Originally Posted by
Task Force DL
Did this "ridiculous" thing in NRT last year so I could surprise my pregnant wife and spend a 6 hour layover with my her in the ANA F lounge. She actually thought it was pretty sweet... and man was that sushi and sake good ...
As it turns out, my credit card was never even charged - The transaction was voided by ANA before it ever posted.
After the layover and great time in the ANA lounge, I proceeded on my DL flight to TPE. It took a bit of planning, but was worth it, and definitely not "ridiculous". Why all of the ridicule?
I don't think it's ridiculous, it's just an option that might not be appealing to everyone, or even possible.
Not everyone has thousands of dollars of available credit to buy several full-fare plane tickets on a whim, and even if they do, not everyone will feel comfortable placing those charges on a card just in case something goes awry with the refund.
Plus, your situation and the OP's are quite a bit different. Wanting to visit a spouse in a premium lounge for fun (I'm assuming that your wife was perfectly able to travel alone at the time) vs. preparing in advance for what could be a difficult situation due to the special needs of a child are not exactly in the same ballpark. In the latter, one could argue reasonable need. In the former...much more of a stretch.
Buying refundable tickets is a viable solution to some. Simply asking the airport authority for something that is a reasonable accommodation is at least equally viable and reasonable. One might even say that working with airport authorities is more "within the system" than buying a ticket you have no intention of ever using. @:-)