[millionsofmiles]

@Ian:

– if you have *A or Senator Status, you can ckeck in at an F-counter, thus getting a better priority baggage label
-If you have a C-ticket without status, you get access to biz lounges only.
-If you have C-tct plus *A-Gold, you can use the First lounges except LH/LX, who offer Senator lounges, better than biz lounges.
-priority waitlisting for Sen/*A-Gold is higher than for Silver
– same for waitlist

[Henkel.Trocken]

Ian, agreed. I’ve never though been waitlisted on a *A flight and not got on in at least C so that really does work and I think works much better as a G than a silver.

The trouble with all the alliances now is that they really have too many top tier members and as they grow it only gets worse. Perks are meant to be exclusive but they aren’t.

Of all, I think SIA manage it best and although not everyone likes what they do they are upfront and consistent with it.

As I’ve said before, I’m loyal to no carrier other than the one who offers me the best fare for the service they offer so I regard FF status as something of an incidental to my travel. It’s useful to cash in miles when we want a shorthaul weekend away but other than that, I have no expectations of it.

I suppose that puts me in a very different place to someone who scrapes in to a gold tier with whatever airline using cheap tickets and has an anxiety about making it or not. Then I think your expectations are much higher but unfortunatley they are often dashed when perceived perks are not there.

[Travellator]

You need a fork lift at the far end with 4×32 !!

[openfly]

Just checked with BA and their top-tier allowance is 3×32 in F and J . Not sure where the 4×32 comes from.

[AllOverTheGaff]

Henkel.Trocken – 17/06/2013 11:13 GMT
As I’ve said before, I’m loyal to no carrier other than the one who offers me the best fare for the service they offer so I regard FF status as something of an incidental to my travel.

Exactly the same Henkel, and truthfully, before I joined this forum I had no idea lounges and FF programmes had so much bearing on travel decisions.

I base mines on the same criteria as you, easiest route, best on-board seat & service and competitive price every time. That being said, I am normally happy to pay a little more for EK 1st which I normally find on a par price wise with BA CW.

Rgds.
AOTG.

[IanFromHKG]

millionsofmiles – 17/06/2013 11:11 GMT : If you have C-tct plus *A-Gold, you can use the First lounges except LH/LX, who offer Senator lounges, better than biz lounges.

Not according to the *A website lounge-finder tool. As I said, although there are F lounges in HKG and BKK, when I used the lounge finder to indicate a C ticket on Thai and *A G membership, it still only indicated access to C lounges

HT – I do understand where you are coming from, I suppose that as a long-term oneworld member I am used to getting “something extra” when travelling J as a top-tier member, so it came as a big surprise that *A didn’t work the same way!

In any case, thanks all for your learned comments – most enlightening, as always

And if anyone is passing through HKG or BKK this Friday evening, LHR T3 on Sunday night or BKK on Monday afternoon, hit me up – assuming we can get identical lounge access sorted out (!), perhaps we could meet!

[VintageKrug]

It’s a sad state of affairs when Emirates has to give away its bling First Class for less than the £1299 British Airways charges in its Club World sale Heathrow-Dubai return.

But there lies the salutory danger of seat dumping when there is overcapacity.

[HongKongLady]

Ian, I haven’t been in BKK for a while, what is the lounge access for BA now ? As I have used the Qantas lounge in the past even when hopping between HK and BKK on Cathay. I am guessing this is no longer possible.

[IanFromHKG]

Indeed, VK. Otjer examples are constant sales, and the constant promotions of “buy J and get a one-way upgrade to F” – both rather desperate tactics to fill seats. Now, which airline keeps doing these? It’s on the tip of my tongue…

[IanFromHKG]

HongKongLady – 17/06/2013 11:30 GMT : Ian, I haven’t been in BKK for a while, what is the lounge access for BA now ? As I have used the Qantas lounge in the past even when hopping between HK and BKK on Cathay. I am guessing this is no longer possible.

As I recall (but I can verify this on Friday!) as you walk towards the BA/QF lounges, the one on the left is BA F and the one on the right is QF J. I think that even with the dissolution of the JV, each is sending their passengers of the appropriate class to the same lounges.

However, all this is moot. If you are oneworld Sapphire you can use ANY oneworld J lounge when flying oneworld. if you are Emerald you can use ANY oneworld F lounge. Furthermore – although this is not so well publicised and isn’t made particularly clear on the oneworld site – if you have a J oneworld ticket you can use ANY J oneworld lounge, and similarly with an F oneworld ticket you can use ANY oneworld F lounge. So even without status, if you had a CX F ticket you could use the BA F lounge, and with a CX J ticket you can use the QF J lounge.

DISCLAIMER: I have not attempted to address the special carve-outs for the US/Australia/paid memberships

[VintageKrug]

…but of course this works less well in LHR, where you are *generally* restricted to the terminal from which you are departing.

[IanFromHKG]

True, VK, and the same could be said of many other airports. Even in those where it is theoretically possible to go from one terminal to another, the security checks generally render it too tiresome to switch. However, even in LHR it is possible to get choices – there are, for example, no less than six oneworld lounges in T3 (BA Galleries F, BA Galleries J, CX F, CX J, AA Admirals and AA Flagship)

And, of course, it must be remembered that passengers passing through LHR are quite likely to pass through another airport at some point…

[SimonS1]

VintageKrug – 17/06/2013 11:28 GMT
“It’s a sad state of affairs when Emirates has to give away its bling First Class for less than the £1299 British Airways charges in its Club World sale Heathrow-Dubai return.”

Funny isn’t it. Anyone would think it was Emirates making a loss before tax and BA a profit of over $500m in the last financial year.

Then again Emirates has a much lower cost base, 24 hour operation in Dubai, newer fleet, better hard product and so on. Nothing like a bit of competition I guess….EZY at the mass market end and EK at the premium end.

The next year or so will be key. With new planes arriving every 2 weeks maybe the tide will turn. Or will BA still be taking to the skies in 5 years time with decrepit 747s that are normally the provenance of the Hajj operators?

[VintageKrug]

BA made an operating profit of £300m/$472m in 2012, the last full financial year and the tail end of one of the worst European recessions in history.

[HongKongLady]

Thanks Ian I am BA gold so can access the First lounges. Always found the Qantas one superior to the Cathay at Bangkok apart from the sheer numbers using it at times.

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