bmi diamond club - Lounge Access Now for Sale....

As part of the site revamp (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/bmi-diamond-club/1223228-bmi-website-usability-testing.html#post16858148) you can now buy access.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6135/6008889320_1be8191710_b.jpg

Wonderful. Watch the lounges now get overrun by chavs trying to consume their own bodyweight in alcohol. Beware of the static shocks from all the polyester leisurewear and football shirts.

Of course everything is now for sale, they've got to make some cash somehow :p

"Use any Star Gold lounges"? Lounge dragons at non bmi lounges will have a heart attack.

From a just a little testing I'm only being offered the option on domestic (including DUB) and only on specific flights. So, ex. LHR, the London Room is the only choice available at the bottom at this time.

Bizarrely the website states free London room access on this DUB-LHR-VIE Economy booking (note the great connection on the way out)

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6008/6008968310_5e42bbbeca_z.jpg

Marvellous. I feel certain in stating that on that fare basis, that is not supposed to happen. Great lack of testing by bmi as usual.

I can see BMI selling London Room access, but I find it odd that they have been allowed to sell access to the main Star Alliance lounge ....

Marvellous. I feel certain in stating that on that fare basis, that is not supposed to happen. Great lack of testing by bmi as usual.

I blame those people who got milk and cookies at the testing do :D

@starflyergold The reason Lounge access has been granted on the DUB-LHR-VIE in Econ is because you're a logged in DC*G member

If that was the case it should state lounge access in DUB, LHR (London room and *A lounge) and VIE ;)

Tried a booking without log in and indeed London room is for sale (incidentally the fare was €35 less the second time around)

Well I've just reproduced it on a BHD-VIE itinerary and I haven't been logged in once during any of the testing I've done. This one actually states access in both BHD and LHR on it.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6003/6009145996_3911ce9ba3_z.jpg

Yep I got the same on an economy EDI-BSL dummy booking (not logged in). May be a "feature" of connecting flight itineraries - seems that testing may not have extended to the Celtic Fringes.

So we can expect hordes of Celts and other non London folk showing up at assorted lounges over the next couple weeks demanding entrance :D

Wonderful. Watch the lounges now get overrun by chavs trying to consume their own bodyweight in alcohol. Beware of the static shocks from all the polyester leisurewear and football shirts.

Hahaha....

Wonderful. Watch the lounges now get overrun by chavs trying to consume their own bodyweight in alcohol. Beware of the static shocks from all the polyester leisurewear and football shirts.

:D:D

Mind you are they really any worse than those knob heads who pace up and down the lounge on their mobile phones so everyone can hear their conversation to make them feel important.

To be honest this makes sense to me. The last few times I have been in the London Room and the EDI Diamond Club lounge they have been almost comically empty if letting a few people from each flight in is going to make the domestic routes more viable then I can only support this move.

Do you think this is why, from late-ish last year, suddenly the access amongst DC member classes and flight classes and destinations got so much stricter? Result a lot of people who had been able to access the London room got tossed out, eg me when I was still temporarily Silver. I was flying BD metal but becuase of some obscure arrangement that gave it a LH flight number even though booked through BD using BD membership number and flying BD metal, this sis not qualify me any more as a lowly Silver to access my own airline's lounge at LHR T1. I had to stand by the door and watch Silver LH members (their class of Freuquent Traveller) getting access to my BD lounge when I had gotten thrown out becuase even flying on BD metal and booked through BD I apparently was not on a BD flight. And I had defected from LH back to BD! I can tell you this upset me. Did they aim to clear out their own members in order to be able to open our lounge to which we formerly had rights, to these new paying customers?

Well I remember the day I discovered that silvers were no longer allowed into the lounge on tiny fares. For want of three pounds each way, I was denied lounge acess. I offered to pay the difference but to no avail. This fare no longer exists.

....chavs trying to consume their own bodyweight in alcohol........... polyester leisurewear and football shirts.

Just like BA's Galleries then.

I can see BMI selling London Room access, but I find it odd that they have been allowed to sell access to the main Star Alliance lounge ....

With LH's backing, not sure why BD would have any trouble doing so.

Some other Star Alliance airlines sell access to (most) Star Alliance-operated lounges, but that is done mostly along the lines of annual (or some other period) membership.

With LH's backing, not sure why BD would have any trouble doing so.

Some other Star Alliance airlines sell access to (most) Star Alliance-operated lounges, but that is done mostly along the lines of annual (or some other period) membership.

Still not logical though.

