Adam Smith

I would appreciate some feedback from members of the community on where information on contract lounges should live. Right now, we have numerous threads on specific airports. I think some airports have multiple threads running. Many are quite old with outdated info. A few members have commented that they don't find this very useful. Over the last year or so, we've compiled a very good thread with detailed wiki on locations of AC-operated lounges which seems to have made it a lot easier for people to find relevant information.

I see three main possibilities for contract lounges:

• Add them to the existing thread on AC lounge locations and access rules
  • Pros: centralizes all lounge access information for pax flying AC
  • Cons: the lounge access thread is fairly long already and would get much longer
• Create a separate, similar thread to the one on AC-operated lounges
  • Pros: centralizes contract lounge information
  • Cons: may create confusion with the existing thread
• Maintain the current approach of many different threads for contract lounges
  • Pros: the information for one particular airport is all in once place and easy to scroll through
  • Cons: there are lots and lots of these threads, which may make them harder to find and many have not been kept up to date

I have listed centralizing information as a positive, because it seems that when we have bigger threads like that, people are more aware of them and tend to keep them more. It's easier to link to that thread from the dashboard thread or the other lounge threads than it is to link to many threads. But stand-alone threads with the airport name/code in the title may be easier to search for those who are using Google or FT forum search, and many people may only be interested in one or two airports because those are the only ones they're flying to.

Thoughts and feedback would be welcomed.

asovse1

Not sure why the length of a thread matters, but that's an opinion I reserve for this subforum, specifically

Whenever I put on my information-seeking hat...

I'll find the relevant thread, and if it's a broad information search, I'll move back a few pages to an appropriate timescale to see what recent data points are, (e.g., May 2023 to see if anyone asked about new shower updates at the MLL)

I also know how to use the search button, so thread length isn't a worry for a mere user (and non-moderator, who unlike you doesn't have to read every discussion lol)

I do recognize that other forum users don't have a similar workflow, or are even aware of how to perform a broad and effective web search LOL so maybe you're seeing different because of others' behaviours

TheCanuckian

I am of the opinion that such a thread would be very helpful. I would opt for the second option as I think it is most likely to remain useful over the long-term.

I think the success of the thread will depend upon a clear definition of "contract lounge" as opposed to an official Maple Leaf Lounge or a third party lounge that you may be able to access with DragonPass or similar (even while it has no official relationship to AC).

canadiancow

This is my main thought too. The third option has one main issue: "I'm flying HKG-YVR, what lounge can I access?"

That doesn't really fit any of the proposed models. There are multiple *A lounges. There are multiple third-party lounges. There are no AC lounges.

Do we want a thread or threads telling people to use the ANA Lounge, or the United Club, or the Centurion Lounge, or the Plaza Premium Lounge?

I don't personally like when a "lounge access" thread turns into a comparison of all the *A lounges at the airport. But I don't really have any good suggestions.

AMS clearly fits the contract lounge concept. HKG does not. But for someone looking for advice before their AC HKG-YVR flight, where should they post?

TTC900Rocket

My layman's thinking is to just make a table in the wiki like the AC lounge access thread and list the contracted lounge(s) to which we are entitled.

For example:

BKK - TG, BR, SQ
GRU - Banco Safra
HKG - TG and SQ

canadiancow

*A lounges are not contract lounges though.

*A pax have access to *A lounges. The complexity is in situations like AMS )non-Schengen) where there are no *A lounges, but AC does have a contract with a third-party operator.

I do not think it makes sense to have an AC forum thread become the encyclopedia of *A lounge locations. The *A website is sufficient for that.

Changeup2000

I agree. Contract lounge information is useful because they are oddballs. People may not be aware of them. *A lounges should be common knowledge for almost every *A Gold.

RangerNS

Not sure if this makes your problem easier, but I'd suggest the a different perspective, not how to categorize information so much as how to answer questions.

And there are 3 questions:

I have some organic AC status, where do I get lounge access?

