snowfilmer

@QBK
Thanks for a bit of clarification. In regards to my question about traveling to Vancouver, it seems as though I should be able to get into lounges at both airports - I'll just give it a shot at a different lounge in PHL, rather than the "Envoy" lounge. I also might print out a copy of the rules to bring along with me.

@Jet'Dillo
Yeah, it's weird that some airlines don't consider Canada to be international, even though you need a passport. Fortunately for me in this case, US does.

@Omar84
I actually used the IFE a bit on my return flight. In the bulkhead seats the screens are in a fixed position, but in the others, they articulate out and tilt up/down. They're approximately 14" diagonally, but I didn't do a precise measurement. The touch screen wasn't super sensitive, so sometimes I had to select things more than once. The selection and playback were both quite nice. I watched some cartoons (Family Guy, Simpsons), a bit of Man vs Wild, and then Cowboys & Aliens, since I knew that wasn't high on my wife's "must see" list. There were also games and music available, but I didn't dig into them. It seems like there would be something for most everyone to enjoy, and way more content than you could possibly watch on a 9 hour flight. Oh, also to note - I could see many fingerprints still on the screen from previous passengers. I used my hot towel to give it a wipe down, but if you're more germ-phobic than me, I recommend bringing baby wipes or something to give it a quick scrub.

QBK

Actually, that's not accurate. Canada is considered "domestic" for upgrade purposes, but it's definitely considered international for lounge access. All pax flying F (paid or upgraded) between the U.S. and Canada have UC and MLL access. All *G flying in any cabin between the U.S. and Canada have access to all *G lounges.

And, IIRC, Canada flights do not get you access to IFL lounges (presumably because F to Canada is considered "International Business").

There are a number of threads on this in the UA forum, but I'm also speaking from repeated personal experience. (One of the few great perks of a lowly 2P on United was consistently getting upgraded to/from YYZ on E-170s, and getting MLL access. )

Good luck! And report back if you get the chance. I think the earlier posts about different policies between Envoy Lounge and US Club should be obsolete now because the Envoy Lounge is officially a *G lounge -- but obviously the lounge dragons march to the beat of a unique drummer. I think your best chance is to take a printout, but even then... good luck!

Studio54

Thanks for the great TR. It's good to see some information on one of the less reported airlines.

RobbieRunner

I'm always amazed at the quality of some of these Trip Reports, and this one is no exception.
Very fine reporting. Thank you. And I also agree, It's very good to see a trip report on one of the "less-reported" airlines.
I enjoyed this report. Very informative.

snowfilmer

@QBK and @aztimm

I sent an email to US customer relations, explaining what happened when I tried to access the lounge in PHL. I just received an email from an agent with the simple reply
"Thank for contacting Customer Relations Department at US Airways. This is to confirm Club Agents information is accurate. Thank you for contacting US Airways"

After reading through all the access rules on the US and *A websites, it seems as though this is still incorrect. I replied to her email with both the links and direct quotes from those sites, and requested to be reimbursed with the day pass that I had to forfeit in PHL. We'll see what happens - I'll keep you updated.

snowfilmer

and thank you to everyone for the kind words about my trip report. It's my first, so I'm glad that it's being well received.

fly747first

Yes, only 55K for Envoy with a US Airways World credit card. HOWEVER, this is only available for the equivalent of a month and a half, January 15 - February 28, not year-round. APPLIES TO US METAL ONLY, not Star Alliance partners.

aztimm

There are 2 US lounges in the main terminal at PHL (the old Envoy and the B-C, as well as one in F). In theory, I guess you could also use the UA lounge.

There's also 3 US lounges at PHX--high A's, low A's, and low B's. Of the 3, I prefer the low B lounge. That said, unless it is horribly busy, when I have access I usually just go to the one nearest my departure gate.
There is a UA lounge at PHX, but UA is in a different terminal, requiring exiting security, as well as a bus.

FlightNurse

Canada and Mexico are sold as Business Class tickets, not FC so you will have access to any and all *A lounges on your ticket. If you have a problem ask to speak to thier supervior, however i would print out the info that AZTIM gave you so you show the Dragon Ladies the correct info.

As I have stated before, US (not US Air) is Consistently Inconsistent which is a shame...

snowfilmer

@QBK and @aztimm (and any others that are wondering)

Re: Lounge access for domestic portion of Business class flight

I had emailed US Air back regarding the rules of *A lounge access, as both a biz class passenger and a DM Gold member. A Lounge Services staff member called me and explained that even as a Gold member, you are only entitled to lounge access at the international departing airport, and the wording on the *A website says as much. I swear it didn't say that earlier, and it was changed, but that's what it says now. So, it seems as though I've lost that arguement once and for all.