BMI 'owns' the London Lounge, I assume. £20 is therefore £20 in BMI's pocket.

The *A lounge is probably jointly owned. Of the £20, £15 or so is probably recharged back to BMI as the 'fee' for the pax using the lounge, so BMI only makes £5 - plus of course whatever its % of the profit of the *A lounge is.

It also means that BMI Silver card holders are worse off than those who pay the £20, since the £20 gets you into either lounge yet a BMI Silver ends up in the London Lounge, with no hot breakfast food.

Still not logical though.

BMI 'owns' the London Lounge, I assume. £20 is therefore £20 in BMI's pocket.

The *A lounge is probably jointly owned. Of the £20, £15 or so is probably recharged back to BMI as the 'fee' for the pax using the lounge, so BMI only makes £5 - plus of course whatever its % of the profit of the *A lounge is.



Actually, there is some logic here. In both scenarios you've listed, they make a profit on the lounge access, so there's not a downside there.

However I don't think this is just about the margin they make on the lounge access, but actually about product differentiation. Whether it makes a massive difference is another matter, but at least they are trying to do things to generate revenue and give more options to prospective customers.

I can see BMI selling London Room access, but I find it odd that they have been allowed to sell access to the main Star Alliance lounge ....

Isn't UA doing the same thing with their Red Carpet Club memberships? AFAIK these allow access to Star Gold Lounges outside the US?

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6003/6009145996_3911ce9ba3_z.jpgOn a point of principle, shouldn't it state Outbound and Inbound rather than Outbound and Return...

yes, I'm a pedant.:D


I assume the *A lounge entry has more to do with places like VIE where there is no BD specific lounge?
I can see why they might do this, but I'm a bit disappointed by the reduce exclusivity...as in, the devaluation of DC *G.

Bye bye BD*S for me, I don't fly enough to be able to make gold so now that I can pay for lounge access there is no point in having silver.

I have a bad feeling about this.

There's always been a gulf between the way lounges are managed in the US and how they are managed in Europe. To make a hideously broad generalisation, US lounges are poor, easier to get into with a paid product (membership, credit card etc) than with status, and are offset by generous upgrades on-board. In Europe, I've found the reverse to be true - lounges are genuinely exclusive, of pretty good quality, and offset the pretty low likelyhood of being upgraded into a not-terribly-differentiated business cabin.

If BD are now removing the exclusivity of lounges, it feels like a line has been crossed where lounges are to be run (like contract lounges) with the sole objective of maximising profitability. If there's a direct profitability expectation, managed through an income line that can be improved through marketing and pricing, and a cost line that can be improved by cutting, then that becomes the only focus.

I appreciate that the London Room faces a problem where, as a *A lounge, its customer base is shrinking in line with BD's shrinking domestic passenger traffic. That might justify an adjusted policy, or maybe even conversion to an unbranded domestic lounge, but applying that principle to the GBL (or even the *A lounge) is the top of a dangerously slippery profit-driven slope.

Isn't UA doing the same thing with their Red Carpet Club memberships? AFAIK these allow access to Star Gold Lounges outside the US?

That is correct. The Red Carpet Club membership give you access to all *A Business lounges outside the US.

On that basis I wouldn't be surprised if BMI lounges join the PriorityPass scheme if they're that keen for the additional income.

I have worked hard recently to ensure BD gold status until June 2013 now I wonder why

I am singularly unimpressed by this - i am allergic to piss-heads and peasants and that is why i continue to gather status to avoid said groupings

If BAEC gave tier points for EI flights i would be gone already

:td:

Social elitism aside :eek:, judging from the EI operation and the numerous contract lounges (who are also offering "pay as you go") this will have no impact on the lounge experience.

The vast majority of pax will not pay £20 for lounge access. Those who do will just like us seek to avoid the hustle and bustle of the terminal.

[Rant] and frankly I have seen plenty of obnoxious behaviour in lounges around the world by people who have earned their status, including the odd eviction by lounge dragons of said people :D [Rant over]

The vast majority of pax will not pay £20 for lounge access. Those who do will just like us seek to avoid the hustle and bustle of the terminal.

I have a different view in that the offering of priority pass lounges tend to be far below even BD's meagre selection in their domestic lounges. In my own view the £20 for purely a lounge tends to be seen as a suitable payment to drink a lot of beer. As a result I believe that priority pass lounges have cheaper spirits, and poor quality food (debatable whether some food makes it better than the BD domestic offering). If you're willing to pay the additional bmi charges (more expensive flight ticket and the £20 for lounge access) vs Ryanair/Easyjet then you are unlikely to be focusing on purely drinking your weight in alcohol.

