AY lounge at LHR ; boarding psss says No.1 lounge
Nov 12, 2017, 5:08 am
#46
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: The Baltic Sea
Programs: AY, BT, DY and SK. Scandic, Radisson, Marriott and HHonors. ClubONE
Posts: 5,890
There is a section in the OneWorld rules stating the entry conditions to OneWorld lounges.
There it is said:
If the meaning is not clear to some people, it must be a generation/cultural thing.
I have only run to this once, many years ago at FRA when Finnair offered a 10€ coupon in lieu of lounge access.
Iberia Lounge attendant: sorry, but your Finnair Silver Card doesn’t give you access and the lounge Finnair uses is under renovation.
Me: But I have a Business class ticket on a OneWorld airline.
Attendant: ”Sigh”.
Picks up an A4 sheet of calculus paper and manually adds my ff number under 5 to 6 other ones.
There it is said:
Customers flying First or Business Class have access to the equivalent class of lounge regardless of their frequent flyer status.
I have only run to this once, many years ago at FRA when Finnair offered a 10€ coupon in lieu of lounge access.
Iberia Lounge attendant: sorry, but your Finnair Silver Card doesn’t give you access and the lounge Finnair uses is under renovation.
Me: But I have a Business class ticket on a OneWorld airline.
Attendant: ”Sigh”.
Picks up an A4 sheet of calculus paper and manually adds my ff number under 5 to 6 other ones.
Nov 12, 2017, 6:59 am
#47
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 732
Finnair is trying to save money by directing you to a cheaper lounge. They do this at several airports including BKK.
When you access a OW partner lounge, BA/CX/QF/AA or whomever will have some kind of billing agreement where AY will automatically get billed a certain amount.
Finnair have figured out that in certain airports, it's actually cheaper for them to negotiate a seperate billing agreement with 3rd party contract lounges. These tend to be lower quality than the One World lounges you could otherwise access.
Now, Finnair cannot force you to use these lounges as there are certain One World rules which have to be respected. These rules include:
If you have a status and ticketed premium class ticket, the highest access allowance will work. E.g a OWE travelling in Business Class gets access to First Class Lounges.
Finnair knows this and cannot deny/change these rules. However, they can neglect to inform you of them and "encourage" you to a 3rd party lounge as it seems they now do at LHR according to the OP.
Most of the time you shouldn't even bother with the 3rd party lounges. Especially at LHR, the One World options in terminal 3 are much better.
The CX lounge is generally regarded as the best at the moment. It has a seperate first class / business class section. The business class section has a noodle bar restaurant (they have more than just noodles), as well as a full food buffet. There are really good showers and there is a full cocktail bar that serves Moet champagne. It's not free pour but they will give you as much as you want. CX also brews their own beer and you can get a bottle of this lovely stuff in addition to a draft Heineken/generic lager. For Brits, you'll be pleased to know that they have a full English breakfast buffet until 12 noon.
The CX First lounge tends to be a little quieter. It has a proper restaurant in it where you can order from a waiter. It has free pour Moet too. It shares the same showers with the Business Class Lounge.
The QF Lounge should be opening in the next few weeks. Apparently it's going to be super nice so if you are reading this in the future, definitely check this one out too.
The AA Lounge is a little dated, though its also due for a refurbishment and to be re-branded as a 'Flagship' lounge in 2018. It has more American style food (think waffles + cookies).
The BA Lounge has a Galleries (Business) and a First (First) section. The Galleries Lounge is the worst of all the One World lounges in T3. It's usually very busy. Almost nobody who goes there is aware that they are allowed access to the CX or other lounges. It's far cheaper for BA if they stay in the Galleries lounges. The First lounge is slightly better in terms of food + drink, but the CX First is far better than this. There are showers here but they not very elegant. Many people say that they remind them of hospital showers.
There are two 3rd party contract lounges. The Aspire Lounge and the No. 1 lounge. Both are Priority Pass lounges and several smaller airlines use each.
