, the business class boarding pass I have in my possession, and the love between man and airplane. Amen.”
Air France klm lounge bacon Munich Airport
The bacon was perfectly prepared, btw. #chefskiss
SANspotter eating breakfast in Air France klm lounge Munich Airport
No, I’m not religious at all, but that prayer was 100% justified. This is some real good ****!

How to get into the Air France KLM Lounge at MUC

Getting into the Munich Air France KLM Lounge is extremely easy. All it takes is a business class ticket on either KLM or Air France (no matter if you’re flying intra-Europe or beyond). Other ways to get in include:

Keep in mind that entrance requirements and qualifications change all the time, so be sure to check the Air France website for the latest information. And if you’re wondering: no, you can’t purchase a day pass to enter this lounge. Not that you’d want to anyway.

Air France Kim lounge Munich Airport view looking towards main entrance
One last look at the location of the fire extinguisher. I didn’t need it on my visit today, but you never know…

Pros and cons

Long story short, this is pretty much the opposite of an aspirational airline lounge. If you go because you need a quick bite to eat or a semi-quiet place to get a little work done, you’ll love it. If you go for the sole purpose of wanting to feel spoiled and important, you’re going to be disappointed.

Pros

  • The food is impressive! Not only the quantity, but the quality as well.
  • It’s extremely clean and tidy. They maintain the space quite well.
  • It looks to be fairly recently updated. All the textures and materials seemed fresh and new.

Cons

  • It feels more like a waiting room than a lounge.
  • Despite the barriers in between the different sections, it’s still going to be noisy at times due to the dense seating layout.
  • There are no views to the outside world. If you need sunshine to help you unwind and relax before your flight, you’re better off finding a quiet spot out in the main terminal next to a big window.

Comments (2)

  1. Peter

    May 9, 2023
    • Scott (SANspotter)

      May 9, 2023

Give a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.