In my own view anyone worrying about the BMI domestic lounges becoming overcrowded should try travelling BMI? My own experiences in the domestic LHR/MAN/BHD/EDI lounges over the past year have been that they are pretty empty, even at peak times, as such it makes sense to use this to attract additional custom. You may think that the £5 profit floated above might not be too great, but it may also incentivise a customer to pay a few extra quid for a ticket from BD vs BA/Easyjet and increasing loads too. Ultimately I don't mind this too much if it helps keep the airline afloat, as long as the lounge offerings remain unchanged, chances are that any improvement in the quality is gone though :(.

However I wonder where it leaves BD's flexible economy offering - the previous benefit was both lounge access and food on the plane, now its down to just food on the plane (assuming most passengers don't care about the double miles). As such all of a sudden you've removed a key part of the offering, especially since most BD domestic airports don't do fast-track for bmi FlexY passengers anyway. One suspects that this has been put together thinking of European flights and ignoring the impact this is likely to have on domestic yields.

One does have to wonder how close we are to a bag charge, which would be the final straw for me and my bmi experiences, even if bmi were to make it free for BD*Gs.

...My own experiences in the domestic LHR/MAN/BHD/EDI lounges over the past year have been that they are pretty empty, even at peak times, ...

I have to disagree with the bit about the BHD lounge. I pass through often enough and have never found it to be near empty - and at peak times finding 3-4 seats together is not always easy. Maybe why it seems like they're not selling access to the BHD lounge (at least on a dummy booking I ran only London room access was offered).

I agree with the sentiment though - if it attracts business and keeps the company from final destruction, selling lounge access is OK. You are completely right about the threat to FlexY although this is may be reduced by travellers on domestic legs who genuinely require flexibility. Worth watching...

Isn't this going to reduce the number of C tickets BMI sell?

As far as I understand it will be sold for London Room only, the airports BHD, EDI etc are listed simply showing the destinations eligible for paid access in said LR.

Bye bye BD*S for me, I don't fly enough to be able to make gold so now that I can pay for lounge access there is no point in having silver.

Ditto.

Isn't this going to reduce the number of C tickets BMI sell?

Most flexible economy customers have their tickets paid for by their companies, alot of them through corporate travel deals. Their main concern is not about providing lounge access for their staff but instead the benefit of flexibilty for their travel plans, so they can chop and change travel dates and times etc. For this reason they will continue to buy these flexible economy fares, so there shouldn't be much reduction in sales of flexible economy tickets.

bmi targeted customer is the one who buys a ticket with money out of his own pocket, the non frequent traveller who is not concerned with earning miles and redemptions and will fly with anyone who offers him the lowest fare but at the same time be willing to pay £20 extra for the little 'luxury' of having a drink and chance to relax away from the hustle of the main terminal.

bmi have potential of taking a small percentage of business away from Easyjet, Ryanair and even BA on domestic travel if they play the pricing game correctly!

Wonderful. Watch the lounges now get overrun by chavs trying to consume their own bodyweight in alcohol. Beware of the static shocks from all the polyester leisurewear and football shirts.

What a nasty little comment.

from the August newsletter....

Introducing paid for lounge access
From 4th August, when you book a flight between London Heathrow and Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester or Dublin on flybmi.com, you’ll be able to add lounge access to your booking as an additional paid for option. This will be subject to availability so you may not always see the option to purchase lounge access, as at peak times we will be selling fewer lounge access passes.



Lounge access terms and conditions

Paid for lounge access
•All paid for lounge access is subject to availability at time of request
•Paid for lounge access is available to Economy customers travelling on bmi operated flights to and from London Heathrow to Belfast City, Dublin, Edinburgh and Manchester
•Paid for lounge access is not available on any BD marketing flight operated by a code-share partner
•Paid for lounge access is only available at the bmi operated lounges at London Heathrow (The London Room) and the bmi business lounges at Belfast City Airport, Dublin Airport, Edinburgh Airport and Manchester Airport Terminal 3
•Paid for lounge access is not available in any third party lounge
•Paid for lounge access is available up to half an hour before the scheduled departure of the flight
•All bookings must be made via the flybmi.com website either at the time of booking of the flight or via the Manage My Booking function
•All payments will be by credit or debit card only. No credit card fee will apply
•Bookings will be taken for entry into the lounge 2 hours before the schedule departure of the associated flight subject to availability
•Bookings are limited to a maximum of 4 persons travelling
•bmi reserves the right to refuse entry to any person or persons behaving in an offensive manner or is deemed to be under the influence of alcohol
•Bookings are not transferable to any other passengers other than those named.

