Don't give out cash. It's weird and tacky, and completely unnecessary. You should simply hand over your BP and expect to be let in. If you are not permitted access you can ask nicely and if you are still refused just live with that. The rules are the rules. Your passion for aviation should not be affected by whether you are allowed to sit in a lounge or a restaurant for 30 minutes.

Yes indeed, you are not required to know the person you are guesting. For example, you may not know very well a colleague you are travelling with.

But the huge difference is this one : the guy is an adult, fully entitled to get into the lounge. If anything happens, you have no responsibility.

In the current case, OP is a minor. He is legally not responsible for himself, the guardian is. For EK, the guardian is anyone who accompanied the minor into the lounge.
If anything happens, the adult may be held accountable, even if it may not be illegal to guest an unknown minor.
At the end, you may get away with nothing, but, you'll get into a lot of trouble and loss of time, and maybe missed flight.

Moreover, some parents won't hesitate suing you for putting a vulnerable person in danger.

As a parent myself, I would be extremely worried if my underage child offers money to strangers in order to circumvent rules - whatever they are -. And I would like to know if this happens. (My kids are all grown-up, so, it is no more relevant for me)

Guesting an unknown adult : yes.
Guesting an unknown minor : never

(Legal age may differ from a country to another, but, you got the general idea.)

In many countries (if not most), paying for a prostitute is illegal.
Where it is not, it is indeed paying for a service.

In the present case, you are receiving money in exchange for a service. But, you'll never be able to convince that you didn't know that it was to break the rules. As such, you clearly accepted money to break the rules.
It is indeed not a bribe (as you don't have the power to decide).
It is an association (in deception).

Absolutely, but you aren't a minor who isn't allowed in unaccompanied.

Doesn't the guest also need to be on the same flight as the person who is guesting?

The guest in this case is already entitled to lounge access, the term guesting is wrong as then only Gold and Plats would be suitable and try picking those out of a line-up (ok, maybe not that hard, but still). The OP just needs to appear to be accompanied by an adult, whether they're on the same flight should be irrelevant.

A father and son might be flying ex DXB to different destinations at similar times, surely then the son could visit the lounge with the father if both are eligible, regardless of any status.

My son is 17 and often travels via DXB , he looks 18+ and hardly anyone would think he is still under 18. However in DXB they are on the ball and while he never has problems getting into any lounge he has ever visited including EK outstation lounges , he always gets denied in DXB. I reckon they have something on the computer now that alerts to age as they always request to see the passport. He was not happy when he got told to beat it when he had a 19 hour stop over ! haha :D

I believe the OP is departing LHR , you will not have a problem getting into the lounge in LHR if you are under 18. Secondly be very careful what you do and say in the UAE regarding trying to enter a location that serves alcohol it could easily open a huge can of worms for you and EK if something did happen.I think it was last year my son said they made a good point on why they can not let him in , the duty supervisor said if he fell over in the dining area or even in the shower and he broke something then a full internal investigation would happen and EK would be in huge trouble as it was a unaccompanied child involved , EK would lose their alcohol license and not to mention the possible legal actions and staff involved ramifications. My son did manage to get into the F lounge in concourse A once under a full escort after all staff had been informed no alcohol , a type of eat something and get out in under a hour type of deal. Interestingly to note the crew on his next flight were alerted to him being unaccompanied and he was told immediately without even asking or trying to take anything alcohol based that he will not be served anything with alcohol.


I would give it shot , who knows , i would be doubtful thou. Just act mature , calm and be polite and wear something adult would wear :D , so leave the onesie at home ! Plenty of fast food joints in the concourse anyway if worse comes to worse.

So you really like to try in the UAE to bribe someone to bring a minor in a lounge where they serve alcohol during Ramadan? Good luck with that if you guys get reported. Also I hope that no one who can access a frequent traveler lounge legally is required to get 10 bucks from a 16 year old.

Additionally I am wondering how users encourage a minor to do something which is against the rules by using a bribe.

You are in an islamic country and you are not allowed in. Full stop.

Btw, please note that bribery is an 'unforgivable sin' under Sharia law - any further explanation needed?

Perfect advice + perspective offered here by LondonElite ^

I too am struggling to see any link between a 'passion for aviation' and the notion of bribing one's way into what are, essentially, glorified cafes !

I don't know for sure but would imagine that lounge staff may very well want to check that both a minor and any accompanying adult are indeed on the same flight - specifically to prevent a situation whereby the adult exits the lounge after perhaps 30 mins with the minor (whose own flight happens to be say another 2 or 3 hours from departure) being left in the lounge, but now UNaccompanied.

Certainly "off the street", for example someone approaching me at the lounge entrance and asking me to guest them in, whatever the age, I don't guest in, and I have been asked.

Firstly I don't want to bear any responsibility for their behaviour, and secondly I don't want to encourage the activity which, in the case of adults, amounts to begging.

Being approached through an offer you've made yourself through FT is a different matter, you have a reference point and can check through the individual's online behaviour as to whether you'd want to guest them.

An interesting facet that this thread does raise, though, is if I became aware that the individual was a minor at any time I would not be at all keen on guesting them: although unlikely, it does open you up to so many potential problems. In that case, regretfully I would decline.

A. I think we established it wouldn't be a bribe
B. The wording of the OP implied we were talking only about outstation lounge it was only later clarified that it was also in reference to DXB. I'm not sure where in the timeline the money offer was brought up
C. It's been pretty much agreed this is the least desirable option, nonetheless it is an option, even if not recommended. OP him/herself initially suggested this by the way, not someone else, others purely provided opinions on the idea.

I totally agree with LondonElite - the tackiness is compounded by putting people potentially into uncomfortable situations.

As for the bribery discussion, if you are resorting to technicalities to say whether it's a bribe or not, then it's probably a good sign it is reasonably going to be seen as bribery - as reasonableness is usually the test.

It's clearly an inducement or a reward designed to advantage another person to do something improper that they would not otherwise normally do: which is to claim that you are accompanying an individual so they can circumvent a situation where they would otherwise by denied access.

There's the element of dishonesty - claiming to accompany someone for their journey when in fact no reasonable person would say that randomly begging outside a lounge is "accompanying" and the element of reward - cash is offered - that leans it beyond payment for services rendered and bribery.

That's like saying someone hanging outside an apartment or office building looking for access asking someone with a keycard to let them in, is just cardholder's guest...

I also still get carded sometimes when entering EK DXB lounges.
Surprising that the loungedragons can't verify my age with the APIS data in my booking.

Got without issues into the DXB Dnata lounges (with self-service bar) before I was 21 though.

Thanks to everyone who replied. Ive booked the 4 hour connection and will ask the staff there or just go to the marhaba lounge. Anyone know the best seats on the a380 and 777 for business and then for economy on the way back?:p

ill try that then:D