FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - SFO BA Lounge not following oneworld lounge access?
Old Jul 23, 2023 | 7:20 am
  #14  
NWIFlyer
Community Director
1M
40 Countries Visited
100 Nights
15 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Norwich, UK
Programs: A3*G, MH Platinum, BA Gold, BD Gold (in memoriam), IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 9,264
Originally Posted by KARFA
On the contrary, the GF is not fine and I wouldn’t say otherwise. You are fingering the wrong man as it were

There is an issue with BA lounges in the US which are often better than the AC (not always of course). If all oneworld status holders were allowed in - including AA status holders who can’t get in to the AC when on a domestic flight - then it would clearly be a mess. There is a legitimate capacity issue.
That's also a potential reason why BA is pulling the capacity card out - that AA has asked them not to admit their elites on a domestic itinerary because it diminishes AC annual pass sales, and since the airside connector has been added from T1 that'll only make it worse.

The way oneworld lounge rules are written, you couldn't exclude AA elites without also excluding J passengers on other airlines - hence the only way around it, whilst still having the ability to exercise some discretion, is to claim capacity constraints. If BA let an AY J passenger in, but then immediately refused an AA elite, it would be extremely difficult to justify/sell.
NWIFlyer is offline