Cancellations
•Once booked, paid for lounge access cannot be cancelled except under the following circumstances:
a) bmi cancels the associated flight
b) bmi reschedules the associated flight and no suitable alternative flight is available
•Cancellations cannot be made if the customer has already entered the lounge, even under the above circumstances.

Refunds
•Paid for lounge access is non-refundable unless:
a) bmi cancels the associated flight
b) bmi reschedules the associated flight and no suitable alternative flight is available
•If, as a result of either a or b above, you choose to move to a different flight, you will be entitled to move your paid for lounge access to the new flight
•Refunds will not be made even in the case of a or b above if the customer has already entered the lounge
•You have 14 days after the last flight in your itinerary to apply for a refund
•Refund applications should be submitted via the on-line refund request form. Refund applications cannot be processed in any other way
•Refunds will be made to the original form of payment

•Paid for lounge access is available up to half an hour before the scheduled departure of the flight

If the flight is delayed, you get thrown out ? :confused::confused:

But they don't offer it for the GBL.

And how do they keep track who had access and who paid? :confused:

If the flight is delayed, you get thrown out ? :confused::confused:

OS also sell access to their C lounge in VIE but this has not really flooded the lounges with riffraff maximising....

http://www.austrian.com/Info/AtTheAirport/LoungeEntry.aspx?sc_lang=en&cc=AT

"As a Gold or Silver Diamond Club member, you already enjoy complimentary lounge access on all fares, but this does mean that you’ll be able to purchase lounge access for any additional customers on your booking."

What hasn't been made clear is whether this removes Gold Card member's complimentary guest access benefit to the lounges. Does this we now have to pay??

my worry is, how are us silver and golds going to ensure that we are not wrongly mistaken for said 'beer guzzling paid-for-lounge-access chavs'???

now I would like to think I'm on my best behaviour when I'm in the lounges but I am partial to a couple of G and T's..... I would hate to recieve a dirty glance across the condiments island from a fellow Gold who mistakenly assumes that I am trying to make the most of my twenty quid when actually I'm trying to make the most of far more spend achieving gold!!??

Perhaps we should devise a special wink or even a transparent pocket to sew onto one's shirt in which to place your gold/silver DC card in order to prevent such confusion?

No, in all honesty, I think this will appeal mostly to older couples travelling at the weekend etc who get to the airport with pleanty of time to spare and want to relax.....given that only the domestic routes are covered by this (the GBL is far, far too busy as it is) i don't think that you'll find many stag do's etc taking advantage, and anyway I'd say the majority of pax don't turn up at the airport in sufficient time for a domestic to warrent shelling out twenty quid for a 'free' beer.

The 'any star gold lounge' comment is a mis-print (as usual) and the email does say that paid for access will only be offered at non peak times.

Perhaps we should devise a special wink or even a transparent pocket to sew onto one's shirt in which to place your gold/silver DC card in order to prevent such confusion?



Not so far fetched, in the old days LH Senators got a pin which you wore on your clothes to show the (in that case inflight) staff that you were SEN. :D

OS also sell access to their C lounge in VIE but this has not really flooded the lounges with riffraff maximising....

http://www.austrian.com/Info/AtTheAirport/LoungeEntry.aspx?sc_lang=en&cc=AT

In FRA LH solved the problem by building a separate terminal (http://loungeguide.net/wiki/u/Frankfurt_%28FRA%29_Lufthansa_First_Class_Terminal ) for the riffraff ;)

This one? (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LUFTHANSA-Airlines-Old-FRG-Enamel-Badge-SENATOR-/330586998556?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf885471c)

They also had a tie clip. (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LUFTHANSA-Airlines-Old-FRG-Enamel-Badge-SENATOR-Spange-/230656825317?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b437d7e5)

Not so far fetched, in the old days LH Senators got a pin which you wore on your clothes to show the (in that case inflight) staff that you were SEN. :D

In FRA LH solved the problem by building a separate terminal (http://loungeguide.net/wiki/u/Frankfurt_%28FRA%29_Lufthansa_First_Class_Terminal ) for the riffraff ;)

You mean T2 for the non Star Alliance members? :p ;)

No, in all honesty, I think this will appeal mostly to older couples travelling at the weekend etc who get to the airport with pleanty of time to spare and want to relax.....given that only the domestic routes are covered by this (the GBL is far, far too busy as it is) i don't think that you'll find many stag do's etc taking advantage, and anyway I'd say the majority of pax don't turn up at the airport in sufficient time for a domestic to warrent shelling out twenty quid for a 'free' beer.