@FlightNurse
On the same call, I did ask about my upcoming trip (First, PHL-PHX-YVR) with regards to access, and I was told that even though it doesn't say anything about access, as a Gold member flying International First, I will have access to lounges in both PHL and PHX, and should I have any problems with access, I should request that the agent contact Lounge Services at that time. So, basically, it's still a gamble, though one that I'll be taking, and hopefully winning.

Thanks everyone for your input and help

FlyIgglesFly

Great report, very few on US. I do have a question about the baggage mishap though. How long of a connection in CLT did you have, and did they give any explanation for the misconnect? I fly PHL-CLT-LGW this week (also in Envoy, also using miles) with a 1:10 connection and, well, paranoia has set in, since I then complicate things by flying to MSQ for a night, then PRG only 4 hours after arriving at LGW. I want to check a bag, if only to have a bag large enough for the various things I purchase along the way.

QBK

First of all -- thanks for following this up, and posting!

That said... I don't get it. I just looked at the *A Lounge Access Policy, and it's identical to the rules I posted previously on this thread. And I don't see anything to support the USAir Lounge Services interpretation! The wording specifically says "Customer must also present a boarding pass for travel on a Star Alliance flight departing from the local airport," and "Continental, United and US Airways Star Alliance Gold customers may only access the United Clubs and US Airways Clubs within the U.S. when travelling in conjunction with a Star Alliance international flight."

There is no statement that the international flight has to be departing from the local airport. Yes, it's a reasonable interpretation of "in conjunction with", but so is the interpretation that you are eligible for lounge access at every connection on an itinerary that involves a same-day international flight.

So, unless I'm missing something, the Lounge Services representative hasn't contributed anything except to confirm that USAir interprets this (unfortunately ambiguous) phrasing in a passenger-unfriendly way and differently from other *A airlines.

I don't get this one either. Why is being a Gold member relevant? I can't find USAir's rules for club access on international F/J/C, but (a) the *A page explicitly grants lounge access to F/J/C pax only at the departing airport, and (b) if US policy is to grant access all day to pax in international F, why on earth would status be relevant?

The only explanation I can think of is that the agent was just plastering random platitudes, along the lines of "Thank you for being a Gold member..."

FlightNurse

Access into UA,CO and US clubs as well as *G Lounges are granted to any *G member and F/J pax's on day of departure of the international flight. So if said flight was PHX-LAX-JFK-IST(same day) on you are flying Y and happen to be *G (also in F/J), then you have access to club in those airports. When my partner and I flew from JFK-IST we flew in comfort class in TK and me being *G, we had access to many lounges in JFK. Being *G has its perks...

QBK

Sorry -- I realize I was unclear in my response. I'm familiar with the *G rules, and take advantage of them. The first half of my post above (responding to the first half of the OP's update) was about *G access, and I agree with your interpretation of the *G rules, FlightNurse (although not with the response that the OP was given by USAir).

My point in the second half of my post was "If USAir has decided not to grant full same-day-as-intl-flight access to *G in Y, but then they promise to grant it because the OP is flying Intl F, why is it relevant that the OP is Gold?". Either you get it for *G, or you get it for Intl F, but I've never heard of any system in which you need both.

Sorry for the confusion (about my post -- I think US needs to apologize for the underlying confusion!)

snowfilmer

@QBK

I just called Lounge Services back to get clarification about that specific bullet point in the *A lounge access rules (Continental, United and US Airways Star Alliance Gold customers may only access the United Clubs and US Airways Clubs within the U.S. when travelling in conjunction with a Star Alliance international flight.) The woman I spoke with was extremely friendly and helpful.

I was told that all the rules under *G access are followed together, thus, one must be departing internationally from the local airport AND if you're CO, US, UA *G level, you have to be traveling on an international *A flight. If you're *G in another program, you can access the lounges even if you're not flying a *A flight, but for me (US Gold), I must be on a *A flight. J class service has no bearing on my access. The agent did acknowledge, however, that the wording is confusing, and as a result, some lounge employees will permit entry due to their individual reading of the rules.
For a positive that I've gotten out of this, though, is that on my next international flight, I'll have access to the lounge even if I'm sitting in coach.

Thank you everyone for your input, again. There's always something to learn about flying...