True that the lounges aren't up to much, but they are useful for:
1) Somewhere semi-comfortable to sit, with power points
2) Free G&Ts (the free wine is undrinkable, the free beer is the type that gives American beer a bad name) and soft drinks
3) Free wifi
4) Most importantly: easy access to agents to deal with rebooking / changes / seat allocations etc.
I never really had any problem getting in with my AC or NZ *G cards.
Originally Posted by
slawecki
i was in the ord UA lounge yesterday. better off outside than in the lounge. a few years ago, purchased a full fare first class ticket(about $2000 us) from bwi to some island in hawaii. no lounge access with an F ticket on domestic.
It is bizarre, isn't it. So much about the UA set up is based on the assumption that almost nobody actually pays for domestic first class. The only exception is the p.s flights between JFK and the west coast, where for the past few years you have been allowed lounge access with business class (or first, when it existed) ticket.