Lounges at JNB - Which can I use?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Manchester, UK
Programs: BA Silver, Amex Platinum, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 331
Lounges at JNB - Which can I use?
I'm travelling F this evening JNB-LHR on BA54.
There is the BA lounges, but also:
- Aspire (Iberia)
- Bidvest (Latam/Qatar)
- Shongolo (Cathay/Qantas)
Are there any of those that I can use on a OneWorld F ticket and would you recommend any over the BA offering? Could I try all of them? I have plenty of time at the airport.
Would I be right in assuming that the BA lounge is positioned near the usual departing gate?
Thanks
There is the BA lounges, but also:
- Aspire (Iberia)
- Bidvest (Latam/Qatar)
- Shongolo (Cathay/Qantas)
Are there any of those that I can use on a OneWorld F ticket and would you recommend any over the BA offering? Could I try all of them? I have plenty of time at the airport.
Would I be right in assuming that the BA lounge is positioned near the usual departing gate?
Thanks
#2
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 2,422
Your BA F ticket will only get you in to the BA lounge as all the others are 3rd party offerings with no Oneworld privileges. You can pay to use them or Priority Pass will get you in but frankly the BA lounge is actually the best of a bad bunch, although the lack of external facing windows is a negative. The best lounge at JNB is the SLOW Lounge but they only serve BA's franchised domestic and regional flights on Comair.
From the BA lounge you shouldn't be more than 5 minutes walk away from the gate.
From the BA lounge you shouldn't be more than 5 minutes walk away from the gate.
#3
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 756
Your BA F ticket will only get you in to the BA lounge as all the others are 3rd party offerings with no Oneworld privileges. You can pay to use them or Priority Pass will get you in but frankly the BA lounge is actually the best of a bad bunch, although the lack of external facing windows is a negative. The best lounge at JNB is the SLOW Lounge but they only serve BA's franchised domestic and regional flights on Comair.
From the BA lounge you shouldn't be more than 5 minutes walk away from the gate.
From the BA lounge you shouldn't be more than 5 minutes walk away from the gate.
However, if you have Priority Pass, you can get into the Bidvest Premier, Shongololo, and Mashonzha lounges - which are all equally horrendous, but with more colourful decor.
If you'd like to forego your F seat for a coffin in the hold on the way to LHR, you can also access the Dunhill Smoking Lounge via PP. But you will die.
Or you can pay for the PP lounges (don't).
Aspire, unfortunately, is neither accessible via a BA F ticket, nor via PP, but you can pay for entry. It's better than all the above (I sampled it a few weeks ago on a very quiet afternoon, by more or less begging to be let in), but not as good as the SLOW lounge, which is just simply inaccessible on your ticket, and you can't pay for entrance either.
Basically it's an awful range of offerings for non-Comair BA, and - as for SFO - I just grab a cocktail and a bite at a restaurant in the terminal normally.
Last edited by newyorklondon; Jun 6, 2018 at 2:16 am
#5
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: near Heathrow
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL (OWE), SA LifePlat (*G), BD Gold to the end, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,907
I used the F lounge in December and it isn't that largest lounge but the food and wine was pretty good. I wouldn't avoid the lounge, just approach it with low expectations and you may be pleasantly surprised.
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
I agree. Last year, I used the Shongololo when flying QF, and found myself wishing I was upstairs in the BA F lounge. If there had been more time before the QF flight, I would have gone. The BA lounge isn't a destination lounge by any means, but it does the job reasonably well and there's no reason actively to avoid it. And it does have decent showers.
#7
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 756
I agree. Last year, I used the Shongololo when flying QF, and found myself wishing I was upstairs in the BA F lounge. If there had been more time before the QF flight, I would have gone. The BA lounge isn't a destination lounge by any means, but it does the job reasonably well and there's no reason actively to avoid it. And it does have decent showers.
The thing I remember more and more these days is that in many places (SFO for example) there are non-lounge options (bars/restaurants/cafes/quiet places etc), which are increasingly in more pleasant environments, sometimes with a great view, often with a great selection of drink and almost always better food - albeit for which I have to pay with the latter two.
#8
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 2,422
To clarify my point earlier, I don't consider the Aspire worth paying for if you already have access to the BA lounge. As always YMMV.
In days gone past there used to be a branch of News Café near gate 5 which was an excellent spot to kill a few hours and watch the airfield activities.
In days gone past there used to be a branch of News Café near gate 5 which was an excellent spot to kill a few hours and watch the airfield activities.