Bring 5 guests into the lounge
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 469
Bring 5 guests into the lounge
Got an email from BA inviting me to bring up to 5 guests into the lounge in SIN tomorrow (1st August) for my return to SYD.
It's a bit of a weird email as it talks about my loved ones and my "holiday" when this is a trip I do pretty regularly with BA (usually with two or three days in Singapore) and so I would have thought they would have identified that this is work?
That aside, the flight is the busiest I've ever seen it with only J1 showing as for sale (in fact when my travel agent booked it they said there was no Business availability so I'm going back in PE). Does it make sense for BA to be extending extra guest privileges before such a busy flight? Or am I crediting them with too much joined up thinking?
It's a bit of a weird email as it talks about my loved ones and my "holiday" when this is a trip I do pretty regularly with BA (usually with two or three days in Singapore) and so I would have thought they would have identified that this is work?
That aside, the flight is the busiest I've ever seen it with only J1 showing as for sale (in fact when my travel agent booked it they said there was no Business availability so I'm going back in PE). Does it make sense for BA to be extending extra guest privileges before such a busy flight? Or am I crediting them with too much joined up thinking?
#3
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: London, United Kingdom
Programs: British Airways Gold
Posts: 2,636
Strange logic at a longhaul outstation
In London it makes sense as the summer means lower overall business travelers and numbers in the lounges (inc status members in economy). But at a longhaul outstation with a full J cabin, local lounge demand will be very similar to any other day.
In London it makes sense as the summer means lower overall business travelers and numbers in the lounges (inc status members in economy). But at a longhaul outstation with a full J cabin, local lounge demand will be very similar to any other day.
#4
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,197
Maybe, but it's the numbers with lounge access that matter, not the number of flyers. In Heathrow, there will be many more leisure travellers and many fewer busines travellers. With an A380 and a 777 daily, BA has 585 W/Y passengers and 146 passengers who get lounge acess through class of travel.
If 25% of Y/W pax have access through status on a typical business-heavy flight, that's 146 passengers. So the lounge needs to accommodate up to 330 people over the course of the evening. Some of those will have the good sense to wander off to Qantas but let's ignore them for now, as well as the guests that the status pax can bring in, and the passengers who arrive late, focus on shopping, etc!
I suspect that, even on a route like SIN, they will sell proportionately fewer J/F seats during the summer holidays (and upgrade proportionately more). So let's say that the travellers with status in the back drop to 15%. That means that, with a full flight, there are now 81 passengers who can get into the lounge. Many of those are still travelling solo or with a status partner, so no change. Let's pretend that half of the status passengers have brought the family along, and the family don't have status. You have an extra 65 guests for 40 passengers, each of which could have brought one along anyway. So you have 65 extra slots for passengers 3, 4, and 5 - if they even exist - in no more than 40 parties meaning no extra burden on the lounge over usual levels if there is even a 50% take-up rate (which might not sound high but many people won't even have those 4th and 5th people).
So I'd say, if those assumptions hold out, that there is decent scope to accommodate guests even on a full flight. And SIN is probably an extreme example where the burden is concentrated on a status-heavy group of economy passengers with only a very small number of flights.
#8
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
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#10
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
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Not quite @KARFA :-)
Whilst we will make every endeavour to accommodate your guests, additional lounge access is subject to capacity and limited to a maximum of five additional guests travelling with you on the same flight(in addition to any partner card access).
Whilst we will make every endeavour to accommodate your guests, additional lounge access is subject to capacity and limited to a maximum of five additional guests travelling with you on the same flight(in addition to any partner card access).
#11
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
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Not quite @KARFA :-)
Whilst we will make every endeavour to accommodate your guests, additional lounge access is subject to capacity and limited to a maximum of five additional guests travelling with you on the same flight(in addition to any partner card access).
Whilst we will make every endeavour to accommodate your guests, additional lounge access is subject to capacity and limited to a maximum of five additional guests travelling with you on the same flight(in addition to any partner card access).
#12
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 251
Have we had confirmation that the two guests benefit still exists? Always useful to have to hand just in case.
Also, any views on whether they can be combined? Not uncommon to have a mix e.g 3 guests same flight and 2 on different flights.
Thanks
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2004
Programs: CX Green, QF Platinum, BAEC Silver, Hyatt Glob
Posts: 10,780
I’ve been wondering about this. The general benefits page on BA.com seems to have replaced the two guests benefit (any flight) with the 5 guests benefit (same flight).
Have we had confirmation that the two guests benefit still exists? Always useful to have to hand just in case.
Also, any views on whether they can be combined? Not uncommon to have a mix e.g 3 guests same flight and 2 on different flights.
Thanks
#14
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,941
I’ve been wondering about this. The general benefits page on BA.com seems to have replaced the two guests benefit (any flight) with the 5 guests benefit (same flight).
Have we had confirmation that the two guests benefit still exists? Always useful to have to hand just in case.
Have we had confirmation that the two guests benefit still exists? Always useful to have to hand just in case.
https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...-list-benefits
Whenever you’re travelling with British Airways, either for business or leisure, you can invite up to five guests to join you in our relaxing departure lounges (excluding the Concorde room).
Also, any views on whether they can be combined? Not uncommon to have a mix e.g 3 guests same flight and 2 on different flights.
#15
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 251
Thanks - just called GGL they said the opposite of what I was expecting. That the five guests entitlement isn’t in the lounge access guide at all (so refer to the email comms if required I suppose) but does still refer to the long-standing one additional guest benefit. Seems a little odd.