thanks. I usually fly regular economy - most of my flights are paid for by work, and i have some flexibility in influencing airline choice, but cannot choose something very expensive when there is a significantly cheaper option...
I'm often stuck with long connections, and would really like to have lounge access, however I can't be sure of doing more than 20-30k miles a year. I noticed that aeroplan/aircanada allow prestige members (25k) to buy maple leaf membership for $400 - is it worth considering this even if I don't live in Canada? I guess I'd be able to collect miles on star alliance, though as you pointed out for being Ireland based the flying blue probably has better connections. Is tere a skyteam way to get lounge access with my amount of miles?
Thanks