redpalmetto

On the lounge readiness, the new BA lounge area "skeleton" has been fitted out by the airport as part of the terminal refurbishment. It is BA themselves who have chosen to delay the fit-out to their specifications and opening until May 2018.
From my experience recently there would be capacity for BA silvers in the Norther Lights Lounge, except perhaps for the red eye flights first thing (and its £20 if you want to pay to enter BTW).

scubaccr

Solo traveling EDI BAEC Silvers should look for a Gold to guest them into the lounge.

In this scenario most golds (like me) will be sympathetic and no doubt much more likely to guest a denied silver.

Paralytic

Great opportunity for someone to app-ify the experience.

The could call it Silvr?

Or Scroungr?

Inchyra03

I am flying to Milan this Friday and had heard about this development from the BA lounge staff at Aberdeen airport.

I take two long haul flights a year either in First or Club World, and two or three short haul flights a year in Club Europe, so on average attain 985 tier points each year - this means as a leisure traveller that my partner and I spend around £13,000 per annum with BA.

We are flying Euro Traveller on Friday because Club Europe is pretty poor nowadays, and we thought since we get lounge access anyway, let's not fly Club Europe, but this development at Aberdeen is pathetic and devalues Silver membership in my view. BA - you got it wrong again I'm afraid - this is badly thought out because I don't believe that allowing Silver into the Northern Lights Lounge is about capacity limits, it's Mr Cruz cost cutting again.

£5.00 is a joke and insult, and to be honest by the time you pay for food and drink in one of the cafes, you are as well paying £25.00 each for the Northern Lights Lounge, except I think BA should have allowed Silver members free access alongside Gold.

I have emailed the Executive Club who responded quickly and passed my comments onto Customer Relations, so I shall see what they say and post here.

I appreciate this is not a third world problem, but my loyalty is being sorely tested again, and if I didn't live in Aberdeen I would fly with another One World Alliance partner that actually gets customer service.

The BA brand continues to be eroded and it's going through one of it's bad cycles meantime in my view.

stu1985

Welcome to FT and the BA board Inchyra03.

There have been a few complaints from Silver card holders here (as I am sure you have seen) on the new lounge arrangements. I would be slightly peeved too if I had booked ET as a Silver thinking that I would get lounge access and then finding out that I wouldn't and would get a £5 voucher for a cup of coffee instead. Please come back and let us know what customer relations say. I wouldn't hold out your hopes for much of a response.

Have a nice trip to Milan this weekend!

KLJamie

My wife registered a complaint yesterday on the lounge situation in Aberdeen. I will revert when / if she get's a response.

Also alarming was the fact that the check in agent at Aberdeen's belief that my wife and daughter (both Silver Card's) only entitled to 23kgs a bag.....

What is going on in Aberdeen and in BA ? Auto destruct.....

KeaneJohn

I tweeted to BA before lounge closure and they said staff would redirect me to new arrangements. When I found out it was a £5 voucher and apologised and said lounge access was only offered where available and it was no longer available in ABZ. I will soon be gold but will be Silver for the trip in hand so went to our Corporate Travel Agent who cancelled the booking and rebooked on FLymaybe.

Wonder if this is one of those times for someone to pay the lounge entry and issue a MCOL to BA for not providing the facilities that ŵere advertised at the time of booking without adequate recompense just like someone did with the BOB at LCY.

corporate-wage-slave

I think it's useful, if you get the opportunity, to complain to the airport as well, since it is their expansion plans which lie behind this.

https://www.aberdeenairport.com/help...t-us/feedback/

Location: Business Lounge / Category: Airport in general

But let me also welcome you to Flyertalk Inchyra03 and the British Airways board here, it's good to see you here and I hope you will be able contribute to this forum in the future too.

subject2load

Please do come back when you can - it will be very interesting to hear the CR response, and whether complaints from yourself & others actually result in a material revision to the policy. Unlikely methinks, but let's wait & see.

It is scenarios such as your own (putting at risk a very respectable annual leisure travel spend with an insulting £5.00 voucher) which seem to highlight the short-term thinking that characterises so many of BA's decisions.

Inchyra03

Folks, please see undernoted response I received from the airport Terminal Manager this morning.

Thank you for your feedback. As you are aware, the British Airways Lounge has closed until it reopens in a new location within the Departure Lounge.

It has been British Airways' decision as to which BA passengers have eligibility to use the Northern Lights lounge and the arrangements for those not entitled.

I have therefore forwarded your feedback to British Airways so that they may respond to you.

stu1985

It's a fair response to be honest. I don't see this as an Aberdeen airport issue. BA could have paid for Golds and Silvers to have access to the Northern Lights lounge if they hadn't been so stingy.

subject2load

Thanks for getting back Inchyra03.

It's the response from BA that will be most interesting. 'Twas their decision - and theirs alone - to offer loyal Silvers such as yourself a paltry £5.00 voucher.

redpalmetto

Yes, and it is also the case that the remaining BA fit-out work could have been roughly coordinated with the opening of the Northern Lights Lounge in the new section of the terminal but BA chose to delay that work.

Inchyra03

Well I haven't heard from customer relations yet, but customer relations in the business lounge at T5 told me to use the QR feedback which I did. 10 minutes later a lady from BA called me and invited me to the First Class Lounge in T5 by way of an apology. Very professional, gave me a tour, and doesn't agree with what BA are doing with the £5 voucher and no Free access to Northern Lights Lounge in absence of BA one meantime. She said that wouldn't happen anywhere else and thinks it is poor so we shall see if there are any changes.

rt112

I'm in the Northern Lights lounge in ABZ now, accessed by Priority Pass.It's nice, and as others have noted the food and drink offerings are substantially better than BA's lounges in UK outstations. That said it is a bit crowded already. The £5 voucher offered to Silver members is a bit of a paltry offering, although at least they've removed the stipulation that it cannot be spent on alcohol (only exemption now is duty free).