The No. 1 lounge is much bigger. There is a small buffet of mostly muffins and similar snacks. There is also a menu which you can order from which is pretty decent for a contract lounge. Drinks are from soda fountains and champagne is a paid for extra. The lounge is usually very busy with more of the leisure traveler/holiday type so it gets quite noisy. Compared to most PP lounges, it's quite good. But for AY pax, I wouldn't recommend it.
The other 3rd party lounge is the Aspire Lounge. It's smaller and sometimes so busy that they don't let PP in. There is a small hot food buffer which is similar to the BA Business lounge. Nothing to write home about though. There are showers too, but you have to pay extra for these.
So in summary, go directly to the CX (or QF) lounge and do not let anyone tell you otherwise. The One World rules are very clear about this. If a check-in agent tries to direct you to the No. 1 lounge, just smile and not. Then ignore them and head to the CX one. They will let you in there, even if you have to be a little persistent. It's likely that the staff know the rules, but have been trained by management to direct you elsewhere to save AY some money. Remember, this is not the staff's fault so don't get angry with them. They are just doing their job.
When you access a OW partner lounge, BA/CX/QF/AA or whomever will have some kind of billing agreement where AY will automatically get billed a certain amount.
Finnair have figured out that in certain airports, it's actually cheaper for them to negotiate a seperate billing agreement with 3rd party contract lounges. These tend to be lower quality than the One World lounges you could otherwise access.
Now, Finnair cannot force you to use these lounges as there are certain One World rules which have to be respected. These rules include:
- Business Class passengers get access to any One World Business Class Lounge.
- First Class passengers get access to any One World Business Class or First Class Lounge.
- OWS passengers get access to any One World Business Class Lounge.
- OWE passengers get access to any One World Business Class or First Class Lounge.
If you have a status and ticketed premium class ticket, the highest access allowance will work. E.g a OWE travelling in Business Class gets access to First Class Lounges.
Finnair knows this and cannot deny/change these rules. However, they can neglect to inform you of them and "encourage" you to a 3rd party lounge as it seems they now do at LHR according to the OP.
Most of the time you shouldn't even bother with the 3rd party lounges. Especially at LHR, the One World options in terminal 3 are much better.
The CX lounge is generally regarded as the best at the moment. It has a seperate first class / business class section. The business class section has a noodle bar restaurant (they have more than just noodles), as well as a full food buffet. There are really good showers and there is a full cocktail bar that serves Moet champagne. It's not free pour but they will give you as much as you want. CX also brews their own beer and you can get a bottle of this lovely stuff in addition to a draft Heineken/generic lager. For Brits, you'll be pleased to know that they have a full English breakfast buffet until 12 noon.
The CX First lounge tends to be a little quieter. It has a proper restaurant in it where you can order from a waiter. It has free pour Moet too. It shares the same showers with the Business Class Lounge.
The QF Lounge should be opening in the next few weeks. Apparently it's going to be super nice so if you are reading this in the future, definitely check this one out too.
The AA Lounge is a little dated, though its also due for a refurbishment and to be re-branded as a 'Flagship' lounge in 2018. It has more American style food (think waffles + cookies).
The BA Lounge has a Galleries (Business) and a First (First) section. The Galleries Lounge is the worst of all the One World lounges in T3. It's usually very busy. Almost nobody who goes there is aware that they are allowed access to the CX or other lounges. It's far cheaper for BA if they stay in the Galleries lounges. The First lounge is slightly better in terms of food + drink, but the CX First is far better than this. There are showers here but they not very elegant. Many people say that they remind them of hospital showers.
There are two 3rd party contract lounges. The Aspire Lounge and the No. 1 lounge. Both are Priority Pass lounges and several smaller airlines use each.
The No. 1 lounge is much bigger. There is a small buffet of mostly muffins and similar snacks. There is also a menu which you can order from which is pretty decent for a contract lounge. Drinks are from soda fountains and champagne is a paid for extra. The lounge is usually very busy with more of the leisure traveler/holiday type so it gets quite noisy. Compared to most PP lounges, it's quite good. But for AY pax, I wouldn't recommend it.
The other 3rd party lounge is the Aspire Lounge. It's smaller and sometimes so busy that they don't let PP in. There is a small hot food buffer which is similar to the BA Business lounge. Nothing to write home about though. There are showers too, but you have to pay extra for these.
