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Lounge access for minor with status

Lounge access for minor with status

Old Sep 22, 2011, 6:51 pm
  #76  
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: YYC
Posts: 4,035
Originally Posted by wwtsang
link to the article

wondering what the routing looks like that the fellow canadian is able to visit Germany, Switzerland, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong over 17 days next year

i guess on this board connecting is considered visiting
18 hours in FRA on the way over to explore a city I haven't been to before. 22 hours in ZRH on the return to enjoy one of my favourite cities in the world.

Originally Posted by jlisi984
The Wall Street Journal is featuring rehoult.
You should have come on SMD and you too could have been in it.
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Old Sep 22, 2011, 6:53 pm
  #77  
 
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Originally Posted by rehoult
18 hours in FRA on the way over to explore a city I haven't been to before. 22 hours in ZRH on the return to enjoy one of my favourite cities in the world.


You should have come on SMD and you too could have been in it.
perhaps i will meet u somewhere along the way...... Mrs GHT and i are doing Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Tokyo, Frankfurt, Venice, New York

on a side note......how many articles is that guy gonna write about SMD3? I think we can start a collection........
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Old Sep 22, 2011, 7:00 pm
  #78  
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
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Originally Posted by Shareholder
If it was a serviced bar there would be no issue with entry by an unaccompanied minor, but as long as it is a self-service bar the entry restriction applies. Coincidentally today's WALL STREET JOURNAL has a feature on young FFers and this issue does appear in the story for some of them when trying to enter clubs with self serve bars (like the NZ LAX lounge). They feature another young Calgarian, but not Jan.
Yeah, the young Calgarian that was IDed at every turn. United party. Check. Hyatt ORD. Check. ORD TSA opt-out. Check. ORD RCC. Check. On board. Attempted, stared down. Check. Hyatt YUL. Check. MLL. Check. Sim bar. Check. Trying to get into the DEN RCC, "Son, you can't use your dad's card to get in here."

By the end of the trip the I'd have everyone near me cracking up every time I tried to order anything. Such an awesome time though.
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Old Sep 22, 2011, 7:04 pm
  #79  
 
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Originally Posted by rehoult
Yeah, the young Calgarian that was IDed at every turn. United party. Check. Hyatt ORD. Check. ORD TSA opt-out. Check. ORD RCC. Check. On board. Attempted, stared down. Check. Hyatt YUL. Check. MLL. Check. Sim bar. Check. Trying to get into the DEN RCC, "Son, you can't use your dad's card to get in here."

By the end of the trip the I'd have everyone near me cracking up every time I tried to order anything. Such an awesome time though.
for sure it was fun...... u know my checked bag was opened at DEN/IAD and YYZ....i ended up with 3 slips telling me they opened my bag.....

must be the two aircraft models............

i never got ID'ed though...... but too bad i was too sick to drink (until the last two days when i said heck, i am not going to take medication anyways so drink!)


BTW i am going to soon set up a blog site with my redeemed RTW trip (SIN-BKK-FRA-JFK-YYZ-SFO-LAX-NRT-SIN) ..... all the stuff less the crap from AC/UA

i wonder when i should go back to Denver to do the stimulator.....
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Old Oct 21, 2011, 4:55 pm
  #80  
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This saga has ended. I thought I'd post the letters.

Dear Mr. jlisi984,
.
Thank you for your patience awaiting our response.
.
To begin, I would like to congratulate you on your continued successes as young, accomplished pianist. I am among one of your many fans and became so after seeing the piece on you on CBC last year. You truly are inspiring to Canadian youth!
.
Please know that we.are very proud to be your carrier of choice and sincerely hope we may continue to be so for many years to come. We know that you have many choices in carriers, and the fact that you have remained loyal to our airline is appreciated and something we will not take for granted.
.
That being said, I can understand your disappointment with your inability to enter the.Maple Leaf Lounge unaccompanied with an adult. As one of our top tier members, you have every right to expect all of the benefits that come with the membership. However, as Mr. Whitworth pointed out to you, it is due to the liquor licenses that we cannot admit anyone under 18 unaccompanied. I trust you understand that we must abide by the law and we would be subject.to large fines if we allowed a minor access unaccompanied..
.
You stated that in the past, exceptions have been made for you, if you sat near the entrance, but unfortunately, that is against our policies. I hope you can appreciate that we have thousands of Super Elite members and our Concierges are kept very busy assisting them on a daily basis. If they had 15 minutes to spare, I'm sure they would be happy to accompany you in the Lounge. Respectfully though, given their hectic schedules, it just isn't feasible. I am so sorry that we are unable to solve this for you; however, I do hope you may understand our position.
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Mr. jlisi984, I earnestly hope that the other benefits awarded to you as Super Elite, somehow make up for the current Lounge restriction. We wish you continued success with your career and we look forward to the privilege of welcoming you back onboard soon.
.
Sincerely,
XXX
Air Canada Customer Relations
Executive Centre
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Old Oct 21, 2011, 4:58 pm
  #81  
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My reply:

Dear Ms. XXX,

Firstly, thank you very much for your email..

On a personal level, I'd like to thank you for being nice and taking time to write. I truly appreciate it..

On a professional level, your answer is extremely disappointing..

I understand that there are the liquor laws, I also understand that the concierges have other more important tasks..

However, your email reaches no conclusion..

