as impossible to get Plat flying in Y

(is the) the dumbest argument I've heard in a long time

Indeed... :)

Was there not a rule that children could be brought - not bought 😉 - into the lounge when on the same flight?

They stopped that as it did not go down well with the UN human rights delegation :D. But seriously i think that was before the whole new pay to enter rule for the lounges.

Just checked the EK website, it is actually still there for Platinum:

https://www.emirates.com/hu/english/...-lounge-access

Can't say for sure .....but I think the little jokey aside by Flame3601 was a reference to the mention of children being 'bought', rather than the small print T&C's regarding lounge rules for Plats.

Edit : Although on re-reading, I guess he may have been referring to a perceived change of rules too.

Rules are rules and need to be abided to. It should not have been a surprise.

What riles me, though, is when rules are bent for some and not for others. My boss' glamorous-looking wife had no such problems. I happened to be on the same flight as them to BKK and my boss asked to guest one of two kids in. I arrived late and raced to lounge, worried they were sitting around waiting for me. Got to J lounge, called, to find the glamorous wife had charmed her way in....

We all know the rules, but to follow them is ridiculous?

I think there is no complaint to be made, however I do also think there was a minor CS failing in not having the leeway here given a few months ago the child would've been allowed in free. I think an unofficial 1-year grace (i.e. under 2 is free but unofficially if asked they allow under 3) would be an appropriate policy.

ghostwrita - I do know exactly you mean. And I very much agree as a general point.

But ...... I also feel that sometimes in life (and with the aim of reducing our personal stress factor ....! ) we just have to adopt a sort of 'That's the way of the world' philosophy.

Premiership footballers - whose average annual earnings are stratospheric when measured by all normal standards - are never asked to pay to get into nightclubs ..... the sort which will rigorously enforce charges for those existing on rather more humble pay cheques !

Maybe EK like the idea of their lounges having as many 'glamorous' (a description always in the eye of the beholder of course !) users as possible.

I get what Brussels traveller is saying, and understand the frustration. When I was a kid I traveled a lot with my family and lounge agents always accommodated families of qualified adult travelers.

What I have found, in my very limited EK experience, is the lounge staff is incredibly serious about rules so in the end I am not surprised how this transpired.

@skywardhunter - I'll try the 'one year unofficial grace' theory next time I'm about to book flights a week or so after EK have just introduced a fares hike :)

Good tip !

What about it they are 3 years and 1 week old, would you not bend the rules for them too?

It's not bending the rules when it's a policy, even if unannounced. The point being that a 2.5yr old can still be quite a handful and not all children develop equally and when the parent is clearly struggling Vs when a 2yr old is happily enjoying the airport i think the dragon can be given that leeway.

This is very much my experience as well. Lounge staff does not seem to have been granted any flexibility in the application of the rules. Same with Lufthansa :) Air France has been - by far - the most flexible in my experience when travelling as a family.

Thanks a lot Wtravel !

I didn't know that.
Moreover, it says 'minors', therefore, they don't have to be my children (too late !). They can be my grand children. Quite good for us ! ^

Or perhaps just grab a couple of random kids from the general concourse ioto ..... and guest them into the lounge.

I'm sure the parents won't mind. They might even be delighted for you to take them off their hands for an hour or so :D