Chris Gilmour

BAEC Gold & Silver members can access the domestic SLOW lounges in JNB, DUR and CPT, provided they are travelling on BA flights internally. They can also access the international SLOW lounge when travelling to regional destinations such as Livingstone, Windhoek and Mauritius on BA flights. These flights are operated by Comair and earn tier points and Avios in the same was as regular BA flights.
A further concession is that BAEC Gold & Silver members can access the domestic SLOW lounges when flying on non-BA flights, provided BA does not fly to the destination on the ticket. So, for example, last year I flew to Bloemfontein on SAA/SA Express but was able to access the SLOW lounge at OR Tambo as BA/Comair does not fly this route.
It should be noted that the SLOW lounges, while owned and operated by Comair, are not for the exclusive use of BAEC cardholders. Indeed, FNB Private Bank and RMB Private Bank cardholders tend to be the main users of the SLOW lounge facility and they can use the lounge regardless of which airline they are using.
The international SLOW lounge is not accessible for premium passengers on BA's international flights out of OR Tambo ie BA56 and BA54.

Beaulieu

I'm told there is a lounge open as of September but that it's only paid access via priority pass, etc.

johnaalex

Thank you.

UTFB

ALG lounge is dry and has been for the last year or so I have been using it. Coffee / tea / water / fruit juice / cans of soda and basic snacks, that's it. Not what I want to see after 3 or 4 weeks working in the desert at a dry facility.

Marcus28

Thanks for this. Thus: a BA ticketed domestic flight (operated by Comair) such as BA6235 (JNB-PLZ) gives lounge access to BAEC Gold/Silver status holders? What confuses me is the text "* Gold and Silver cardholders may access the Lounges when travelling to SA destinations not operated by BA Comair." (on the website of the SLOW lounge), which reads to me as the sole access condition for BAEC Gold/Silver status holders, but from your post I understand that this is an additional ground for access.

Globaliser

If a BA Gold or Silver is flying on a BA-coded flight operated by Comair, they have lounge access to the SLOW lounge by virtue of their status. It really is as simple as that. It's a BA flight, and for this purpose that lounge is the BA lounge. There are plenty of us who are doing this multiple times a year.

There are some other circumstances in which a BA Gold or Silver might also get lounge access, but that is immaterial if you're flying on a BA-coded flight.

heb999

Flame3601

No , as this rule only applies when travelling to South African destinations not operated by BA Comair. So if you were flying from Johannesburg to Nelspruit on Airlink then you would get entry with your Silver/ Gold Exec tier status as BA( Comair ) do not fly to Nelspurit within South Africa, if you flew from Johannesburg to Durban on Kulula you would not get entry with your Silver/Gold Exec tier status as British Airways ( Comair) fly that route within South Africa. You would not get entry to the Slow lounge when flying to Reunion on Air Austral as even thou BA ( Comair ) do not fly there , it is outside of South Africa borders.

flylikelinz

my booking page says the lounge is the Air Zimbabwe Lounge in Harare... gulp. anyone have any experience of this lounge or is it the same as listed but name changed?

simons1

Yes. From memory a big room with comfortable leather chairs. Average range of drinks and cold snacks. No natural daylight. Friendly staff as most Zimbos are.

I think the old BA lounge (from LH days) is now locked up.

I used it once but now prefer to sit upstairs with a view across the apron....the snack bar there is relatively inexpensive for a couple of beers.

G-CIVC

Not a BA regular here, so please pardon me. Will be taking the family on JNB-HDS operated by SA. BA elites get access to the JNB domestic SLOW lounge in this case, but any anecdotes about taking guests?

I will be BA gold (but I might not have my physical card - any issues?), I also have CX and AA emerald but guess that's going to be irrelevant?
Person 2 will be BA silver
Person 3 only has AA PLTPRO (Sapphire)
Person 4 has nothing

All of us are incoming from CX J, that doesn't help as well as I have read. Any chances I can sweet talk two guests in given these circumstances and conditions? TIA!

(OT but would really appreciate a response - we have around 3.5 hours in between for our connection. I've heard so many things about JNB luggage theft, am I setting myself for trouble if I reclaim my bags, wrap them and recheck with SA and head to the lounge right away? Should I wait until pretty close to departure with my checked bags together with me, which in the case the lounge access is pretty much moot?)

Globaliser

No.

I think I've only ever had a bag wrapped once, and that was when it was full of things of enormous sentimental value for someone else (albeit of zero monetary value), and I would never have forgiven myself if they had been avoidably damaged or stolen. Other than that, there's never anything in my bags which would cause me anything more than irritation if they were stolen. Although I know it may happen one day, I haven't yet had any trouble! And that includes the time when we dropped four bags at JNB more than four hours before a flight to LHR, and JNB didn't load any of them. They were sitting around there for more than 24 hours, neither wrapped nor molested.

So I do think that one should not over-worry. If you get your bags wrapped, you've already put in place the most visible thing that will persuade any thief to move on to the next target - and that is all that you need to do.

Beaulieu

It appears that the lounge at LVI (now called The Livingstone Lounge it seems) has agreed access with Comair. It's now showing in my MMB for a flight in a few weeks - it's also accessible via Priority Pass. Will provide pictures if someone doesn't beat me to it!

BardLucyHumeXI

Hi,

I was enjoying some very pleasant sandwiches in the Adinkra Lounge yesterday evening.

Thanks

BardLucyHumeXI

"now called The Livingstone Lounge I presume..."