LTN Phobia

There is a potential harm in trying it but probably not where a lot of people might think about...

When I was a stroppy teenager I would have tried to disown my father if he dared to embarrass me by knowingly asking someone for something for me that is beyond the official entitlement because I'd have been mortified and embarrassed.

Don't underestimate a teenage daughter's potential grumpiness that is caused by the (perceived) uncouth behaviour of her parent!

NWIFlyer

There’s a two stage entry process for the F wing - podium check for eligibility followed immediately by automated gates for security. Guest boarding passes work at the security gates because, presumably, they’ve been validated and logged at the podium check. There’s also the usual manual check available if the automated gates fail for some reason, but this is always a secondary option.

Given the podium could only validate one guest BP for the F lounge, and the system would reject all others, I don’t see a way all three people could get through to security without too many questions having to be asked about why one of the agents bent the rules. For this reason, I’d consider it very unlikely to happen.

If the OP really wants to try this, better to do it discreetly after normal Fast Track security, at the original F lounge entrance, perhaps by slipping away after installing his wife and daughter upstairs in Galleries South - there’s far fewer questions all round that way, and no risk of embarrassment if the likely refusal results.

13901

If - and I say again, if - it's the same system as the other check-points in North/South, then the fact that a boarding pass has been scanned at the podium (or at a check-in desk) won't allow the user to get the gates to open if he's not entitled to it.

The gates are governed by HAL's software, and what HAL's software will do is interrogate BA's to "ask" if the passenger had his APIS data checked (if required); then it'll check conformance times, then it'll check FQTV status. Should you be at one of the fast tracks and you're not an eligible customer, then it'd pre-empt you from opening the gate. The only information that the BA podium / check-in will add and that the HAL system will consume is whether the passenger's passport has been checked; the rest is accessed from other information in the back-end. I don't know how it works today, but back in the day every check-in desk could accept anyone, a lowly Blue travelling on the cheapest Y fare could get checked-in in the First class area (before the Wing was established).

This, at least, was the logic way back when we introduced conformance and I worked on that project.

All this is my recollection and my opinion, not BA'.s

NWIFlyer

MrsNWI and I have guested a total of three non-status friends/work colleagues through in the last two weeks. All their boarding passes worked through the automated gates.

13901

I'm happy for you and her; as I said, what I tried to explain is the logic that activates the barriers in North & South security in case it interested someone. It might very well be that the logic is different, or that they were waived through by a HAL employee, or you guys all pole-vaulted above the barriers, in which case you've got a life skill I'd very much like to learn.

flyer200

This is clearly some British trait

subject2load

flyer200

Each to their own, I wouldn't presume to pass judgement on someone else's feelings. I'm sure those feelings are very real and genuine.

For me I enjoy 'blagging', using a little bit of charm and a smile to have the rules bent a little on occasion and I'm sure my children wouldn't be too traumatised if the answer was no. I know this because sometimes the answer is no and they seem ok.

Just a thought

RobDBA

I’ve tried this several times as a family of 3. 100% failure rate at the first wing, 100% success at the normal first lounge entrance. Daughter is well trained to look nice and not disruptive but at the first wing it seems like the security element makes them stricter.

note that my daughter knows full well that we are not entitled to entry but are asking the staff for a favour, the rejection didn’t seem to scar her for life!

NWIFlyer

Ah, you’ve discovered our secret. Unfortunately security confiscated the poles, so we won’t be trying that again

I imagine the difference here is that the F Wing is supposed to be as seamless as possible. North & South security gates are accessible before any checks have been done, so arguably the check is for different things, there’s a time element with trying to process greater numbers of passengers through the automated gates as quickly as possible, so the amount of information pulled might necessarily be smaller.

To get to the gates at the F Wing all your data has to have been checked, the volume is less, so it’s probably possible to filter everyone through the automated process rather than having to wait for the lengthier manual check. The only real check required is for conformance and that the BP is valid for F lounge access of higher.

Globaliser

How well do you know LTN Phobia?

LTN Phobia

Except I am not British as alluded to by Globaliser above.

A pretty common thing with stroppy teeage kids I’d say. A lot of my friends are suffering with theirs regardless of nationality.