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Old Jan 15, 2016, 12:17 am
  #16  
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While I haven't been to the BA lounge in SIN, I would recommend Qantas SIN lounge which I have used several times. At least if you have any appreciation for Australian way of life. Great rustic food, good wines, relaxed atmosphere. What it is not, is cosy though. It is large.

IME, BA generally labels lounges as first while not giving Emerald access to any first class services (which is restricted to F ticket holders). BA generally don't play nicely with OW rules. The "brand" Concorde definitely signals restricted access to me.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 12:20 am
  #17  
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Originally Posted by intuition
While I haven't been to the BA lounge in SIN, I would recommend Qantas SIN lounge which I have used several times. At least if you have any appreciation for Australian way of life. Great rustic food, good wines, relaxed atmosphere. What it is not, is cosy though. It is large.

IME, BA generally labels lounges as first while not giving Emerald access to any first class services (which is restricted to F ticket holders). BA generally don't play nicely with OW rules. The "brand" Concorde definitely signals restricted access to me.
Yeah, I think the wording makes it clear OWEs don't have access.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 1:00 am
  #18  
 
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"Concorde Bar" is a new concept that BA seems to be pushing. The BA lounge itself is mixed J/F, as is QF. QF lounge is far superior to BA J/F lounge (without taking to consideration any new concepts). Note that the BA SIN lounge is also massively crowded.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 1:31 am
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I would go for the QF lounge, much better facilities...

The Concorde Bar is a fairly large space for BA's F passengers + CCR card holders only. Whilst yes it is exclusive and a nice quieter space, it does get very crowded after BA11 and BA15 both have landed. In essence it is just al space with the same (but with less variety) catering, and slightly improved alcohol offering. Nothing special, the food in the QF lounge is much better.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 1:39 am
  #20  
 
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The text seems to imply that BAEC Gold customers do not have access to the F area. Then it is not really a violation of Oneworld rules, in so far as BA can claim it is not-a-first-class-lounge waiting area for first class customers.

In my experience, the the AY SIN-HEL flight leaves too late to access either BA or QF lounges anyway
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 1:55 am
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Courmisch
... Then it is not really a violation of Oneworld rules, in so far as BA can claim it is not-a-first-class-lounge waiting area for first class customers.
...
All this watering-down of lounge access (that BA is master of) is tiresome and hurts the value of OneWorld status.
1. Offering a J/F combined lounge is non-sense - such a lounge is a J lounge by definition.
2. Offering a F lounge or a "F-lounge-like service" (including better food/drinks/waiting-room) but restricting it to F-ticket holder is in my view violating the intent of the OneWorld rule of F-access.


Originally Posted by Courmisch
...

In my experience, the the AY SIN-HEL flight leaves too late to access either BA or QF lounges anyway
While QF lounge officially closes 23:00 there is no issue with staying later as long as you enter before closing.
AY82 leaves 23:55 and QF has a few flights after midnight too.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 5:27 am
  #22  
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Originally Posted by intuition
2. Offering a F lounge or a "F-lounge-like service" (including better food/drinks/waiting-room) but restricting it to F-ticket holder is in my view violating the intent of the OneWorld rule of F-access.
Aren't BA F lounges open to OWE? As in Galleries First in LHR T3 and T5 - I used them with my BA Gold card though, not a AY Plat, so they might treat their own OWEs differently.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 5:30 am
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Oh, I agree that it is a violation of the intent of the rule - just like AB's waiting areas that I was alluding to. But it might not be a violation of the letter of the rule.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 5:48 am
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Originally Posted by WilcoRoger
Aren't BA F lounges open to OWE? As in Galleries First in LHR T3 and T5 - I used them with my BA Gold card though, not a AY Plat, so they might treat their own OWEs differently.
I think it is the CC Room / Bar that is not accessible for OWEs (and was questioned in the case of SIN), but only for BA F pax. Galleries First is a normal OW lounge, so AY + Plat should be able to access it, no questions asked.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 5:56 am
  #25  
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Originally Posted by Steve_Hun
I think it is the CC Room / Bar that is not accessible for OWEs (and was questioned in the case of SIN), but only for BA F pax. Galleries First is a normal OW lounge, so AY + Plat should be able to access it, no questions asked.
Yes, Galleries First is accessible to OWEs, CCR not. BA does this also in North America, where at least some First lounges have separate dining areas only for First pax, not to OWEs.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 6:05 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by WilcoRoger
Aren't BA F lounges open to OWE? As in Galleries First in LHR T3 and T5 - I used them with my BA Gold card though, not a AY Plat, so they might treat their own OWEs differently.
I have been to LHR Galleries First on a AY+ plat card, so yes they are. (I needed to battle my way in, both scanner and staff are programmed to deny)

I was referring to BA F-lounges where the dining section is restricted. In those lounges, the emerald card gives you access to very ordinary business class waiting area, with limited drinks and a choice of crisps, crackers and cheese.

Last edited by intuition; Jan 15, 2016 at 6:15 am
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 6:50 am
  #27  
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Originally Posted by intuition
I have been to LHR Galleries First on a AY+ plat card, so yes they are. (I needed to battle my way in, both scanner and staff are programmed to deny)
Hmm, never had that problem @LHR.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 8:13 am
  #28  
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Almost 4 years since I was at LHR (and only once) so my experience in that area is probably not very relevant now.
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Old Jan 15, 2016, 10:32 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by intuition
I was referring to BA F-lounges where the dining section is restricted. In those lounges, the emerald card gives you access to very ordinary business class waiting area, with limited drinks and a choice of crisps, crackers and cheese.
This is just ridiculous!
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Old Jan 16, 2016, 3:48 am
  #30  
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Originally Posted by intuition

I was referring to BA F-lounges where the dining section is restricted. In those lounges, the emerald card gives you access to very ordinary business class waiting area, with limited drinks and a choice of crisps, crackers and cheese.
In North America BA's First lounges do offer much more than that, even without the restricted First dining option.
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