Lounge Access Help Desk

[admin]

Background to this thread
We have noticed an increase in the posting of questions regarding what Airport Lounges are available at specific airports when travelling on specific airlines. While one can be assured of access at the airline lounge when travelling on that airline (provided you have Lounge membership), thing start to get complex when travelling on a codeshare or partner airline.

Posting Guidelines
Please post your questions about Lounge access in this thread. Be sure to include the airline you are travelling on, the airport (and terminal, if known), and any Airline Status or Airport Lounge membership programs you have.

When answering questions, please include the original question. This will assist in readability and management of the thread.

(Special thanks to Princess Fiona for suggesting this new thread.)

 

[CaptainCurtis]

As QFF Gold/Oneworld Sapphire you can access the AA Flagship Lounge at T4 and the QF Business lounge at TBIT.

Thank you!

 

[akanub]

Hi all!

Does anyone know if I'll have lounge access flying from YUL to EWR in business on american airlines?

Looks like there's no Admirals Club unfortunately in YUL.

Thanks advance!

 

[Peanutbladder]

Hi, I am flying Alaskan metal (First Class) next year internally in North America however, it is a SQ code share with an SQ flight number. Now, will I have access to lounges in both Sea and MCO ? If so which ones, Star Alliance or One World ??

I am Star Gold and One World Emerald, any advice would be appreciated

 

[SYD]

Hi all!

Does anyone know if I'll have lounge access flying from YUL to EWR in business on american airlines?

Looks like there's no Admirals Club unfortunately in YUL.

Thanks advance!

No, unfortunately no ACs in Canada apart from Toronto (AFAIK). Even the airports with other OW lounges (eg YVR) are inaccesible.

I sat around the gate at YUL last year flying AA YUL-DFW. Made worse because we got to the airport early to sort out a ticketing issue….

Hi, I am flying Alaskan metal (First Class) next year internally in North America however, it is a SQ code share with an SQ flight number. Now, will I have access to lounges in both Sea and MCO ? If so which ones, Star Alliance or One World ??

I am Star Gold and One World Emerald, any advice would be appreciated

Which airlines do you have status? Any Nth American Airlines programs will normally exclude domestic lounge access.

I doubt AS will entertain access using A*G. More likely you’ll get in with a non Nth Am OWE status but if that isn’t in the booking (hard to add with SQ), they might say “no”.

 

[squid01]

Hi all,

Flying out of LAX, first international flight in economy for a while thanks to having to stop CC churning to get a home loan :/

Are there any lounges we can pay to access? I read an article about the star alliance lounge being available to anyone of any airline but when I go to book/pay online it asks for your star alliance flight number, does anyone know if you must be flying star alliance?

Can’t pay for access to the Oneworld/Qantas lounge?

Don’t suppose anyone flying 16th Nov back to Aust (night flights) will be around and can guest two people in please? Can give you a firm handshake and once inside, the drinks are on me

Thanks!

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Hi all,

Flying out of LAX, first international flight in economy for a while thanks to having to stop CC churning to get a home loan :/

Fair enough. Do you happen to have any credit card that has travel benefits? If so, look carefully at the details of the card. To give you an example, the Qantas Ultimate card from AmEx provides 2 passes every year to the Centurion lounge. At LAX, there is a Centurion lounge and whilst it can get a bit crowded they do have a good selection of food (certainly better than what you'll find at QF or AA lounges).

Another thing to consider is you may already have Qantas Lounge access but don't know about it. If you hold Silver status, I believe you get 2 lounge passes to Qantas lounges. Additionally, if you achieve Points Club Plus status, that is earn roughly 350,000 Qantas points in a given membership year, Qantas will give you Qantas Club membership. Even if you only earned 150,000 points in a given year, you would earn 2 Qantas Lounge passes that can be used at a number of airports (you'll need to assign it to your Qantas flight to use them).