Since I "have every right to expect all of the benefits that come with the membership",.I would like to come to an agreement on this matter. An apologetic email is not an agreement. When I signed up for Top Tier, there was no disclaimer that lounge access is limited to persons over the drinking age..

Therefore, I believe that it is fair to expect some form of compensation..

When you are selling access to the lounge online, it is at least 40 CAD per entry. That would be one option for compensation..

Another option would be eUpgrade credits, of course a reasonable amount..

Or, you could award me with Air Canada VIP status. ;-)

And yes, indeed, I do have options in carriers. In fact, this year I made the top level of status on United, mainly because their lounge access policy allows unaccompanied minors, since they have bartenders. All this flying could have been done on Air Canada, and in fact, I would have preferred to have done so, but as explained above, I couldn't..

I look forward to concluding this matter soon..

Thank you very much,

Greetings from Brussels,

jlisi984

Sent from my iPhone
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Old Oct 21, 2011, 5:00 pm
  #82  
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And the conclusion (not 100% satisfying):

Dear jlisi984,
.
Thank you for your patience in awaiting my reply. I had been looking into any possible avenues and regrettably, at this time, we are unable to accommodate you in our lounges, unaccompanied by an adult.
.
While I understand that this is not to your satisfaction, I must respectfully advise you that while lounge access is one the benefits of our Super Elite program, it is a privilege and not contractual or ever guaranteed. I do genuinely regret that this single benefit, of many that we offer, is one that we currently cannot provide you.
.
As a measure of our concern and a means of making amends, we are pleased to provide you with an electronic future travel credit in the amount of $200.00 CAD. Redemption details follow this email.
.
jlisi984, it truly is our privilege to be your carrier of choice and we hope you will allow us to continue to be so for many years to come.
.
Kindest regards,
XXX
.
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Old Oct 21, 2011, 5:09 pm
  #83  
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Thanks for posting! AC certainly demonstrated that they can respond in a professinal way and not just send canned letters, though the result obviously wont be to your liking.

To be honest I cant think of any solution they could come up with myself
except for a designated chair next to the desk or giving you a F&B voucher during each of your flights (some airlines do this when theres no lounge at a particular airport),
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Old Oct 21, 2011, 11:02 pm
  #84  
 
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Originally Posted by Jasper2009
To be honest I cant think of any solution they could come up with myself
except for a designated chair next to the desk or giving you a F&B voucher during each of your flights (some airlines do this when theres no lounge at a particular airport),
I can think of one solution that would have worked; start employing bartenders at MLL's (not that I'm sure that I'd want to go there as I hate having to wait to order a pop at the DEN RCC's).

jlisi, just curious (I'm too lazy to go back and read other posts that I read a few weeks ago), do they allow you into MLL's if you have to travel in the morning when the booze is still locked up?
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Old Oct 21, 2011, 11:58 pm
  #85  
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Originally Posted by YEG USER
I can think of one solution that would have worked; start employing bartenders at MLL's (not that I'm sure that I'd want to go there as I hate having to wait to order a pop at the DEN RCC's).
Youre right: I should have said "no other option that wouldnt severely inconvenience other pax" Having bartenders will encourage AC to restrict the amount/kind of drinks consumed and you end up paying for most drinks while the I wouldnt even use the comp. alcohol offered from the RCC to clean my toilet.

And dont get me started on the bartenders who expect a tip for passing a glass of coke...
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Old Oct 22, 2011, 5:58 am
  #86  
 
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Alas the simplest solution (employing bartenders) is clearly the most difficult which means they're not going to do it; and of course with no disrespect aimed at the OP, he/she is clearly of the absolute minority of those members allowed access to the MLL and therefore they aren't going to make monumental changes...sad but true.

That being said, the only recourse I see is to hit them where it hurts and thats going to be in the revenue department...simply stop booking flights with AC and focus attention on a different major carrier who might show some level of appreciation greater than a travel credit.

At the end of the day, AC isn't going to bend or break for the sake of a minor who accrues 35k-350k miles per year and can't get into the MLL as the laws of the land supersede any program benefits either advertised or otherwise.
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Old Oct 22, 2011, 8:46 am
  #87  
 
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i'd say give a $40 meal voucher every time they refuse u at the lounge...... (one voucher per flight)

that is sad, giving a $200 eMCO and thinking that can brush jan off...... a little annoyed by their bandage approach

jan keep on fighting until u reach the age of majority
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Old Oct 22, 2011, 10:02 am
  #88  
 
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Originally Posted by global_happy_traveller
jan keep on fighting until u reach the age of majority
That age varies by Province, right? Is Alberta 18? How long until that, Jan?
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Old Oct 22, 2011, 10:39 am
  #89  
 
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Originally Posted by fin 645
That age varies by Province, right? Is Alberta 18? How long until that, Jan?
Many provinces legal age is 18 actually, but drinking age is 18 only in 3 of them. Funny thing is that an 18 year old would probably get MLL access anywhere in Canada while AC only serves liquor to 19+ onboard (I think).
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Old Oct 22, 2011, 12:08 pm
  #90  
 
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Originally Posted by Santander
Many provinces legal age is 18 actually, but drinking age is 18 only in 3 of them. Funny thing is that an 18 year old would probably get MLL access anywhere in Canada while AC only serves liquor to 19+ onboard (I think).
i guess the MLL @ LAX would be 21?

I believe ON is 19????? But once u get into QC its 18 LOL
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