OW First Class Lounge tips wanted
 

Soon I will continue my wonderful AONE6 trip. This gives me the opportunity to take full advantage of the First class lounges. Now I know most (if not all) F lounges at the major hubs provide spa services and restaurants, but I was wondering if there are extra perks to being an F passenger. For instance at LHR I often find the spa booked solid and as a J passenger you cannot make advance bookings. I read in some trip reports that people travelling in F do make advance reservations.

So tell me: what are your tips to make the most out of the F class facilities?

I will be flying BA, QF, CX, JAL and LAN and I am (by than) a gold elite at BA.

Airports I will visit are: LHR, DXB, EZE, SCL, LAX, JFK, SYD, AKL, MEL, HKG, SGN, NRT, DPS, JNB, CPT, BOM, BKK, CMB, SIN, PER, BNE, HNL, MIA and NBO (yes, it is actually 1 AONE6 and a DONE5 behind each other)

Also: what are the best OW lounges, regardless of the airline you're flying?

I hope you can help me with the best tips and tricks to optimize the lounge experience I so enjoy.

SYD Spa Prebooking (typically a call day before) only as a QF F customer, BA and CX F can only try on the day.

I think it is more the exception than the rule for airlines to have full-service restaurants or any kind of spa even for FC pax. I'm sure someone here can post a full list or comment on each of those airports, but looking quickly, I'm pretty sure that at least half of those airports don't offer that kind of service. In some cases, the FC and J lounges are one and the same, and in others the FC section is just a quieter side of the J lounge.

Of course, you'll still have a great trip!

There are only a few nice F lounges, and they are mainly at the home airports of the airlines. In most other airports there is no dedicated F or F uses - as mentioned before - an part of the C lounge with often somewhat better food and drink selections.

Some of the OW F lounges i have been are:
HKG - CX Pier and Wing are great, likely the best OW lounge, sit down restaurant, great showers
SCL - F section of the LAN lounge is ok, but nothing special
LHR - Concorde room has massages, fairly good food (not been in T%, this was T4)
NRT - JAL is ok
SYD - it is often described as best lounge in the world, but i dont understand why
AA Flagship lounges in general - barely ok
LAX - depends on the airline: either AA or the Oneworld Lounge: ok, limited food selection
SGN - just a shared lounge with limited space/food/drink
JNB - BA terraces business lounge, underground, no windows, very limited
CMB - limited, shared

Best lounge anywhere in my opinion:
Lufthansa First Class Terminal in FRA (no massages, but you are driven to the plane and avoid the normal check in, security, immigration.....

There is no F section of this lounge.

Have you been to SYD Flounge since the new one re-opened in May last year. A la Carte menu, dining area; spa etc.

It is nice, but overall there are pros and cons when comparing it with the new BA T5 lounges and the Wing and Pier. Hopefully CX will start the rennovation soon and I am sure it will be better than QF:D

While the SYD T1 Flounge has a nice view and is high up, the best outside view at SYD is from the gate lounge chairs at SYD T2 from the end of the pier which is infested by JQ. Another nice view is from the QF Museum in SYD T3 (upstairs) - but this closes early and there are no amenities.

If you're into spotting, the LAX AC has floor to ceiling windows overlooking one wing of TBIT, so it's pretty good. I walk across to the FL (they're basically in the same place, separated by a cardkey access door to FL), help myself to a drink, then walk back to the AC to sit and look out the windows.

So, does that mean you feel the SYD/MEL Flounges are currently better than CX's in HKG?

FWIW, until the new MEL/SYD lounges HKG was it for me! (for oneworld)

I've been looking forward to the new SYD and NRT F lounges so I'm disappointed to hear people say they're less than wonderful. Maybe some of us are just a tad jaded already? :p

BTW there's a thread on the BA forum on how you can now book the spa treatments ahead if you're in F.

