LAX Lounge Experience

Old Aug 19, 2017, 4:05 am
  #16  
 
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Originally Posted by KiwiHighFlyer
You can simply guest them into the lounge without any charge. You may take one guest per business class passenger.
Ah excellent, I did wonder if that was the case. We may have a 5th person with us, is paid entry an option for them?
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 4:09 am
  #17  
 
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Considering how many folks have arrived to check in for a 1430 flight ...at 1400.(isn't that 4 oclock?)..or at 1600 for a 1630....(isn't that 6:30???)m I would suggest the staffer was being very helpful indeed...

YOU may not have needed the help but others clearly do....
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 4:14 am
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by smeags_nz
Ah excellent, I did wonder if that was the case. We may have a 5th person with us, is paid entry an option for them?
Sorry, I just got corrected by my partner - no lounge guests for business class, only for first. But you can still guest one person using your NZ*E status, but the others would have to pay if they sell lounge passes.

I've never bought lounge passes as I've always been NZ*E and only ever travel with one other person if I'm not alone, but hopefully others here can shed some light on it.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 5:27 am
  #19  
 
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NZ don't sell lounge passes now - and even if they did it's not a Koru lounge at LAX.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 5:37 am
  #20  
 
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Originally Posted by sbiddle
NZ don't sell lounge passes now - and even if they did it's not a Koru lounge at LAX.
Yes, true. However, there was some mention on here a few weeks ago of people gaining paid entry to the Star Alliance LAX Lounge. I was just interested to see if anyone else had experienced this.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 5:53 am
  #21  
 
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An option (but a crude one) is to ditch people at the United club first and leave via the airside connector to head to the *A lounge.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 9:54 am
  #22  
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Originally Posted by smeags_nz
Just moving this thread in a slightly different direction; does anyone have any recent experience with gaining paid entry into the Star Alliance Lounge @ LAX? Myself and a mate are flying back Air NZ Business Class to Auckland, but we're traveling with two other mates who are flying Economy and don't have any Air NZ status. Advice?
Are you *G? *G gets one guest. Otherwise, there is no paid access to the *A lounge at TBIT.

The United Club in T7 (which you can access with your J ticket) offers day passes for $59, but that's not worth it IMO.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 2:56 pm
  #23  
 
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Not sure if it is still possible, but I have definitely managed to pay for access to the *A lounge at LAX.

This was back in 2015. Two business class ticket holders on Swiss traveling to ZRH with no status, and myself in economy on Air NZ travelling to AKL with only *A Silver.

We just asked nicely after they checked the business class boarding passes, if there was any possibility we could purchase a guest past. Attendee checked with manager and it was a thumbs up.

I paid via credit card through a *A web page on their iPad. From memory it was around $60 USD.

Who knows if I just got lucky and whether this is even possible anymore. Had no expectation of getting it, so it was a bonus.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 5:36 pm
  #24  
 
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Cool, thanks for that guys.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 8:07 pm
  #25  
 
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If any of your party have Diners Card, access is available to the KAL lounge. It is vastly inferior to the *A lounge, but is certainly far closer than the UA lounge. It has showers, wifi (not great), drinks and a very limited range of snacks.
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Old Aug 19, 2017, 8:57 pm
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by Bub001
If any of your party have Diners Card, access is available to the KAL lounge. It is vastly inferior to the *A lounge, but is certainly far closer than the UA lounge. It has showers, wifi (not great), drinks and a very limited range of snacks.
Okay, cool, good to know.
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Old Aug 21, 2017, 7:27 pm
  #27  
 
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About 6 months after the *A lounge opened in LAX I asked about paid access: Nooope! In fact, none of the airline lounges in TBIT offered a drop-in fee. I'd flown in on NZ and had a 4.5 connection to LH's FRA flight. Had banked on getting a shower; instead I had a h00r's bath at the sinks in the terminal. As others have pointed out, since it's not an NZ lounge per s, I couldn't use any of a fistful of Koru passes accrued through my credit cards.

That they renovated the terminal but with zero paid shower access airside is a major fail in my book. Thank goodness I got my gold status back a few weeks later.

Originally Posted by yotty
Not sure if it is still possible, but I have definitely managed to pay for access to the *A lounge at LAX.

This was back in 2015. Two business class ticket holders on Swiss traveling to ZRH with no status, and myself in economy on Air NZ travelling to AKL with only *A Silver.

We just asked nicely after they checked the business class boarding passes, if there was any possibility we could purchase a guest past. Attendee checked with manager and it was a thumbs up.

I paid via credit card through a *A web page on their iPad. From memory it was around $60 USD.

Who knows if I just got lucky and whether this is even possible anymore. Had no expectation of getting it, so it was a bonus.
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Old Aug 21, 2017, 11:51 pm
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by Offenbach
This has to be (close to) the ultimate first world problem.
No doubt counselling is available to hapless travellers affected by this. OB
I have to say I am struggling with this thread!

Even if they had access to customer preferences, which i have never experienced even a airline operated lounge to have, why on earth would you care whether it was 24 hour time or 12 hour time.

I would think that preferences with airlines would be more useful around things that matter like aisle or window; any special meal requirements etc.

I agree with others that the lounge attendant was probably trying to be helpful, as probably many passengers might be confused by the time.
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Old Aug 21, 2017, 11:55 pm
  #29  
 
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Op here you https://www.quora.com/Why-does-the-U...e-12-hour-time

The Lounge attendant was actually showing helpful initiative IMO in adjusting the boarding pass to suit local customs.
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Old Aug 22, 2017, 2:36 pm
  #30  
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Originally Posted by oranjemakker
why on earth would you care whether it was 24 hour time or 12 hour time.

.
Because it changes boarding from being on time to a 12 hour delay in this instance. I doubt AirNZ would have been helpful if I had disappeared for 12 hours and showed up at 845 expecting to get on the plane.
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