Craig Whitmore

Just doubling checking. As I'm going to SFO and then Hawaii on airnz I should have access to the Singapore lounge in SFO when going to Hawaii and access to the JAL lounge in HNL when going back to NZ?

Any information or alike I should know?

Markhm

Are you in J? *G or Koru?

Craig Whitmore

Business Class (and gold elite when I get back - (I hope))

ajnz

HNL - yes.
SFO - theoretically, but also possibly not. There's a thread in the UA forum about SQ rejecting *G access to their lounge when on non-SQ flights.

Frankly, you are not missing anything - the SQ lounge at SFO is fairly rough (and the UA lounge is dire; although they have fixed the WiFi there recently).

Also note that you'll be flying out of T3 for SFO-HNL (assuming you're on UA), not International G - although the two are connected airside so you can get to the SQ lounge without needing to reclear security.

If you have access, the Amex Centurion lounge in T3 is very nice. If not, then I doubt I'd bother with any of the lounges. I try to keep my physical time at SFO to an absolute minimum because of the general lousiness of the airport.

SeaProf

I fly through SFO quite often. Rather than UA's lounges, which are abysmal (although the newish one upstairs was a little less cramped when I tried it out), I typically just walk over to the international gates and find a quiet one. It can be quite peaceful there depending on the time of day.

Craig Whitmore

Is there any difference if I am flying business or if I have gold/gold elite in as I can access any of the airnz lounges/partner lounges in the future? Also as its a United flight can I get access to the united/global first lounges?

When I went to lax last year I was not impressed by the terminals at all. But the lounges where good.

Airnz list both of the lounges I said as their partner lounges and I -should- be able to get access.

ajnz

I try to avoid SFO as much as possible, but unfortunately schedules often force me there. I time my arrival at the airport to try and minimize the amount of time I spent there.

NZ*G and NZ*E are the same from the perspective of partners - they are all Star Alliance Gold and there is no differentiation. *G entitles you to day-of-departure access to Star Gold lounges at your departure airport, if they are open, subject to capacity restrictions etc.

There is some subjectivity over whether the SQ lounge at SFO is actually a *G lounge or not, and it is not open except during SQ departure times or contracted partner departure times (e.g. NZ7).

You will have no access to the United Global First lounge unless you are departing in Global First on a Star flight (or are UA GS traveling in Business on UA; or LH HON in Business on LH). Domestic flights including SFO-HNL don't get lounge access by class of service, so you are reliant on your *G status to get you entry to the lounge. For sure you can enter both UA lounges; and possibly the SQ and BR lounges if they are open and in "*G mode" and not turning people away due to capacity restrictions.

KiwiRob

I can confirm that SIA do not allow non SIA *G into the SFO lounge, I was flying NZ to AKL, I'm SK *G and was told to go to the EVA lounge, which is a tiny wee dump, not impressed.

Xiaotung

Late last year I was allowed to enter even with a BR boarding pass. The lounge staff understood *G policy perfectly so I guess if they are having a full load and lots of *G on their own flights they will turn away others due to capacity issue.

libertyuk

Yes it does, I have used once before flying on UA internationally (the opening times coincided) and only a few weeks ago before flying on NZ7, both with NZ Gold status.

NZ shifted its contracted lounge at SFO from BR to SQ over a year ago.

sbiddle

I've still heard of a few people complaining about not getting into the SIA lounge in recent times with *G status, so it does seem that it can be hit or miss. Considering it's not particularly large this could simply be because it's already very busy.

If you're flying Air NZ however and have NZ *G or Koru it's completely different as Air NZ use the SIA lounge now rather than the Eva lounge.

ajnz

There's a fairly lengthy thread about it on the UA forum.

Craig could certainly try, but I wouldn't hold my breath for access. Especially as the lounge does have restricted hours. IMHO he will not miss much anyway.

Indeed - that's how I tried it out. Terrible WiFi, below par food, acceptable but not particularly mindblowing alcohol, and nowhere to sit.

And it's a long walk from the domestic gates.

Kamadan

Having tried both the BR and SQ lounges in SFO in the last 2 years (both prior to NZ7), I could say SQ is better than BR's offering (maybe one reason why NZ decided to switch contracts)

However "better" is subjective. They are both a far cry from their Asia airport based lounges.

For example, having just been to the SQ HKG lounge, the SQ SFO lounge seems to be on an entire different plane of existence, as in, you couldn't believe they are operated by the same airline.

ajnz

Agreed.

If you're in T3/Intl and are really looking for a lounge that's good, the Amex Centurion lounge is the only way to go - even if you don't have a Platinum or Centurion card, it's probably worth paying the $50 (with another Amex) to get in if lounge access is really important.

sbiddle

I flew out of SFO in August and didn't actually mind the lounge. There was a fairly good selection of food, cold beer (but the range of alcohol was pretty slim) and more importantly there were showers after a long day walking around the city. The WiFi was also fine on the day I was there.

Based upon every other post I've read on FT about the lounge I still wonder if I was in the same place!