Don't forget the BA arrivals lounge at T5. I've only used the T1 and T4 ones in the past, but the reports say there's an F dining area (nothing special about that part) and the whole thing including spa is pretty good). BA also uses an arrivals lounge (shared) at JNB. Are there any other arrivals lounges for OW carriers?

I certainly think so!

Yes, but they are made for different purposes. SYD is not that great for a transit.

They are not less than wonderful, they are both fantastic. We are just getting a bit spoiled. SYD F is beautiful with really nice design, restaurant food, great service by the Sofitel crew, Library, work rooms, Spa etc.
NRT F is also very nice with a great bar, good food (not as good as HKG or SYD but better than your Flagship Lounge at JFK or your Qantas Club in Hobart), workstations, etc.

Certainly all of them are better than anything you can access due to your Alliance status at the Star Alliance side of things.

This I think is one of the major problems of comparing lounges - what they are intended for.

SYD (and MEL) are intended for either passengers who are originating at that airport, or are transitting from fairly short flights. LHR is also in this category (although some of the inbound transitting passengers might have just come off somewhat longer flights compared to SYD or MEL).

HKG CX lounges typically has passengers coming off longer flights, going onto longer flights. Their needs are different compared to those who use the SYD/MEL/LHR lounges.

Different horses for different courses.

I have often argued that the SYD T3 QP is the best lounge in OW, because of this very thing - what is the lounge intended for? As far as SYD T3 QP goes, apart from PER and DRW, the longest flight is under two hours, and this lounge serves this market admirably.

Likewise, SYD FLounge serves its market extremely well, as does the CX lounges.

The real question here though is, does the SYD QF FLounge serve the market it is intended for than the HKG CX Flounge does?

Over to those wiser than me.

Dave

I think sometimes it is a bit unfair to compare the Wing/Pier with the QF SYD F Class lounge:

1) Age - The CX lounge have been there for almost 10 years and TBH I think theyhave maintained it quite well (although some of the sofas/furniture are showing their age)

2) # of pax processed. CX have more flights in HKG compare to QF in T1 SYD and also remember other airlines such as LX also use the CX lounge. Given the pax nos I never had issues regarding the quality and efficency of service -whereas the QF F lounge can get a bit slow during peak times

I do hope the Wing/Pier will bring the level up there again, and to be honest when they first opened it was definitely the best lounge in the world.

Then there is the rumoured CX Arrivals lounge in HKG to lookforward to!!

These are very valid points. The Wing/Pier have become a bit blah because we are so used to their facilities and they aren't all sparkly and new. (At least they are in better shape than another former world beater, the EK F lounge - saggy furniture, mouldy showers..) But they are very well pitched IMO. The noodle bar, for example, is a stroke of genius - easily digested comfort food for when your body clock is all over the place.

Rather OT but since you mentioned other airlines using the CX lounges, I was very surprised to find that even SA uses them! Given that there are several *A lounges at HKG I wonder why that is? Just a throwback to their erstwhile codeshares before SA joined *A?

Actually CX used to have codeshares with LX and SA (might still be there). I think there are others as well.

All very interesting and the suggesting the BA Executive forum was especially useful. What I am looking for however are tips like "try this food" or "book this treatment". Also which OW lounge to use if you have a choice like at NRT and why. Which lounges offer sleeping facilities? Etc.

JL F. I gave you a few hinters in your airliners.net thread on the same topic ;)

If you are in the CX Wing after 11am, eat dan dan noodles. I love them.

:D Somehow here there seem to be more pointers.

Airlines do not often use other lounges within their own alliances.

How odd. :confused: Why is that? It seems such an obvious source of cooperation. The various *Gold lounges already accommodate their alliance partners' FF elites, why not extend that to their J and F pax? Why put money into the pocket of an airline in a competing allliance.

Oh dear, this is going totally OT, but I am very curious to know more...

I should say "not necessarily" instead of "not often". One example was CX used JL lounge in SFO several years ago. JL wasn't in OW back then. CX switched over the BA lounge about 2-3 years ago. Another one is the Admirals Club in NRT - I believe it is a joint lounge with another non-OW airline (my memory is fading even though I was there only 17 months ago - I forgot which one).

