Chicago (ORD) and Houston (IAH) Lounge

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    Moadweeb
    Participant

    Hello Members,

    I am not a regular traveler to the United States but 1st week of May I will be flying LH to Houston ( IAH ) via Frankfurt ( FRA ) and Chicago ( ORD ) in Business Class all the way.

    I am aware of the lounge facilities in FRA but could someone educate me on which lounge can I use while in Chicago and Houston ? The ORD-IAH-ORD route is being serviced by United hence I assume I can use a United Lounge ? Or is there a Lufthansa lounge too ?

    I am quite excited about the FRA-ORD sector on Lufthansa since this allows me to fly the new 747-800 ! which allows the use of the top-deck for Business Class

    One more question is regarding the luggage allowance between the ORD-IAH-ORD sector, is it still 2 x 32 kg ( 70 lbs )?

    thanks,
    Moadweeb


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    ORD: On your way to IAH, you’ll probably have access to the United lounge, which you can expect to be below European standards. On your way back, it should be a LH one. I didn’t try it as I flew back only with BA (one F and one C lounge) or LX (a single tiny and cute lounge with a separate area for F) from ORD.

    About the B747-8: http://www.businesstraveller.com/discussion/topic/Lufthansa-B747-8-(Config.-2)-Business

    Luggage: if you are checked through, the MSC (most significant carrier) rule applies, i.e. LH in your case (first IATA areas crossing).


    Senator
    Participant

    Please note that Lufthansa uses the United Club in Chicago as they don’t have their own lounge. In Houston you will also have access to the United Club. Both airports as United hubs have several locations. Please note that at least one of the United Clubs at ORD has been refurbished.

    Star Alliance DOES NOT deploy the IATA rule called: MSC (Most Significant Carrier) when it comes to bag from what I understand from a different forum. They base it on the rules of the FIRST carrier on the journey.

    So check the baggage provisions for the carrier. This means Lufthansa on the outbound and United on the return (both are harmonised to my knowledge).


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    Hi Senator,
    Lufthansa baggage rules will apply here, but for another reason… As you can read from http://www.lufthansa.com/online/portal/lh/ca/info_and_services/baggage?nodeid=3331125, MSC rule does not apply to/from the USA. Instead, the first leg of the ticket makes the allowance…


    Moadweeb
    Participant

    Senator/Swissdiver

    I was allowed x 2 bags but don’t know if there was a weight limit since I was around 20 kgs each. It was irritating to collect my luggage at Chicago ( ORD ) and recheck-in at the same airport and go through security again for the connecting flight to Houston ( IAH )

    United Lounge :

    I could write a whole novel on the lounge and how bad it was but I will keep it short..

    It seems that for passengers arriving on a Lufthansa Operated Aircraft connecting to a domestic sector in any American airport with the onward journey on a United operated flight DO NOT have lounge access even if your onward domestic US flight is on Business ( First ) class ! ! This means that only if my flight which bought me into the US was a UNITED flight, could I use the lounge. The lounge staff stated that Lufthansa do not want to pay for the lounge access for onward domestic connecting passengers.

    Therefore, I had to pay $ 50 for shit United Lounge in Chicago since my transit layover was 5 hours.. The less said about this lounge the better..I wish I had a choice. The concept of a lounge in this airport was unlike what I experience in Europe/Asia.

    To be clear, on my return journey from Houston-Chicago-Frankfurt-Mumbai, I will not have access to the lounge in Houston ( IAH ) but I WILL have access to the Chicago ( ORD ) lounge since the onward flight from Chicago [ though on Lufthansa ] is an international flight hence I can use the same lounge.

    I do not understand this confusing policy and I don’t care, since I would not be traveling Lufthansa anyway..I hope to write a detailed review of my Lufthansa experience from Mumbai-Frankfurt-Chicago.

    The Business Class on the Frankfurt-Chicago route ( 747-800 ) was a disaster..Please… if you are of above average height and broad like I am, DO NOT use this aircraft on any Lufthansa flight. In a nutshell, since there is NO physical partition between the Window/Aisle seat on the business class of this plane, my feet were more or less touching/rubbing my German neighbors pants most part of the flight while we slept ! It was a ridiculous experience for a brand new plane design ! ! The seats are not a 100% lie flat design..

    I do not know why Lufthansa would make such a basic mistake ??

    I apologize for such a lengthy response..

    Cheers,
    M


    Senator
    Participant

    @Moadweeb, having to claim luggage in ORD and re-check these at T5, as well as be considered an airside passenger is unfortunately the US Custom and Border Control procedure for domestic connection and should not come as a surprise or is anything special for your journey.

    Declined visit to the ORD UA Clyb in transit to IAH and from IAH to ORD on the domestic portion is wrong if the connecting flights were on the same days as access should be granted on an international itinerary on all legs. As long as it was the same day and the same ticket, there should be no issue.

    http://www.staralliance.com/en/benefits/status-benefits/lounge-access-policy/

    I can’t find the exact details now, but this should be the rule..


