"Yes perhaps there is a point not to write a letter also, but equally valid is the point that no arrivals lounge is provided for inbound business class passengers. As I said, this differs from my overall experience flying in international first and business class. "

Even airlines that do have arrivals lounges only have them in a few major locations. In general there are no arrivals lounge facilities for business / 1st class passengers. You have been lucky in your international travels to have ended up where they exist, they are the exception rather thna the norm.

" Perhaps the letter should be more like "AY doesn't have business class lounges for arriving pax, so I will fly another airline," and maybe I will not even mention the experience at HEL, and again in the future I will just buy a refundable one way ticket etc."

What about the other alliance carriers. Will you not fly BA/QF to destinations other than London or Johannesburg since they have no arrivals facilities other than at those locations. What about Iberia, they have no arrivals lounges iirc. Finnair , from your experience, dont. I don't know if LanChile, CAthay or Aer Lingus do, but I wouldnt be surprised if they didnt.

If arrivals lounge facilities are going to be the basis for travel, then they will be v limited.

It does say on the one world web site that lounge access is for departing passengers ( http://www.oneworldalliance.com/fbt/home.cfm )

"Access to airline lounges

The oneworld alliance airlines provide over 340 lounges across the globe. If you are a top-tier member of one of our frequent flyer programs, you will have access to our lounges prior to departure.

At peak periods, access to certain lounges may be restricted due to capacity constraints. Access is available on the day of departure when your next onward flight is with a oneworld member airline. Access may not apply at a limited number of third-party-operated lounges"

Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave Noble (edited 09-08-2002).]