englisha

I think the rules are fine as they are now. Kids can of course earn status, my 7 year old made gold this year and the 4 year old silver. With the TP end of year being different for us all, it was actually my daughter guesting my wife into the F lounge earlier this year.

happeemonkee

I think this is a great idea as well. Would get my vote for fairness.

Calchas

This idea was not well received on the BA Future Labs forum where it was floated.

orbitmic

Like some others, I do not entirely get the sense of why children should be treated differently from any other guest. I'm sure the argument is 'but you can't leave children behind while you could leave others behind'. Whilst this is true, I am one of those people who would never consider going into the lounge (maybe with one family members) if others were left behind. So if BA really wants to allow more guests, it should come as 2 or 3 vouchers sent each year that enable members to bring in extra guests.

That said, my problem is that if BAEC offers this, I have no doubt whatsoever that this new 'generosity' will be compensated by something else which will be lost or worsened, and quite frankly, I am not in favour of that trade off (whatever the 'victim' is) so I think I'd be against that too. So option three, maybe offer a year-long 'extra guest' card (which would allow you a second guest with every visit) as possible alternative to be chosen instead of a GUF2 if people would prefer it.

Lefly

Leaving it as a choice between the two options, you mean... not eliminating one for the other.

orbitmic

Yes, exactly - offering this as an either/or choice a bit like the choice of benefits you get at 7,000 TPs. I'll change my formulation to make it clearer

Howard Long

I’m not keen, I’m afraid. I don’t understand why children are a special case.

When we’ve taken the daughter (I am gold, my OH is silver, daughter is bronze), on shorthaul we all go CE and we all go to the galleries lounge, even though I could go with one of them to the F lounge.

If we’re in a situation where we can’t get into a lounge, that’s fine, we find somewhere reasonable to enjoy instead. It’s not exactly uncommon to find better options outside the lounge, even when I’m flying F by myself it’s not uncommon that I find myself in Plane Food in T5 for example. Wagamama is another option particularly popular with the daughter, we commonly all go there rather than using the lounge even though we could go to the galleries.

If it’s so important for them to gain lounge access, parents can always purchase the tickets that gain access.

If there is to be an option (and I’d prefer there wasn’t) my preference would be for an annual voucher allowance rather than it being specifc to children.

IAMORGAN

I think simplest is lounge pass purchase capped at 4 per year and only for ppl already within HHA (or could only enter when accompanied by nominating cardholder). This would keep numbers sustainable, avoid them ending up on ebay and be fair for those with / without kids. I think guesting privileges are already fairly generous but if there's a way for BA to earn ŁŁ and keep status holders happy it's a win-win.

fin_dg

I'd love this but I get why single or couple travellers may not. The F lounge is usually packed all year round and practically, I just don't think there is the space. We have three kids, including twins, which always makes these things a little more challenging. Neither Mrs Fin or the mini-Fins have status as I'm usually travelling on my own for business, so it would be great to let the family benefit once or twice a year for holidays.

Tobias-UK

You are GGL? You can gift them Gold/Silver status and in BA lounges you are already entitled to 2 guests.

fin_dg

Thanks Tobias, yes, just made GGL at the beginning of November for the first time. I get that personally I can do this by gifting Mrs Fin the Gold which means she can guest a mini-Fin and my GGL allows me to guest the other two. I'm currently struggling with this a little though; we only fly together once or twice a year and so it feels like gifting the Gold and Silver cards to the fam is a bit of a waste given that I know a few colleagues would benefit far more...personal ethics and all that!

Jed

Just discussed this with my eldest, who is 4. He gets in to GF anyway by virtue of his own gold card. However, he welcomed the idea of more children, as he is looking forward to playing power rangers on the terrace with any new friends he may meet there. He said he was bored last time, as there were 'only boring adults drinking champagne'

dylanks

I would say that a once a year family pass might be a nice thing. It doesn't matter much to me though... with 3 kids, we're covered by GGL and my wife's gold card, and we've only traveled in CW or F as a family.

Sixth Freedom

This is not really about children - I like seeing and hearing children. This is about capacity. The plain fact is that demand for extra guests will be highest during the school holidays, when the airport is busy anyway and risks overcrowding of lounges and denied entry for passengers holding premium cabin tickets.

If people want to bring their children into the lounge with them, then the right thing to do is to purchase Club Europe, Club World or First tickets for the children. During the school holidays BA often has some quite fantastic premium cabin fares and the upgrade price from Traveller and Traveller Plus cabins is not necessarily that high. Holding a BA Gold card is probably a strong signal of having the ability to pay for the comfy cabins at the sale fares, if the holder chooses to and is organised enough. If the holder wants cheaper travel and/or is too disorganised to plan their purchase in accordance with the regular premium cabin sales, then I do not see why they should expect their children to enjoy lounge access.

I think that BA should stick with the current pricing policy and offer good sale fares for premium cabins during the school holidays, using cabin purchased as the mechanism for family lounge access.

Tobias-UK

Love it! ^