As usual great and timely response Exmo.

Sounds like dumb planning on their part, unless your luggage is absolutely secure or they take steps to get you back in once you say you're going another 5 hours.

Any other suggestions or more recent experiences?

Having just gotten back from passing through SCL a few times, I can say that the information above still holds true. For the IPC flight I was on it was a purely domestic flight (didn't continue on to Tahiti) so there was no joy of using the arrivals lounge (though I doubt I was entitled anyway). But the Pacific Club Salon VIP on the domestic side was fine - and free entry still with a Diners Club card. Service was very friendly, bringing out drinks and biscuits - it's small, but sufficient to get freshened up, relax, check the internet and watch a big screen TV http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.

When transiting International to International, there's no problem at all using the LanChile Lounge - and it's quite a nice one too, two thumbs up from me. A nice selection of snacks and beverages, plenty of areas to rest, a swag of internet terminals and decent facilities for freshening up in as well. So hopefully it can be used successfully on arrival for you - but it certainly would take some effort to do, both to get into the lounge, and then to get back out through immigration again - not a straight forward process by any stretch of the imagination.

Hmmm, how much carryon luggage can you do with Lan, or are they worse than BA? Tempted to take my garment bag...

In A and D I've always carried on a standard roll-aboard and a briefcase without any problems.

Having taken the tip from this string, I tried to access the lounge when arriving on an international J ticket on LA.

I was told both by LA ground staff and security that there is no admittance to international departures unless you're on a transfer, thus no lounge access.

Anyone here had any success? Familiar with the lounge, which is nothing particularly special, but I wouldn't mind a quick shower after a long flight next time...

Well, having net access here at the Ritz in Santiago after returning from IPC - a trip, by the way, that I highly recommend for a couple of days if you're doing an RTW ticket (think Hawaii if it was one island and 3000 people and a lot less developed), my experience was this:

1. LAX ground staff looked suspiciously at my big carryon garment bag, but once I showed them the A class ticket they left me alone. Flyertalk win #1.

2. Ask domestic connections guy if he can point out VIP lounge. He does, but then tells me I can't use it until I clear immigration. Mistake #1. If I'd just headed left I might have gone in the lounge and rolled the dice to see if they would have let me in. So much for following the rules

3. Go to shortest line at LA SCL check in after I clear immigration. Ticket desk explains that I need to talk to AA for miles for the flight as I'm trying to explain 3 times in both English and espanol que no es bien pero no es muy mal that I simply want to go through to the lounge and don't care about miles. Get shunted over to the special services desk, and have to go through two agents and get my IPC ticket reissued before I'm told I can use it but have to go back through customs as if I was exiting the country - and then clear immigration again! Given the immigration policia swore at me on the way through the first time and it was 0730 with my IPC flight in the other terminal at 0830 I give up. Push #1.

4. Pay $11 to use the shower at the domestic private priority pass lounge. Ripoff but I needed it. By the way, the domestic lounge supposedly has wireless but I think its Wireless G, not Wireless B, as I couldn't get my laptop to work with it. Still, it was basically all I needed as they had separate computers hooked up with broadband. Flyertalk win #2.

5. Haul big garment bag with me through domestic. Security questions but lets me through. Gate agents look askew but then look at D class ticket and say go for it. Get row 1 seat on both ways because I asked. Flyertalk win #3. Net score 3 wins, 1 push, 1 mistake.

Looking forward to trying out the lounges on my return to the States tomorrow. By the way, Lan F (and J on Easter Island) was something else on the food - magnifico. Service wasn't great on any of the routes (begging for water while the 2 FAs assigned to first class sit in the galley reading is not my favorite activity) but hey, I was asleep for most of it.

Just to give yet another angle on SCL lounge situation, this is what happened when I flew into SCL from JFK on LA531 in Oct. I was on a F award ticket.I had a 23 hour transfer (int'l to int'l) so I was claiming my luggage as I was staying overnight in Santiago.

I knew there wasn't an arrivals lounge a la AA, BA. It was my first time in SCL so I wanted to grab a shower and check my hotel email confirmation before heading into town.

I asked the stewardess about going to the Neruda Lounge and she passed me onto Ground Services. They were very helpful but it was still a bit of a palaver.

She escorted me to immigration where I had to leave my passport at a kiosk. I couldn't go thru to baggage claim but she assured me my suitcase would be safe. Not sure why I had to deposit the passport. Perhaps I was going to a different legal zone within the airport. I can't recall exactly but to get to the lounge I had to go to a specific floor e.g. 2nd, walk then take another lift to another floor e.g. 3rd. Definitely not straightforward.

Lounge itself was fine if smaller than I imagined. About the same level as AA CDG's lounges. Followed the same mazy route back down, thru immigration to find no case in baggage claim. Cue mild panic attack. It turned out that LA staff had it put aside for me. Not sure if this was due to ground services requesting this or just because it hadn't been claimed.

So LA were very accommodating even though using the lounge technically wasn't allowed. F ticket, EXP status may have helped. However, the logistics of getting there could be a lot easier and I could have done without the kerfuffle of dropping off my passport.

Interesting. Glad the Salon VIP works for some people. My only complaint is that if it really takes all these handstands to do it probably shouldn't advertise it as an arrivals lounge.

I'm actually more glad now that I didn't try to go through immigration again, especially given your experience leaving the passport. I have a distinct feeling that the policia decided to screw with me as my luggage got searched on checkin as well as right before boarding, which is the first time in like 300000 miles that's happened. Had to argue a wee bit to get my shampoo bottles back - although on the other hand, the first search was probably the most thorough I've ever had, which made me feel better about flying through SCL.

Incidentally, the Admirals Club is one of the nicest in the system - food, drink, good design.

Will check it out next time. Surprised to hear it as most FT'ers seldom use the words nice and Admirals Club in the same sentence. However, I was very grateful for the one at GRU. Not a particularly good design, but a **** sight more pleasant than the BA F lounge.

I second the comment about the SCL AC. By far the nicest I have seen. With the exception of the showers and the computer work stations, I don't find the Salon VIP to be very nice. The chairs are simply awful. I definately prefer the AC to the Salon VIP. It is also substantially less crowded.

Was in both lounges 2 days ago. Mixed opinions about the AA lounge. Really nice layout and a view of the tarmac. I prefer the showers in the LAN lounge as my shower flooded the sink area with the shower door closed. All other items, such as food and snacks, wines, and internet terminals make the LAN lounge the better of the two. The smoking area of the LAN lounge in not a separate enclosed room as is the case in the AA lounge.