Steve M

JL must have a lounge, or a beer machine? AFAIK, all lounges at NRT have beer machines.

metsfan1962

Thanks. That answers everything.

Paulchili

I have done the search and read through most of the conflicting rules about this issue (elite status vs class of travel).
My question is to someone who has been in the same situation as I will be:
I am only AA Gold (invisible to OW), traveling from NRT to ORD AA F. I know I will have access to AC, but has anyone with my low/no status been able to use the JAL F lounge with AA F ticket?

HNL

Per the OW rules you will have access to the JAL F lounge at NRT. You may want to have a copy of the www.oneworld.com lounge access policy just in case the agent is confused about the rules. I wouldn' expect that in Japan, but YMMV.

mvoight

GOLD Status gets you no lounge access.
What gets you access is your ticket class.
So, you are entitled to OW First Class lounge access in this situation, but not because of your Gold AA status.

tkelvin69

As in the previous thread you started in the JL forum, this appears to be the best answer given on email responses from the actual members of OW: http://www.travelingbetter.com/forum...ead.php?t=2626

I happen to agree with Jon, F class ticket without OW status only entitles you to entry into the lounge of the airline providing the flight. You might get staff to allow you entry into other lounges but I don't think you have a "right" to do so.

JDiver

Indeed, check the oneworld lounge access policies - the language is somewhat vague as to whether travelling F on AA earns you access to the Sakura lounges, and even if there is extension of access privileges they can always claim you can not access their lounge "due to capacity constraints" and refer you back to the Admirals Club, which is obliged to admit you and one guest. (Nothing on oneworld pages actually states you have access to other than the operating airline's lounge if traveling purely on a cabin class basis. The referred to thread on TravelingBetter certainly underscores that supposition with actual responses from airlines.)

So IMO the answer is "you might be admitted to Sakura First lounge." Act as if you expect it, in a low key quite kind of way, and have done it before - meaning calm, quiet, low key and polite (but not deferential) to prevail upon the natural Japanese custom of being hospitable to others.

If you were connecting onward from ORD, you would also be entitled to use the Admirals Clubs (showers) or Flagship Lounge on the day of international travel.

"Lounge Access by Class of Travel

Customers flying First or Business Class have access to the equivalent class of lounge regardless of their frequent flyer status. (First Class passengers may be accompanied by one guest travelling on a flight operated and marketed by a oneworld airline).

Customers flying in Economy class on the domestic or intra-European segment to connect to or from a oneworld longhaul First or Business Class flight can also use the lounge applicable to the class in which they are travelling the longhaul segment.

Exception: American Airlines AAdvantage® Program members, regardless of their tier status, may not use lounges when travelling solely on North American itineraries (defined as within or between the USA, Canada, Mexico [except Mexico City], the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean). In these cases, access rules are governed by American Airlines' own rules (ie paid lounge-access membership)."

Paulchili

tkelvin69,
Thank you for that excellent reference.
It seems that the OW rules on c.o.s lounge access left the wording ambiguous so that each OW member can refine their own rules.
Most telling for me are the JAL rules, which are very specific and unfortunately not favorable for my case.
mvoight,
I did mention that my Gold status makes me invisible to OW. If I were Emerald or Sapphire, there would be no need for discussion here.
I might give it a "gentle" try and if it works - great, if not I'll "suffer" in AC.
Thank you all for your input.

Paulchili

HNL,
I hope I have the same luck you had at LHR accessing lounges with your son

tkelvin69

If JL doesn't allow access to their F lounge you might ask to use the business lounge. IMO it is better than the AC - especially the food. There's not that much difference between the two Sakura lounges - in fact, I think the shower in F was a bit smaller.

Paulchili

Thanks - I will try that if entry to F lounge fails.

DFW25FLY

You definitely will be OK getting in the JAL F class lounge. Their F class lounge in NRT is just wonderful. I did a dfw-ord-nrt-sgn-nrt-ord-dfw MR about 3wks ago and used it. It especially came in handy since I had a dreadfully long 10-hour layover in NRT on the return.

Since I had more than enough time, my two friends and I lounge-hopped. Below is a list of how we rated the lounges.

1) JAL F class Lounge (by farrr the best)
2) Sakura Lounge (gets incredibly crowded)
3) AC (probably my fav in the whole AA system)
4) Qantas Lounge (lacking big time on food offerings)
5) Cathay Pacific Lounge (was really just NOT nice at all and a complete, and surprising, letdown)

Some highlights of the JAL F lounge include:
[LIST][*]Great food offerings, particularly for breakfast and dinner. The beef curry is excellent!

• Wonderful massage chairs
• Typically far far less crowded than the Sakura lounges
• Less crowded showers and can usually get in pretty quick for a complimentary facial or massage
• A separate JAL F class lounge on the 2nd floor (just above the main one) that is even quieter than its first floor counterpart
• More top-shelf alcohol selections

• An incredible staff

dfwmusicman

That's good news! Thanks for posting. I know AA requires F or Z inventory for non-Emeralds accessing the FL, but does JL have that same requirement? I ask because I'm flying DFW-NRT in F next month, but as an "A" mileage upgrade. I'm an AC member, so I'm not worried about access there, but do you think I'll be out of luck trying to enter one of the OW First Class lounges b/c I'm not paid FC?

As an aside, the initial DFW-NRT will complete my Plat. challenge, but I'm not sure I'll be able to reap those benefits upon arrival anyway. Regardless, this probably isn't the thread for that question.

ashill

That restriction only applies to domestic transcontinental flights, not international A class. See AA's access rules.

scottch@la

No direct NRT experience, but I was able to use the Cathay Pacific First Class lounge in HKG for a Qantas flight to MEL using award tickets. The friendly ticket agent told me how to access the Qantas lounge but I had a better idea. I simply presented my boarding passes to the CX lounge attendant and, after a few taps on the computer, was granted access!