When you get back to churning cards, I'd strongly recommend the AmEx Platinum card particularly if you travel regularly. The big benefit with them is you get some of the most comprehensive lounge access in the world. Specifically, you get Virgin Australia lounge access, Lufthansa lounge access when flying with a Lufthansa Group airline, Delta Airlines SkyClub access when flying Delta in every class of service except Basic Economy. And if that wasn't enough you get Centurion Lounge access, Priority Pass membership to over a thousand lounges globally. What's more you can guest someone in travelling with you. And the best part? You can have add 4 card holders to your Platinum account for free meaning they will also have the same lounge benefits when travelling. And if that wasn't enough you get an annual travel credit, annual dining credits, an Accor+ membership which gets you a free night at many Accor properties in Asia-Pacific. You also get hotel elite status like Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold, Accor Silver. Same thing with rental cars. The list goes on and on. I held the card for 2 years before finally giving it up. The reason? I wasn't travelling enough to justify the $800 CAD annual fee. But if you travel enough be it domestically or internationally it can certainly make a big difference.

Are there any lounges we can pay to access?

There are and in fact LAX is arguably my favourite airport in the world given the sheer number of lounges in the complex. But here's the rub, most of them are operated by airlines. Airline operated lounges generally require you to be flying with them or alternatively with an airline in their alliance.

I read an article about the star alliance lounge being available to anyone of any airline but when I go to book/pay online it asks for your star alliance flight number, does anyone know if you must be flying star alliance?

Star Alliance lounge is very nice, I'd go so far as to say better than Qantas business lounge at LAX. There's a rooftop terrace, a selection of Asian and American foods, good selection of wine, ample space to get work done, showers, and what not.

Can’t pay for access to the Oneworld/Qantas lounge?

Qantas does allow you to buy lounge access to some of their lounges (unsure if LAX is on the list), provided of course you are flying Qantas back to Australia. Here's the link for that. Another option, should that not work is you can buy into the Admirals lounge at a cost of $79 provided you are flying AA or a OneWorld airline. Between the two, I'd probably recommend the Qantas Lounge as the food selection would be more substantial. With that being said, I have not set foot in the Admirals side of the lounge (just the Flagship lounge section as I was arriving on an Alaskan flight in economy as a Qantas Gold and hence had access exclusively to the better lounge), but my experience elsewhere (e.g., PHX) seems to suggest that you shouldn't set your sights too high with Aadmirals lounges in general. If flying Star Alliance, well you can book the Star Alliance lounge for a comparable amount.

Don’t suppose anyone flying 16th Nov back to Aust (night flights) will be around and can guest two people in please? Can give you a firm handshake and once inside, the drinks are on me

It might make sense to check out this thread which covers people attending lounges this month.

 

[henrus]

the Qantas Ultimate card from AmEx provides 2 passes every year to the Centurion lounge.

This only provides access to the two Amex lounges in Australia (SYD/MEL) with two free visits per year. Likewise QF silver only gives a single lounge pass and even then QF lounge passes aren’t valid at the LAX lounge.

The OP probably needs to share what airline they are flying on (and if any codeshares are involved).

If Qantas then an option is to join the Qantas Club, one off its au$828 (that’s the first year and joining fee). It comes with access to the LAX lounge plus one guest and is valid for the year. I’d also flying on other American Airlines flights, a Qantas club membership also comes with access to AA lounges. Otherwise as mentioned above AA sells day passes to their lounge for us$79 per person with access allowed prior to any oneworld flight.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just a note in Kangarooflyer’s post re AMEX. Some of the rules seem to be changing in that only the primary card holder gets free access to some lounges now, and guests are being charged USD50. I think supplementary card holders are considered ‘primary’ for some lounges, like the AMEX Centurion lounge.

Some folk just in front of me last week at LAX had one Amex Plat… both aussie so assume assuie card… the primary was free but she was charged USD50 for her partner.

I believe VA lounges are also ‘primary card holder only’?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Just thought I’d share some intel for the helpdesk in case anyone is travelling FJ as a OneWorld elite.

I flew FJ yesterday out of SYD as a Platinum (on an economy classic award). Consequently the flight carried an FJ flight number instead of a QF flight number, meaning I was somewhat concerned that I wouldn't get access on the basis that Fiji is still technically a OneWorld Connect partner (and thus doesn't provide the same range of benefits to OneWorld elites flying them). Fortunately, after clearing security I headed straight for the First lounge, the agent scanned my boarding pass and that was it. No need to show my Qantas card or anything. A very seamless process indeed.

