hcuk94

This is where the line has to be drawn IMO.
Maybe you successfully manage to do that, maybe there's no written rule saying you can't do that, but it's gaming the system, and obsessing over anything that is free.

Sure, the lounge is a nice environment, and as I mentioned before I've occasionally politely asked an agent if there's any chance they'd let me bring 2 guests in (and on a quiet day, sometimes they say yes) but that is their decision, and trying to go around them and think up ways to circumvent the rules is not really worth it - I say that as someone who frequently travels with 2 bronze colleagues, and at T5 we just head straight for Wetherspoon and enjoy a couple of beers there.

Take this as another example - one of the hotels we use for work has free minibars. Great, and I've supped many a G&T from there. But I wouldn't drink the entire thing dry, or worse, empty all the miniatures into my suitcase. Because then the next time we stay, we might turn up and find they've axed the free minibars.

It's similar here. Trying to game the system is just going to push BA to make yet more 'enhancements' so I would not do this.

FWIW, my interpretation of the guesting system is that you have 1 guest per boarding pass (and thus per visit to Heathrow), whom you may guest through business/first check in, fast track security and your appropriate lounges.

Flexible preferences

But hcuk94, aren't you putting the lounge agent in an awkward position? After all, the rules are clear.

By asking, ever so nicely, she will feel conflicted by a natural desire to respond and please you and by adhering to the rules and being fair to everyone. In fact, aren't you being manipulative in the polite way you are asking her and the position you are putting her (or him) in?

And if your extra guest is allowed in, then BA are paying for the drinks and food they consume. Would you go into a restaurant and ask for a free meal and drinks? To me, it doesn't seem right.

NWIFlyer

No, in theory you can't. You are entitled to a single guest for the totality of your lounge visits - that's the way the rule is written. Of course you can probably twist the wording somewhat, but it's pretty clear what the intention is.

It is going to be different - vastly so. If guest A comes into lounge A with you and eats a full meal and drinks four glasses of wine, then accompanies you to lounge B they are unlikely to require another full meal and lots more alcohol an hour later.

On the other hand, if guest A is ditched in favour of guest B in the second lounge visit, guest B probably will require food and drink having not eaten.

Ask yourself: would it be considered usual for guest A to leave lounge A, but then you go to the desk and ask for guest B to be admitted to the same lounge instead? In T5, where BA own all the lounges, this has exactly the same effect as walking from North to South, or over to 5B, and getting guest B admitted there.

T3, with multiple airline's lounges, is of course muddier because of how lounge access might be charged out - it's possible that BAEC may not be financially disadvantaged because they're paying for two people to enter the CX/QF lounges anyway, but again the lounge operator's cost will increase.

I can't see any way in which anyone could say they are not circumventing the rule if they guest multiple people to multiple lounges. It's clearly not what was intended.

hcuk94

I get your point. It's fairly rare I ask and I don't by any means expect them to say yes - I choose my words so that the assumption comes across as the answer being no. As with everything like this I try to keep a balance, and would never want to take the p**s. I'll often be on expensive flexible tickets and not set foot in a lounge, so on the other hand I don't think I cost BA too much

I'll keep this in mind though, point taken.

710 77345

Do you have a copy or link to this wording? On the couple of occasions I've had a different guest I've had no problem, in the same way I've had no problem accessing multiple lounges on a long layover.

NWIFlyer

This is the exact wording on the oneworld website:

Now, what's been said here is that the interpretation of that is not one guest per lounge, it's one guest per airport visit. That's how I read it as well, and I'm not sure there's much case for ambiguity. You may have been getting away with it thanks to the mechanics of BA's booking-in system in T5, but I'd say that's not in the spirit of the rule and therefore probably not something that you should be broadcasting ... @:-)

710 77345

Remember though NWI that it's BA's more generous rules that apply to the OP, not Oneworld's policies.

I'm not sure I see much difference between this and visiting different lounges whilst on a long layover, as long as you're limiting yourself to no more than one guest.

There may very well be a clear rule I'm missing, but I'm loathe to have people miss out if they're being advised based on what we think the rules are (or worse, should be!) rather than the published policies - hence my question. Indeed, if I look at BA's lounge access guidance it splits out the access to GC and First lounges that the OP is asking about, saying that they can go to GC with one guest and go to a First lounge with one guest. Hopefully one of our lurkers can confirm what the secret lounge access manuals actually says

GadgetGal

If you're so sure, contact BA Twitter and ask them or ring customer services.

Takiteasy

I agree with the interpretation that you cannot dump a guest in each lounge and, like someone said before, end up with 9 guests scattered around the airport.

But I cannot see how that language (or anything else on ba.com) prevents you from leaving a lounge together with your guest and entering the same or another lounge with another guest - especially since like the OP they are on the same flight as them.

Flexible preferences

I agree balance and reasonability is good ^

I'm still not sure about the rights and wrongs of what you (occasionally) are asking of the lounge agents though...

I appreciate what you say about expensive flexible tickets, but it is BA who set the bar for your commercial value to them in that two guests are allowed for higher Gold tiers.

Flexible preferences

Yes ^ ^

Go on, I dare you

NWIFlyer

BA's policies only differ from oneworld's in terms of allowing passengers with insufficient status into lounges on certain connecting itineraries (e.g. into the CCR when connecting from F to CE). There is absolutely no difference on guesting rules (GGL aside, but that's a tiny subset).

It also doesn't say one guest can go in GC, and one and GF - it says a lounge.

BA talks about one guest in exactly the same way as oneworld. The interpretation of that, for me, is identical - it's the same guest.

Lounge hopping is an entirely different matter, and clearly is allowed under the rules. Different rule, different scenario.

corporate-wage-slave

I can give two pieces of evidence, the first an anecdote.

On the fateful day after I invited UncleT and the lovely iWife into their first ever visit to Galleries First - and we all know what happened thereafter - I also unexpectedly bumped into another FTer who is well known here and also goes to the JER do's. Without thinking I invited him into CCR. There was a raised eyebrow and a gulp at reception, but I was invited to go through. A few minutes later a member of Special Services sidled over to me, out of sight of the guest, and asked if I had "made an arrangement". Now it was a simple mistake, I had effectively guested 3 people, when I wasn't travelling First, so I'm only allowed 2 guests and somehow I lost track. I apologised and all was well but clearly it wasn't something I should do without clearing it first.

The lounge guide just says "+1 guest" or "+2 guests" depending on status. Now if you are recycling 1 guest, so that it become 1 + 1, how does that differ from "+2 guests", when the second guest joins later on? If so, why don't they say "+2 guests" for everyone? Can you guest 12 people over the course of an afternoon? Commonsense suggests not.

Immaterial anyway, guests are subject to capacity, that is in the guide, so you can't play hardball here.

710 77345

The difference is in how many guests you are allowed at any one time. Some members are allowed 2 guests, some just 1.

Whilst you can't park a guest in a lounge and go elsewhere with a new guest, there seem to be no codified restrictions on what the OP would like to do.

timma1971

There seems to be some local variation on OW lounge rules. On my latest flight flight from Helsinki had my wife and two children with me and as Finnair offers paid access to their lounges asked the lounge agent how much it would be for the two kids in addition to my guest wife. The friendly lady checked my status (BA Silver) and told to my surprise that kids under 18 yo enter free. Have always thought that it's strictly one and only one guest over 2 yo. Also they seem to consider BA Silver as AY Gold. Such a lovely surprise!