<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Dave Noble:
"You do not have to be departing on a flight of the airline whose lounge you want to use. You don't have to be departing from the airport at which the lounge is located, so you can use it on arrival as well - subject to immigration, etc., restrictions on access to its location."
Agreed, you can use any OW lounge as long as travelling on a OW carrier, however access based on OW sapphire/emerald status is only permitted when departing from that airport on a OW flight. Access is not available for arrivals.
Dave
[This message has been edited by Dave Noble (edited 05-08-2002).]</font>
Not so, based on multiple recent personal experiences. I have used Flagship Lounges at BOS, ORD, DFW and LHR on arrival. (LHR requires a pass through the flight connections security check and a stamp on your arriving boarding pass.)
A careful reading of the rules will confirm that they say nothing about the lounge you use having to be at your departure airport.
Also, my usual route to Europe, time permitting, is BOS-ORD-LHR (or -CDG) for the extra miles. I have always been admitted to the BOS Flagship Lounge even though my international leg departs from ORD.
I have heard of one person who, on domestic trips, would buy a refundable ticket on any international flight departing from his real destination so he would appear to be on an international itinerary and therefore able to use the Flagship Lounge at his originating airport. The ethics of this approach aside, the reason it works is that you do
not have to be at your international departure point to use it, as long as you're on an international itinerary on that day.