My feeling is that if an airline feels that the partners' lounges in an airport are not good enough, or if they have contractual obligations, they will use other lounges. SA might choose CX lounges because they are the best ones SA can use in HKG.

Rubbish.

Just a few examples.

All the OW airlines at SYD use the QF lounges. QF uses BA lounges at LHR. QF and BA have several shared lounges. QF and AA share a lounge at LAX T4.

All the *A airlines at AKL use the NZ lounge. All the *A airlines (except UA) at FRA use the LH lounges. All the *A airlines (except UA and NZ) at NRT use the NH lounges. LH, NH and UA use the SQ lounges at SIN.

I beg your pardon. I already rephrased that to "not necessarily" and I gave a few examples. The fact that many use own alliances' lounges does not negate the fact that many don't.

Doesn't JL still have its own lounge?

Dave

I doubt they closed down after JL joined OW. JL still kept their lounges in other airports.

I didn't mean to offend. I would guess, based on my travels, that there is a lot more use of same alliance lounges (where they exist) amongst airlines than use of non alliance lounges (where a same alliance lounge is an option).

I don't recall seeing any other signage in the Admirals Club in NRT, but I could be mistaken. NRT does however have an example of cross-alliance clubs - BA and Northwest share a club, following the closure of BA's club. There is signage for both, although Northwest's signage dominates. It's an unusual situation though, since BA is the only oneworld airline which uses the terminal in question.

I'd tend to agree. I can only recall two One World itineraries where I was sent off to non-OW lounges (Star Alliance in these cases): JL sent me to the Air China First lounge in Beijing, and AA sent me to the Lufthansa lounge in Zurich.

SYD to ADL - 2hrs 10min
SYD to TSV - 2hrs 45min
SYD to CNS - 3hrs 10min
SYD to ASP - 3hrs 20min
SYD to AYK - 3hrs 35min
SYD to BME - 5hrs 10min

The man seems to know his timings... which I'm guessing is why he's called under the clocks ! :p:D

Mrs christep and I were in the LHR T5 Concorde Room yesterday. It is a very nice lounge indeed in terms of its decor and ambience. Unfortunately a few of the details are less good:

- the Board Room where the internet terminals are is very hot. Apparently it has been like this since it was opened, but the staff seem at a loss to do anything except leave the doors open.

- this is less of an issue because the internet connectivity from the terminals in the Board Room is very poor, although strangely this is site specific - yahoo mail, hotmail, and Flyertalk, for example, simply don't work; but Google, BBC, and other random sites do. Laptop users seemed to have no problem with the complimentary WiFi.

- the Spa is (according to Mrs christep) very nice, but you are limited to one 15 minute treatment, so that's hardly enough to go out of your way for.

- there is full dining (which we didn't try, but the menu looked nice) and a good selection of F standard drinks, with very nice olives to nibble. Bollinger Grande Annee 1999 has now replaced Krug as my champagne of choice :)

Overall it is FAR superior to The Wing. I haven't been to the new QF F lounge in SYD yet to be able to compare. (Yes, I realise this is not really a fair like-for-like comparison since The Wing is an "F & Emerald" lounge, not F alone.)

Operated by JQ, and therefore from T2.

Where?

Once (or is it twice?) weekly, so doesn't count.

Dave

ayq

There are a bunch of other regionals which are quite long too from memory - e.g. ASP-PER etc. Australia is a big place, in fact about the same size as continental USA.

Not sure I would agree here especially if you include SYD T3 + MEL domestic, they process large numbers of passengers especially in the lounge. In fact I think the MEL and SYD lounges are probably the largest airline lounges I have yet been in and there have been numerous times where one cannot find a seat and has to stand.

Back to the topic at hand, the MEL F lounge is pretty decent and not far behind the SYD F lounge (in fact some people even prefer it).