The QF Flounge wasn't particularly busy, I was able to get seated and immediately ordered my meal, as boarding was to commence in 45 minutes (no time for a shower this time!):







-RooFlyer88

 

[henrus]

I flew FJ yesterday out of SYD as a Platinum (on an economy classic award). Consequently the flight carried an FJ flight number instead of a QF flight number, meaning I was somewhat concerned that I wouldn't get access on the basis that Fiji is still technically a OneWorld Connect partner (

This would be an interesting one to figure out as technically you shouldn't have had access. Obviously when FJ fully joins OW it won't be a problem but for now technically QF status on a FJ flight number means nothing in terms of lounge access.

I have two theories which is either they've relaxed the above (I know the FJ lounge in NAN has started letting QF status in prior to FJ flights) in preparation for FJs full OW membership or you got in on the basis it was Qantas ticket stock, I've heard on here a few have got in on non QF flight numbers provided the ticket with booked with QF.

 

[SYD]

This would be an interesting one to figure out as technically you shouldn't have had access. Obviously when FJ fully joins OW it won't be a problem but for now technically QF status on a FJ flight number means nothing in terms of lounge access.

I have two theories which is either they've relaxed the above (I know the FJ lounge in NAN has started letting QF status in prior to FJ flights) in preparation for FJs full OW membership or you got in on the basis it was Qantas ticket stock, I've heard on here a few have got in on non QF flight numbers provided the ticket with booked with QF.

There’s been several reports of QF WP/SG gaining access to SYD QF lounges recently with FJ BPs (as mentioned here). @kangarooflyer88 mentioned they’d give it a try.

Although, AFAIK the QF, FJ and OW websites haven’t been updated.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I have two theories which is either they've relaxed the above (I know the FJ lounge in NAN has started letting QF status in prior to FJ flights) in preparation for FJs full OW membership or you got in on the basis it was Qantas ticket stock, I've heard on here a few have got in on non QF flight numbers provided the ticket with booked with QF.

I suspect it’s the former. After all how are they gonna know what ticket stock it was issued on? Sure maybe scanning the pass will bring up the eticket number but I didn’t see the agent scrutinizing anything.

The better question would be when this change started? My guess is it must have been fairly recently.

Although, AFAIK the QF, FJ and OW websites haven’t been updated.

Not all lounge policies are codified on the web. A perfect example of that was the carve out United had with Lufthansa such that Premier Golds and above travelling in any fare class of EuroWings can access Senator lounges. Imagine the surprise of the lounge attendants at Tegel and Dusseldorf when I waltz in with a light Economy ticket with Eurowings. Similar thing with Virgin Australia lounges. Website doesn’t say whether a United Premier Golds can bring a guest in but as it turns out they can. On the other hand I’ve had the walk of shame trying to get into the First lounge flying LATAM as a LATAM Black and Qantas Platinum elite.

 

[SYD]

I suspect it’s the former. After all how are they gonna know what ticket stock it was issued on? Sure maybe scanning the pass will bring up the eticket number but I didn’t see the agent scrutinizing anything.

The better question would be when this change started? My guess is it must have been fairly recently.

Not all lounge policies are codified on the web. A perfect example of that was the carve out United had with Lufthansa such that Premier Golds and above travelling in any fare class of EuroWings can access Senator lounges. Imagine the surprise of the lounge attendants at Tegel and Dusseldorf when I waltz in with a light Economy ticket with Eurowings. Similar thing with Virgin Australia lounges. Website doesn’t say whether a United Premier Golds can bring a guest in but as it turns out they can. On the other hand I’ve had the walk of shame trying to get into the First lounge flying LATAM as a LATAM Black and Qantas Platinum elite.

Those non Alliance outliers are always problematic.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Those non Alliance outliers are always problematic.

And don't get me started with US carriers and how they "handle" their elites! If you hold AA or AS status, you can only access UA/AA/AS lounges in the US when you're on an international itinerary. For DL, you can only access their lounges as an elite if you're travelling in Premium Economy or above and travelling internationally. Which brings with it interesting loopholes to use partner lounges when travelling elite. For instance, when I was a United Premier Gold, I'd visit the Lufthansa Senator lounge at Dulles or Newark, or maybe the Star Alliance or Air Canada lounge at LAX. Ofcourse if you hold elite status from an airline outside the US, then you can always access lounges when travelling domestically (except SkyTeam, where again you must be travelling internationally).