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    @Moadweeb: In the USA, lounges are for Frequent flyer programmes elite members, not for first or business class passengers (contrarily to the rest of the world). With the emergence of the global alliances though, the international rules apply when travelling internationally. It worked well for me when I did precisely what you did, but via IAD to ORD last summer (the B747-8 wasn’t yet flying to ORD). And I could access the United lounge without problem. You should therefore send a complain to Lufthansa.


    Moadweeb
    Participant

    Senator/Swissdiver

    I am planning to lodge a complaint to Lufthansa, the lounge people were well aware in Chicago that I arrived on an international Lufthansa flight and am a connecting passenger on the onward journey ( on Business Class ) on the same ticket and PNR.

    They stated ” Lufthansa does not pay us for this facility for onward connecting Domestic Passengers unless you have arrived on a United Airlines Aircraft ”

    The Chicago lounge anyway was a piece of Junk.

    Does this also happen when you fly either B.A. or Emirates ?

    I do not understand why a Business Class passenger has no access to a lounge which is unheard of in Asia ! What’s the use of flying Business Class ?

    The seats on the United flight from Chicago-Houston in Business Class were below par anyway.

    Regards,
    Moadweeb.


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    Hi Moadweeb,
    Never had a problem with BA/One World. And the BA lounges in ORD are nice.
    US business class seats are in general better than European ones!
    I guess the US lounge access policy has historical grounds I don’t know. The fact is they want to give their lounge a club feel: you belong to it or not… Weird also for a European…


    Senator
    Participant

    Perhaps I will get corrected by some of the native English speakers in the forum, but the naming conventions used by US carriers perhaps leave a slightly different angle to what US carriers are offering.

    You see, with the notable exceptions of the American Airlines Flagship Lounges and the United Airlines GlobalFirst Lounges which there are less than five of each, US carriers don’t have lounges, they have Clubs:
    AA Admirals Club
    United Club
    Delta SkyClub
    US Airways Club

    To me, the notion of “Club” means that entitlement is granted on a membership basis. This does hold true for US based carriers as the primary right of access is through an annual, paid membership. The annual rates are from $350-600. Discounted rates are normally offered to status members.

    Therefore, having status in a US based programme is not a door-opener on domestic-only itineraries. It is however, a door-opener on international itineraries. An US based status customer requires a paid membership to access Clubs when travelling domestically.

    The main perk status members in the US have, are unlimited but capacity-restricted domestic upgrades even from cheapest fares. Furthermore, the highest status members also earn System-Wide Upgrades (SWU) to be used across the network. Free club or lounge access seems to be less important to the folks in the US.

    However, based on the bilateral agreement between Lufthansa and United as well as the multi-lateral agreement within Star Alliance @Moadweeb was wrongly denied access to the United Club.


    Swissdiver
    Participant

    Moadweeb
    Participant

    Dear All,

    I write this from the United Lounge from Chicago O’Hare airport ( next to Gate B-6 )

    I had my boxing gloves on ready for the ‘Right to Enter’ look but one swipe of my boarding pass and was given access without a blink !! Damn..Was hoping to argue with them at least for 5 minutes..

    Now I am completely stumped, their logic is, since now I am flying international from Chicago even on a Lufthansa Aircraft, I have access to the Lounge/Club.

    Chicago is a transit for me from Houston…In Houston I did not have lounge access even though I was flying Business Class ( First )

    Another surprise for me was the security queue at Houston airport had no priority for First Class passenger. I had to stand in the same queue as others. Is this no common practice in the US ?

    A final question, why is Business Class here in the US not given any priority except when it comes to boarding and seats ??

    Regards,
    Moadweeb.


    Senator
    Participant

    My dear @Moadweeb, you have once again been wronged again my friend or been to the wrong part of the airport (missing Premier Access).

    I have not been to Houston (IAH), but as a United hub I would suspect UA Premier Access is available, you may have missed it. I could be wrong.

    http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/products/premieraccess/default.aspx

    Once again, same day travel on an international itinerary the Domestic First (being the Business Class equivalent on a 2-class aircraft) and/or a Star Gold should give you access to the Club (not lounge).

    Your access to the United Club now is because Lufthansa doesn’t not operate their own lounge at Chicago (ORD). They use the United Club in lieu of own premises.

    Either your trip is filled with a massive amount of misunderstandings or you have been simply wronged. I frequently travel on multi-airline itineraries (Lufthansa/Swiss and United) with domestic transits and never have any issues with Premier Access or United Clubs.

    My suggestion in the future is a quick glance through the Star Alliance, United and Lufthansa websites and print the necessary information and bring with you. Another suggestion is to look for Lufthansa’s own representatives at the airport next time and let them help you.

    I have never experienced any of the issues you describe, I feel for you as this should be seamless..


    Communipaw
    Participant

    Here is the link for all the locations of United lounges in the US:

    http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/airport/lounge/locations/default.aspx

    Additionally, here is the link with complete information regarding United lounges:

    http://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/airport/lounge/default.aspx

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