I completely agree. I usually fly EI back to Dublin from LHR when I pop home for weekends, and have yet to be persuaded to pay for lounge access at either side (even though I am quite keen to check out the refurbished lounge offerings) as I am invariably going to the airport straight from the office and I’m rarely in Heathrow much more than an hour before the flight, so its just not worth it. On the return, I am more interested in maximising time with friends than hanging around the ghost town that is DUB these days...!

(I am only letting the Dublin = Domestic inference stand because we are in bmi-land, where such nonsense is true!)

From 4th August, when you book a flight between London Heathrow and Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester or Dublin on flybmi.com, you’ll be able to add lounge access to your booking as an additional paid for option. This will be subject to availability so you may not always see the option to purchase lounge access, as at peak times we will be selling fewer lounge access passes.



Marvellous, yet again the lack of bmi proof reading is astounding. Obviously the writer didn't know bmi fly to Aberdeen too. :rolleyes:

I noticed that, and was going to comment, but thought that may have been an intentional omission - all the other airports listed have BD-operated lounges, but the ABZ lounge is a contract lounge (Servisair). You could, of course, just buy access anyway in this situation. And, for what it's worth, I do see London Room access being offered on an LHR - ABZ booking, just not the other way round.

Social elitism aside :eek:,

[Rant] and frankly I have seen plenty of obnoxious behaviour in lounges around the world by people who have earned their status, including the odd eviction by lounge dragons of said people :D [Rant over]

Indeed I think the term is ''new money'' ;)

Not so far fetched, in the old days LH Senators got a pin which you wore on your clothes to show the (in that case inflight) staff that you were SEN. :D

And now it's a fashionable, discrete, red luggage tag which identify the owner as a modest person of exquisite taste as well as a Senator.

Clearly (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P-nZZkQqTc). ;)

Not so far fetched, in the old days LH Senators got a pin which you wore on your clothes to show the (in that case inflight) staff that you were SEN. :D

Nope that was the pin you got to show off to the people at home that you flew the senator service (LH's initial name for F) on their intercontinental route(s).

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HEgk240nL._SS500_.jpg

Guys it's obvious isnt it - this new £20 access the lounge thingy is solely devised to help bmi pay for the 'free cake and the elevenses.' :D

focusing on purely drinking your weight in alcohol.

Surely, one eats one's weight, but drinks one's volume?

Nope that was the pin you got to show off to the people at home that you flew the senator service (LH's initial name for F) on their intercontinental route(s).



Hmm my first SEN pack clearly stipulated to wear the pin inflight for the crew. Admittedly this was before your time ;)

So, one month in, how's it doing? Well, the price of Lounge Access has dropped from £20 to £17.50.

So, one month in, how's it doing? Well, the price of Lounge Access has dropped from £20 to £17.50.

I think this lower price is for lounge access at the out stations as they are not to the same standard as the London Room at Heathrow ???

But they don't offer it for the GBL.

They do now, sort of......

Paid for Lounge Access to The Great British Lounge for all international flights is now available on Saturdays and Sundays on a six week trial basis†. This can only be booked online when making a reservation. Cost per person per entry is £30.


†From 15 October 2011

:D:o:rolleyes:

Presumably they're worried it will be becoming over-filled. Weekend's are the quitest days after all.

Presumably announcing it when four weekends of the six week trial period have already passed will have helped keep the numbers down.

A bit of advice please.

I'm flying BMI Business Class from EDI via LHR to LCA tomorrow night, although the LHR-LCA leg is operated by Aegean. Which lounge can I access at T1?

A bit of advice please.

I'm flying BMI Business Class from EDI via LHR to LCA tomorrow night, although the LHR-LCA leg is operated by Aegean. Which lounge can I access at T1?
Presuming you're in business class for the LHR-LCA leg you can use either the Great British Lounge or the Star Alliance lounge (LHR-LCA flight moved to T1 a week back). Personally I'd use the GBL, especially since Aegean flights seem to be leaving from Gate 5 these days...

Thanks, is the GBL where the old lounge used to be given that its near Gate 5?

Thanks, is the GBL where the old lounge used to be given that its near Gate 5?
The GBL is actually in what was the old BA domestic lounge. To get to it follow the flight connections signs from your Edinburgh flight and go up the escalator and you're pretty much there.

Much appreciated.