And if that wasn't enough sometimes there are adhoc rules made up by the lounges. For instance, I was denied entry into the BA lounge at SEA because I wasn't travelling internationally, despite the fact that there are no lounge rules on the OW site that specifically say that.

-RooFlyer88

 

[MEL_Traveller]

And don't get me started with US carriers and how they "handle" their elites! If you hold AA or AS status, you can only access UA/AA/AS lounges in the US when you're on an international itinerary. For DL, you can only access their lounges as an elite if you're travelling in Premium Economy or above and travelling internationally. Which brings with it interesting loopholes to use partner lounges when travelling elite. For instance, when I was a United Premier Gold, I'd visit the Lufthansa Senator lounge at Dulles or Newark, or maybe the Star Alliance or Air Canada lounge at LAX. Ofcourse if you hold elite status from an airline outside the US, then you can always access lounges when travelling domestically (except SkyTeam, where again you must be travelling internationally).

And if that wasn't enough sometimes there are adhoc rules made up by the lounges. For instance, I was denied entry into the BA lounge at SEA because I wasn't travelling internationally, despite the fact that there are no lounge rules on the OW site that specifically say that.

-RooFlyer88

Yes, but if you are a member of one of those programs, and living in the US, you’re likely to be across the rules.

The problems arise for those outside the US, turning up and expecting lounge access to be the same as their usual country of residence.

 

[SYD]

Yes, but if you are a member of one of those programs, and living in the US, you’re likely to be across the rules.

The problems arise for those outside the US, turning up and expecting lounge access to be the same as their usual country of residence.

Locals probably also have paid lounge membership (or something via a CC). Quite a few regular OW travellers buy discount QP membership for domestic lounge access in the US!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Locals probably also have paid lounge membership (or something via a CC). Quite a few regular OW travellers buy discount QP membership for domestic lounge access?

Yes, i believe that’s a ‘thing’.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Yes, but if you are a member of one of those programs, and living in the US, you’re likely to be across the rules.

The problems arise for those outside the US, turning up and expecting lounge access to be the same as their usual country of residence.

What matters, at the end of the day is what program you belong to. When I was travelling through the US last year as a Qantas Gold, I had no problems accessing the American Admirals and Flagship lounges on departure or arrival of my domestic flights, nor did I have any problems accessing the Alaska lounges either! The agents understand the rules well for members outside the US. This is one of the reasons why there is value in holding Qantas, BA or some other non-US airline Sapphire or above status even if you don't live there.

Locals probably also have paid lounge membership (or something via a CC). Quite a few regular OW travellers buy discount QP membership for domestic lounge access in the US!

That's correct, there are a number of credit cards in the US that offer lounge access plus you can also buy lounge membership too. I believe some elite levels of the US programs also offer lounge member as a choice benefit. Given this and the fact that US airlines have not made adequate investments in their lounge infrastructure, is it any wonder why they do want to limit those who can get in? Additionally, some of these lounge memberships give you alliance wide lounge access. For instance, a United Club membership gives you access to all the Star Alliance Gold lounges out there. Now yes, a Qantas Club membership would be lucrative to a US domestic given how relatively cheap it is and that it gives access to AAdmirals lounges.

As much as I love complaining about Qantas (and trust me there's tons to complain about), one thing they do really well are lounges. Domestically at most major cities you can expect two lounges: a club and a business lounge with ample seating for guests. Now yes, some will complain that Sydney can get a bit full particularly during peak times like 7-9 AM and 4-6 PM. However, I'd sincerely encourage them to head over to the US and try finding a seat at a Delta SkyClub or Admiral's lounge.

 

[RealtimeY]

Given CX Economy often doesnt earn with QF, I was thinking of crediting the flight to Asiamile or BA.

I've always been successful in using my QF/OW status as normal on CX to enjoy the benefits and then, after travel, submitting missing points claims through AM for the non-earning Y sectors. It's a bit coughbersome but so far has worked each time.

 

[mx838383]

Hi everyone. First time flying J with CI (China airlines) and I know I have access to lounge at Mel airport - they use the House. Friends of ours flying PE on the same flight. Can I guest them given I am in J or no because I am not a sky team elite?