chanp

Can we access the lounges from BA at YVR? im flying in with AS and out thru DFW on AA. Do you know if they are in the same area. I know we cant use the Boardroom. Any experiences?

pauleeepaul

What would your basis for access be? IF OW elite Canada is not international in AA's gerrymandering of the Americas.

YVR Cockroach

See post 8.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=845582

pdsuk

All US bound passengers must clear immigration and customs in YVR with thier checked luggage. The non-US bound international flight gates are in a wholly segregated area. The only lounge I can recall seeing post customs and immigration was the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge.

Whether you would gain access to the non-US bound international gate areas with your boarding pass showing US as your destination is debatable.

YVR Cockroach

Not quite true. There may be occasional flights to the U.S. that do not preclear. Among these are the daily CX YVR-JFK flight (continuation of HKG-YVR), and some of the other flights to HNL (not sure if the FJ flight preclears).

There's the Alaska lounge where the CP lounge used to be. Access is onyl for AS lounge members, or NW/CO/DL lounge members flying on AS/QX.

Not at all possible. Exiting the international area, even if you did not depart, would require clearing Canadian immigration/customs.

Trvlr

Hi everyone,

I'm about to book an AAdvantage First award routing me on BA LHR-YVR in F, then Mexicana YVR-MEX in Clase Ejecutiva (not sure if it books into C or F, but it's a two-class aircraft). The connection in YVR is same-day. Does anyone know what kind of lounge access I might get in Vancouver?

I believe BA and CX are the two oneworld lounges at YVR; per the rules of my ticket am I allowed access to only the lounges of either of my two operating carriers or would I potentially get access to the CX lounge as well? Not sure since MX hasn't joined OW yet.

I also ask because my BA flight arrives at 18:40 but the MX flight does not depart until 23:59. If I can get back into the sterile departures area I assume the BA lounge will be open until 9pm or so, but after that the only CX should be open until their flight to HKG around 2AM.

Finally, anyone know if BA might be able to issue my boarding passes through to MEX at LHR? If they were able to it would allow me to get back into the sterile area quicker since MX check-in might not be open when I arrive at YVR.

Thanks in advance for any information. Mods, if you feel post is better suited to the oneworld / BA forums then feel free to move; I decided to post here because it's an AAdvantage award ticket.

kebosabi

A bit OT, you should also look into booking JL 12 YVR-MEX (flies only Mondays and Thursdays) if the connection works out for you. If not, I still would recommend doing a stop over at YVR even for a day and fly out on JL YVR-MEX than opting for MX. JL's YVR-MEX is on a 747 that flies the NRT-YVR-MEX route and their service is much better than MX for that portion of the flight. You'll probably get a better F service than business class on MX.

Also speaking of OW lounges, JL also operates a Sakura Lounge at YVR.

HNL

You are not departing on a OW operated flight, therefore no BA or CX lounge access. Once MX joins OW this will not be a problem.

HNL

YVR does offer a paid lounge option (it's a Priority Pass lounge too):
http://www.plaza-ppl.com/vc_en/international.php

It's better than a stick in the eye.

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New link is here: http://www.plaza-asia.com/index.php/locations/vancouver
dstan
AA Forum Co-Moderator

kebosabi

And yet another reason to try to take the JL YVR-MEX option instead of MX

Trvlr

Thanks for the responses, so far.

Yes, I wholeheartedly agree that JL would be a better option. However they operate only 2x-3x / week and so far there is no availability on any of the days around my week of travel. FYI the flight is currently a 744 with two-class service, but likely features the newer (and perhaps newest) "Shell Flat" J product.

Separately, I *finally* got through to Mexicana customer service, which said that unfortunately MX has no lounge in YVR. Which is strange, since apparently they have agreements in YYC and YEG.

Also, thanks to HNL for suggesting the Plaza Premium option. $30 CAD isn't so bad for the length of time I would be there, especially since it apparently has "napping facilities".

I will call BA on the off chance they have some kind of arrivals lounge agreement in YVR, but I doubt that will get me anywhere.

Thanks again.

mz1

Does American have a lounge or partner lounge at YVR?

kiwicanuck

Within the Transborder section of YVR there are two Lounges; Air Canada & Alaska, neither of which admit AA passengers.

I believe this makes AA the only US airline without some form of lounge access at YVR

Short hair Francis

Nope I dont think the skyteam people have lounges, well maybe if they have reciporcial lounge access, but not outright with a F/J class ticket. Why do u need a lounge anyway? I catch that 8:45am flight quite a few times and I always show up at 7:25am to check-in, get by security and pre-clearence usually by 7:50am latest. Go grab a coffee then head over to gate E79 which is like a 5 mins hike anyway. I have like 5-10 mins to sit at the gate area then i'm on the plane anyway. Plus, YVR has free wifi in the terminal and EXP are pretty much a guarantee upgrade on this route maybe not during olympics though. I flew this route, PLT last year and was 8/8. Usually T48-72, the closest I got was T-3 on the friday afternoon back. The Alaska lounge however is $30 if ur desperate for it otherwise you wouldnt need it.

mz1

thanks for the info