Lounge access for colleagues
 

I am traveling HKG-EWR on Sep. 17. Just found out that my bosses boss (CIO) and another very senior executive of my company are traveling on the same date with a different itinerary -- HKG-JFK.

I'm an MPC GO. AFAICT, the other two gentlemen have no status on CX and may be traveling in Y or PEY. Although I wouldn't be surprised if the senior executive is traveling in J. Just so happens that for my flight I redeemed upgrade from PEY to J.

It is very likely we will all be traveling to HKG from Shenzhen together in the same car. I would like to extend both of them J lounge passes but not sure how to accommodate both of them.

As a GO, I think I can bring 1 guest into the lounge, but is it possible if we have different itineraries?

I do have two SL mid-tier companion lounge pass benefits, set to expire on Sep. 30. But it seems rather complicated to use these and these gentlemen will not my travel companions.

I would certainly give one of them my lounge pass and forgo lounge access on this trip and gain a bunch of brownie points. But then I would lose the ability to bring a guest. I might be able to cheat the system a bit and give one of them my lounge pass and access the lounge with my boarding pass and bring a guest.

I would also be willing to purchase lounge passes for them with my bank of miles. I'm just not sure that this is possible. They are not part of my redemption group.

Thanks for some suggestions.

I strongly discourage you to cheat the system. It is not just an ethical issue. They know you entered the lounge when they scanned the lounge invitation. While it is possible to say you are re-entering, you will risk losing your MPC privilege if they found out.

You can bring one guest on another CX flight to lounge. Redeeming 1 lounge pass with AM seems to be a way to get both of them in.

You can ask nicely at the lounge. I have on a couple of occasions been allowed to guest a third colleague flying SQ when two of us have been flying on CX. It's not strictly allowed but sometimes the attendant will turn a blind eye.

I strongly suggest you to drop the entire idea.

Traveling w/ superiors is always a heated topic at FT. While guesting both to the lounges (regardless how) may be a nice gesture from you, your superiors may not think that way. Also, even you paid for your own upgrade, your superiors may not think so.

Since there are more risks, you should act normally. In fact, I would avoid travel with them if possible.

Thanks for the reply.

I'm not really interested in trying to cheat and as you say there may be consequences. It may all be a moot point anyway as one of them may be flying J already. I am not in a position to ask.

Is it possible to redeem a lounge pass with AM for someone else who is not in my redemption group?

As garykung says, I really don't think it's a good idea to be travelling on business with your boss's boss in a higher class than the company pays for, and particularly when there's a chance you may be in a higher class than him (regardless of how you got there). As suggested, I would try to find an excuse to be on a different flight.

That is good advice and I have considered that option. The CIO in this equation would know, since I work closely with him and we also socialize a bit. So I'd need to lie to him about why I won't be traveling to the airport with them.

Also would be a little worried about flaunting all the benefits of frequent travel that they are paying for! Lounge access, upgrades, etc.

It could go either way, for me or against me. I'm still trying to decide. But if I attempt I at least want to have a good plan.

Thanks.

I'm actually not on the same flight as they are. I am going to EWR, they are going to JFK. So that's not so much of a problem. But I certainly don't want to offend, flaunt, imperil, etc. the situation.

I do appreciate the good wisdom from you and Gary though.

As one of them is already flying J, your GO status will allow you to guest one person on an OW flight. It seems that you don't need to do anything.

The person flying in J should have his own invitation, and your invitation with a GO status allows one guest.

A superior flying in a lower cabin may not may not be an issue. I live in the US, and this happens often. Years ago, one of my colleagues flied to Japan monthly and was upgraded to F every time. Once a while the CEO traveled with him and was stuck in the business class. It didn't concern the CEO a bit.

i would just follow the bosses. if they say lets go to lounge and they both have access then u just follow.

if at least one of them have access and the other (ur boss) dont and he asks u if u have a way, then offer to guest him in... if he doesnt appear all that fussd dont volunteer and follow him.

if they dont mention lounge it means they have no access so u go with them in public lobby.

if they ask u to go away u go away (maybe they want privacy)

Just tell them you need to buy something outside the airport and drop you off at Tung Chung. Then buy something whatever you want.

Always the #1 concern.

It could. But the chance of being against you seems to be higher than being for you.

While I agree it is true, it really depends on the person receiving the message - OP's superiors. Playing it safe is always better than taking a risky move. At the minimum, no trouble for OP if OP decides to drop this idea.

I think this is the best advice!

Win win for all parties.

Incredibly bad idea to draw attention to the fact that you are travelling in a higher class than some of your seniors, and risk demeaning them in front of their own colleagues by guesting them into the lounge.

You've very much read the situation wrong if you think it's going to get you brownie points!

It all depends on the work culture but generally superiors don't get fussed that you're travelling in a higher class than them. Opups happen, maybe you paid for it on your own dime. I'm not going to turn down an opup just for the sake of face. Then again I work in North America where there is no concept of saving face.

Having said that, if you're going to buy a guest pass for your boss then it seems like you're trying too hard to brown nose.

Honestly when I travel for work, I keep a very low profile to make sure i don't run into colleagues and bosses. Chances are we're going to the same place and will be spending all day with each other, I'm not going to let them get into my last little bit of personal time.

I have the opposite view on this. If you have status I don't see a problem using it to assist work colleagues when you can. If you're travelling with someone without status and can guest them in, what's the issue? You've managed your travel to maximise status and are now sharing the benefits. This doesn't have to be against company policy. And if you've gained it through additional flights on your own dime then even better.... it's sharing something you've worked hard for.

I think anyone would appreciate the ability to use a lounge before a long haul flight in economy, if nothing else than to escape the airport and relax.

I find it a hard concept to think anyone is 'demeaned' by flying in a lower class of travel. Class of travel is a personal choice. Save money if you want. Splurge if you want. It's not like this is some sort of discrimination where access to premium cabins is restricted based on some sort of criteria (other than how you choose to spend your money).