Lounge Query - Premium Economy
 

Good Morning - apologies if this is covered somewhere else as I couldn't find it here or on the BA Website.


I am looking at booking a flight from Newcastle (UK) to Atlanta (US) via LHR. The flight will be booked under Premium Economy. For the LHR to ATL leg, this is booked in Selling Class E, which I know is not eligible for Lounge Access at all. However, when going through the BA booking engine it advises that Premium Economy is not available on the NCL to LHR and it is booking that leg into Selling Class I.


On this basis, I am not clear on whether a domestic flight in I with then connecting to a LongHaul flight in E would entail with regard to lounges at NCL, LHR & ATL?

Thanks

Chris

In theory, there should be no lounge access throughout. Before BA introduced Club Europe on domestic flights, this used to be a hidden perk of booking a Premium Economy flight from a non-London UK airport, the domestic leg would book into J which mapped to Business UK, an economy product BA sold that included lounge access. This gave passengers lounge access before their outbound domestic leg and (most crucially in terms of having a shower in my book!) after the long haul leg.

I is a business selling class which normally indicates Club Europe but as I say, this isn't what should be happening here. Can you select a seat when you try to book? If so, what cabin is it showing for the domestic legs?

I've seen this on quite a few routes to the US. Under some conditions (I think long-haul must be at least in E and sth about availability of economy on the feeder) you get the short-haul in I.
This should give you lounge access at NCL on the way out and LHR on the way back.

Edit: Looking at the fare for NCL-ATL in expertflyer you can check what booking classes it must be booked in on "other airlines", where oyu can just enter BA again.
It'll show the following (just two of the many, many lines) in the case of an E fare:
So if I/R are still available you can book the feeder into those, otherwise it'll be booked into Y (I think NCL-LHR is in the BA1300-BA1499 range, right?).

It would let me book a seat at £10 for domestic legs and £41 for the longhaul ones.
It shows rows 2-6 to be available with seats A,C,D,F available - no middle seats, which would I assume mean this is Club Europe?

Yes 2-6 would be Club Europe in this case. Row 1 will be blocked for Golds. It might be the same on the return leg LHR-NCL?

Yes, it is 1325. So because I is available it offers that but if I/R is all gone then you would be in Y?

If you transit off a I at LHR to the E to ATL would that entitle lounge access at LHR for the outbound?

IANAE, but I had a quick look at the rules.

Looking at a T class fare (here, an O class DIF), the relevant required booking class is:However, looking at an E class fare, the rules seem to include these:It's difficult to imagine the last of those lines actually triggering, but the first of those lines suggests that this is by design.

ETA: Chiller3333 got there ahead of me.

no, just at NCL on the outbound.

Which is not even a BA lounge any longer.

The only airlines I know of that offer lounge access when flying Premium Economy are Japan Airlines and ANA. The PE customers use the business class lounges. I was checking out JAL and they actually serve piccolos of Champagne as part of the standard service in PE. And you get slippers... I'm flying J and PE with them later this year and can not wait! :)

SAS would be another one.

Yes, but if you were booked in I selling class which is club europe you would get access at the NCL aspire lounge.

Would the NCL-LHR in Club not also grant lounge access at LHR pre the WTP flight? I thought the rule was around having a "same day business boarding pass" and not specific to the next flight cabin?

That only works for arriving in CW and going onwards in any cabin rather than arriving in CE. For arriving CE customers the LHR lounges provide lounge access in line with the departing sector only - so for example arriving in CE and connecting on ET/WT/WTP wouldn't give any access at LHR unless you had a shiny card to throw in there.

Wow. I didn't know... Thanks KARFA...

Where did you get all that Y travel experience? :D

the great news if you are booked in CE on the LHR-NCL leg is that you can use the lounge at LHR after what I assume is an overnight flight, allowing the chance to shower and change

As relatively frequent longhaul Y flyer this for me is the best thing about status.

Prior to having status I would look to upgrade the shorthaul leg after an overnight Y flight for this reason, both with BA and with LH