So in summary, go directly to the CX (or QF) lounge and do not let anyone tell you otherwise. The One World rules are very clear about this. If a check-in agent tries to direct you to the No. 1 lounge, just smile and not. Then ignore them and head to the CX one. They will let you in there, even if you have to be a little persistent. It's likely that the staff know the rules, but have been trained by management to direct you elsewhere to save AY some money. Remember, this is not the staff's fault so don't get angry with them. They are just doing their job.
Nov 12, 2017, 8:50 am
#48
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: KUO
Programs: HH Diam, AY/AX/KQ/IHG/VISA Plat, SK/Bonvoy/Melia/Strawberry Gold, Radisson Prem, PP Prest
Posts: 2,266
Quite detailed and relevant description above. I tend to cause a double charge to Finnair by having almost a gourmet meal in CX first section and then go for a drink or two (with wider variety) in BA first section enroute to AY departure gate somewhere between 21 and 26. JL seems to direct their first class passengers to BA lounge with attendants to guide and serve, quite classy!
Nov 12, 2017, 9:10 am
#49
Moderator, Finnair
Join Date: May 2011
Location: MMX (CPH)
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, QR Gold, AY+ Platinum, A3*G, Nordic Choice Lifetime Platinum, SJ Prio Black
Posts: 14,174
Quite detailed, yes. Is there a formal document you can point us to Frequent flyer 101?
If the problem is only that staff is trained to disobey the rules, a formal document would be handy. Many of us know from real life that accessing the lounge of our own choice isn't as easy as just claiming you know the rules better than the staff.
If the problem is only that staff is trained to disobey the rules, a formal document would be handy. Many of us know from real life that accessing the lounge of our own choice isn't as easy as just claiming you know the rules better than the staff.
Nov 12, 2017, 1:26 pm
#50
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 732
Quite detailed, yes. Is there a formal document you can point us to Frequent flyer 101?
If the problem is only that staff is trained to disobey the rules, a formal document would be handy. Many of us know from real life that accessing the lounge of our own choice isn't as easy as just claiming you know the rules better than the staff.
If the problem is only that staff is trained to disobey the rules, a formal document would be handy. Many of us know from real life that accessing the lounge of our own choice isn't as easy as just claiming you know the rules better than the staff.
You can view One World lounge rules here: https://www.oneworld.com/ffp/lounge-access
You may print it out, but it is not necessary. I've never experienced a situation where a lounge dragon would refuse entry when it was allowed under One World rules.
Just say something like this: "According to the One World rules, I am allowed access to this business class lounge as I hold a same day international business class ticket on another One World carrier". Nobody will refused you after you say that.
Nov 12, 2017, 2:18 pm
#52
Moderator, Finnair
Join Date: May 2011
Location: MMX (CPH)
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, QR Gold, AY+ Platinum, A3*G, Nordic Choice Lifetime Platinum, SJ Prio Black
Posts: 14,174
Nov 12, 2017, 3:16 pm
#53
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 732
Try the BA lounge @ORD - good luck
Nov 13, 2017, 12:26 am
#55
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Helsinki-Vantaa APT, Finland
Programs: AY LUMO
Posts: 6,057
On Saturday at LHR we were 2 Plats and going to No.1. Reception told us that we should go to CX.
But we wanted to see and feel No.1 so we had to dig PP and then No.1's gate opened.
But we wanted to see and feel No.1 so we had to dig PP and then No.1's gate opened.
Nov 13, 2017, 12:56 am
#58
Join Date: May 2013
Location: HEL
Programs: AY Plat (OWE), SK EBG (*A Gold), KQ Plat (STE+), Accor Plat
Posts: 3,157
Where? At least there was no logo on the digital screens downstairs that show the contracted airlines. This was on Wednesday.
It has been my understanding that all lounge invites issued now invite to the CX lounge, is this correct?
It has been my understanding that all lounge invites issued now invite to the CX lounge, is this correct?
Nov 13, 2017, 1:22 am
#60
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Helsinki-Vantaa APT, Finland
Programs: AY LUMO
Posts: 6,057