I have some foreign *A status, do I get access to some particular AC lounge?

I have some weird CC related something; lounge?

If you know you know. If you don't know, the intricacies of MLL vs SS vs contract vs *A and local weirdness is the question, not a test of strength to get through before asking a question.

capedreamer

I agree with this distinction. There is no need to individually list all *A lounges globally that AC*G members would have access to.

There is also no need (in the AC forum) for a thread dedicated to Priority Pass, Amex, and other lounges whose admittance criteria are unrelated to flying AC.

True contract lounges not operated by a *A partner that provide AC status / J passengers access (e.g., AMS) or the lack thereof (e.g., LIM) would be valuable information to house somewhere, and I'd vote for the 2nd option Adam Smith suggested (a single thread with wiki for all such locations: AC-served destinations with no AC or *Alounges, where AC status / J passengers are nonetheless provided with lounge access).

Bohemian1

I also like Option 2. And having this a separate thread will avoid some confusion vis a vis 'true' MLLs or *A lounges.

My ignorance kinda bit me when I was in FCO last week and forgot that they'd changed contract lounges.

Adam Smith

I would tend to agree, but one comment that has come from many less-experienced members is that they find long threads daunting to tackle. They like to open a thread and read the first few and/or last few posts, and if they don't find what they're looking for there, they often create a new post or new thread. This is where I see great value in wikis, because there's no need to comb through lots of posts.

It's also worth noting that how one interacts with FT can play a significant role in how one feels about this. The search tools on FT mobile suck. The forum and thread search that are easily accessible on the desktop version aren't available in the same way on the mobile version. I feel like I've heard from many of our more active users that they use desktop mode all the time, but that's not true for most people, and those who are less experienced may be less aware of these search tools.

My thought was that both the existing lounge thread and the putative new contract lounge thread, if there was one, would note that where there are lounges operated by *A partners, those are available to AC pax and they should consult the relevant FT forum (UA, LH, etc) for further information.

I would like to eliminate that type of thread, ideally.

The goal here would be to keep this focused on information that's relevant to the AC forum. If people want to discuss using their PP to access a PPL, there's a whole Airport Lounges forum for discussion of 3rd party lounges like that.

I think the challenge with that type of thread is that it requires those who frequent the AC forum to keep very on top of lounge developments by partners. What if the HKG TG lounge closes? What if BR opens a new lounge at TPE? It seems like an awful lot of work for people who spend a lot of time hanging out on the AC forum to also keep up with all of those developments. If you're volunteering to create and maintain this database, I agree it would be very useful But that was why I thought that true contract lounges (either those operated by 3rd parties like Aspire or rare locations where AC may contract with a non-*A airline for access to their lounge) might be almost as useful and much easier to maintain.

That was my thinking as well. And I didn't want to bias the debate, but since there have been a number of responses, but option 2 was also where my head was at before I posted this.

That's the type of thing that made me think that something that was more centralized and perhaps easier to keep up to date might be worthwhile.

Adam Smith

Based on feedback received in this thread and private communications from some members, the new contract lounge directory thread is up and running. I've thrown together a rudimentary wiki, but lots of information is still lacking, so as always, community involvement will maximize the quality of the thread

If there are any suggestions on improving the structure of that thread, perhaps we could keep them here for now so as to keep that thread focused on the lounge information itself.

Changeup2000

Virgin Australia lounges do not seem to fit the contract lounge definition here or any other thread. Are we allowed to discuss those lounges here? Or is there a more suitable thread?

Adam Smith

Discuss them in what sense? The VA forum is generally the best venue for discussion of VA lounges, and this board already has a thread on the AC-VA partnership where reciprocal lounge access is discussed. If it's just listing them in the directory here, since they're not operated by a *A partner and many AC pax may be unaware of their ability to access those lounges, noting that AC pax have access to a VA lounge before an AC-operated flight is probably fine in the contract lounge thread, but as with any lounge operated by someone other than AC, this really isn't the place for in-depth discussion of the lounges themselves.