HELP DESK: Will I Have Lounge Access? Which, Access, Rules (2023-24)
 

Greetings and Happy New Year! First time poster here.

I am flying Flagship First to Australia on an AAdvantage Award ticket on the following itinerary and looking for clarification from the experts as to which lounges I will have access to...

JFK-LAX-SYD
SYD-LAX-JFK

Unless there are any lounge restrictions I am unaware of when flying Flagship First on a mileage award ticket, I assume I will have access to the Chelsea Lounge in T8 at JFK and the Flagship Lounge at LAX for the outbound segments? Are there any other lounges at LAX that I will have access to in the TBIT on this itinerary while flying Flagship First, and that you would recommend I should check out during my outbound 8 hour "LAX Appreciation" layover?

I will also be doing some Australia "hopping" upon arrival in Sydney on a separate Economy Class ticket booked on Qantas, so also wondering if I will be eligible for lounge access upon arrival in SYD from LAX? I am sure I will be in desperate need of a shower after such a long journey, so hoping I might have access to a QF or OW Lounge with shower facilities. Finally, which lounge will I have access to in SYD before departure to LAX in Flagship First?

Thank you in advance for all of the helpful advice - I am sure you can see that I am new to this forum, and while I did spend some time attempting to search the forums for answers to my specific questions, I have not been successful in finding the most current and accurate information.

Best to all of you for a safe and prosperous 2023!

flyinmiamicane Welcome to FT & Ozzie
Any AA or Oneworld status?

At LAX would expect you will also have access to the QF First lounge. Others will know better - confirm or deny.
https://www.oneworld.com/airport-lounges?location=LAX

Been to Australia - Sydney before?
No airport in Australia has an airline arrival lounge. Nor will you have access to international departure lounges. In AU international arrivals and international departures are physically separate.
SYD has a pay for access arrival lounge, operated by Plaza, land side after immigration. https://www.plazapremiumlounge.com/e...sydney-airport

Link--->https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ocea...transport.html
For the ""hopping" upon arrival in Sydney on a separate Economy Class ticket booked on Qantas" how many hours between scheduled arrival and scheduled domestic departure. Less than 3:00hr is a risk.

For AU domestic flights on QF, Oneworld Emerald or Sapphire status will get you (departure) lounge access.
Paid AA Admirals club membership will get access to the QF (departure) domestic lounges.
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/...membership.jsp

SYD departure --> https://www.oneworld.com/airport-lounges?location=SYD

Thank you for the reply and helpful information. This will be my first trip to Australia, and it appears I will not have any arrival lounge access. To answer your other questions, I do not have status on any airline as I am an airline pilot myself and usually leverage my flight benefits to travel by air. My wife is Executive Platinum with AA and I booked my flights using her miles. Unfortunately, I could not find mileage award redemption options on the same itinerary (she purchased her tickets and is flying AA MIA-LAX in Flagship Business Class on the 777W and connecting to a Qantas A332 flight in Business Class to BNE). I do not have an AC membership but do have Priority Pass membership through my Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant AMEX card. I will ensure I have more than 3 hours between my arrival and onward flight - what is the reason why you consider less than 3 hours a risk? Is it based on the time to clear Customs and Immigration, or something else I am missing?

Thanks again Mwenenzi and Happy New Year!

As an AA Platinum (OW Sapphire), I have access up to 620 airport lounges worldwide. If I understand this correctly, I can only enter OW business lounges if I'm flying on a OW ticket outside the U.S.? Thanks!

For your wife's ExecPlat (OW Emerald) have a good look at the AA web site & QF lounge access rules. Not 100% sure but your wife may be able to guest you into QF lounges when on the same PNR.
Have a look at Priority Pass info, but I think will be of no use at SYD T1 international arrivals or T3 QF domestic.

For transfer info look at -->SYD Sydney Kingsford Smith International Airport inter-terminal transfer and connection information
Need a good time when on separate tickets

• From 06:00 ~ 08:30 are a lot of SYD T1 international arrivals. Most are wide body. Have a look at the arrivals
• Can take a long time or short time to process immigration. customs & bio security.
• For T1 to T3 you need to take the QF free bus(after checking in bag drop), free airport T-bus or paid train. Terminals are ~4km apart
• If your incoming flight is late, that eats into transfer time. If you are too late for next separate domestic flight that's all your problem (A credit card to buy a new flight if needed)

All the best for your time in Australia

Correct: needs to be OW flight for lounge access on departures.

Those with OWS & OWE status from non USA airlines have lounge access on the same basis in USA
https://www.oneworld.com/travel-benefits#lounge-access

if i fly sea-lhr-cdg all on BA in business using AA miles, what lounge will we have access to in lhr? what about in Europe?

how about if i were to have an AC membership by then ( I don't right now)?

BA business class on SEA-LHR-CDG will get you access to any of the BA Galleries Club lounges at LHR T5 before your flight to CDG.

Being an AC member wouldn't really matter, and not sure what you mean by "what about in Europe"?

thank you,

if I have an AC membership but am flying economy BA metal home from Europe-LHR-USA, are there BA lounges at LHR I can access?

No. I am afraid ac is irrelevant in that situation.

thanks again

the AC partner lounge page says I would have access to the T5 galeries lounge but only with a same day AA flight. so that means if my LHR-USA flight is BA metal, no BA lounge access, but if it's AA metal then I can access the BA lounge? That seems... ironic.

The partner page you're referring to hasn't been updated since the LHR AC opened back up. Listing the BA Galleries Club lounge at LHR T5 is most likely just a holdover from when the JFK flights were still operating from T5. If you fly LHR-USA on AA metal then you can of course use the AC in T3.

If you are flying through LHR and will be in business class, yes you should have access to the BA lounges at T5. I prefer the T5B lounge, as it is much more quiet, generally cleaner, and if I want a shower I've never had to wait. Most of the BA flights to the USA leave from T5B or T5C, so that lounge is easier to access, but you are welcome to use any of the BA lounges if you qualify.

we are likely to be business to Europe but econ on the way home hence the questions. and we may but may not have AC membership

There is an aspire and a plaza premium in T5 if you have access to either or want to pay before your flight on the way back to the US.