Should Bronze tier have access to Galleries (1 or 2 invites per year)
 

Within the last year I have earned BA Exec Silver. Whilst It's a lovely perk gained through business class travel with my work, I can't help but think I will be downgraded to Bronze one day.

My question is, should BA Bronze members be entitled to one or two visits a year to a Galleries lounge? What are your thoughts?

Regards.

I don’t think you will find much support for this idea here. The Galleries lounges tend to be very crowded already.

I can't think of any reasons why?

I suppose my reasons would only be clear to someone who has held Bronze, been booked into a ET/WT/WT+ flight from T5. I completely understand why people would feel hesitant to agree with this.

As a bronze I would say no.

Why do you say this?

Might be good for bronze to see what they are missing, might make them focus on BA instead of flying various airlines with no status/lounge access.

But then again, a WT+ return and a semi flex WT return gets a bronze card and that is only two trips, so 2 free lounge passes would be 100% lounge access for some.

One of the main issues with lounges is that they are crowded. To add to this for no particular reason serves no purpose.

The lounges aren't always crowded, T5 empties out quite nicely from about 15 hrs onwards, LGW too after about 17 hrs. The only logical reason I can think of for this is if BA targetted Bronzes on an upward slope in the middle of their membership year, where a bit of extra travelling would get them ensnared into Silver. So BA would email them ahead of their (e.g.) evening midweek flight and say "hey, have a lounge visit on us", in the hope that this would spur them to make further flights or take up POUGs etc. At which point they may as well do some sort of status challenge, something they seem to strenuously avoid compared to some airlines, and much to BA's credit in my view.

However Priority Pass / Dragon Pass would seem to me to be the Bronze traveller's friend. The Plaza Premium lounge, which isn't Priority Pass, is also very good in T5.

I think 1 pass per year (with guest), would be a nice treat for bronzes without flooding the lounges. Also as others have said, might be incentive to fly with BA more. But I'm sure BA have considered it, and maybe the "thought" of getting lounge access is better than it is. And they would strive for silver less once they have tried it once. Got it out their system so to speak.

Bronze is an official level in BAEC so I think it should attract lounge benefits. Getting Bronze involves flying a lot with BA so should be rewarded. And the lounges are the best thing about status with free food and wines so it needs to be available to anyone who has been elevated above Blue.

I can see logic in tempting those who are Bronze towards Silver from a commercial point of view. How about a single invite to a UK-based lounge after X number of flights with BA in that year and/or after X many years as a Bronze. Equally, can be used as a targeted tempter for booking higher class fares (e.g. book WT+ on your next trip and get lounge access - for those Bronze who only book WT).

Better with/without a guest? Taking the other half may aid in helping to get permission for future/more expensive trips. Equally, not being able to have a guest provides a incentive to get Silver.

In principle, I think it is a very good idea. However in practice, how would it work? A paper voucher seems a bit too tradable [although might settle the perceived value of a BA lounge visit...] Maybe the new-fangled computer system might be able to put a couple of 'bonus marks' by a member's name?

Isn't Blue an official level in BAEC?

Bronzes (and blues) get op-ups which come with lounge access provided you notice in time. Apart from that, use of business class check-ins (particularly abroad) and priority boarding are decent perks. The point about the silver tiers and above is that they should be somewhat elite and aspirational, lounge access is a huge part of that.

It's one of those "If the Beatles reformed for a concert, what songs should they play" sort of threads really, as it's not going to happen but can lead to quite heated exchanges of opinion. And for me, I'd love to see "Yesterday", "You've got to hide your love away", and the complete side 2 of Abbey Road. Whatever those pesky bronzes say.