I know this is somewhat of a long shot, but wondering if anyone would have an opinion (or, by chance be travelling the same day as my scenario and willing to help).

On 14 Sep 2026, we're flying LHR to Las Vegas in a group. Four of us are flying Business Class with Companion Vouchers. A friend has booked economy today to join the trip. From reading forums and online guidance, it seems impossible to get our friend into the BA Lounge in T5 unless one of us are Silver level or above, which none of us are.

Do you think it's feasible to ask someone outside the lounge (perhaps if we see they have a silver or gold luggage tag) to take our friend in as their guest? I know I'd do it if someone asked me and I was flying solo for work, which I used to do for a while.

This is very bad form, and frankly quite tacky IMHO. T5 has plenty of places airside you can wait as a group. I like Plane Food on the upper level.

Could you all club together and pay to get the fifth person into Club - and then all enjoy the lounge together ?

Otherwise one of the bars or restaurants if you all want to remain together

Hi Mike! Thanks for your reply Do you mean club together to upgrade their whole ticket to Business Class? If so, I did consider it, and will check the price, although it's almost certainly above our budget/finances. They are a friend of me and my wife (it's her 40th trip), but not close friends with our other two friends flying with us, so wouldn't be right to ask them to contribute.

As for paying just for the lounge for the fifth person, my understanding BA don't offer this. It's exclusively for Business/First and/or Silver/Gold level members.

Keep an eye on the Airport Upgrade and Proactive Upgrade threads... I imagine outbound could be �600-700 Y-J

Plus all the benefits that come with a Club ticket... plus if you're on the A350 it's a very comfy way to all travel together on this milestone 'do' !

That's no guarantee they'll actually still be or have ever been Gold/Silver.
I'm pretty easy going but even I wouldn't be too keen on guesting a complete stranger into a lounge.

Wetherspoons seems more appropriate for a trip to Vegas.

No chance of guesting without status unfortunately. This simply won�t happen. .

also sadly, the forum rules do not allow soliciting lounge guesting though there are other fora where you can try that.

Tacky & crass.

Wetherspoons will happily accommodate you all should you wish to stick together.

Have had a stranger ask outside the lounge once and found it to be terribly rude - they were also off to Vegas.

No chance I would trust a stranger off to a party destination to be tied to my account/ticket.

Edit: I should clarify that the asking party was really pushy and didn�t take the first �no� as a sign to back off. AUP might be a good option for this group!

As an FYI. If you are flying in business class and have lounge access you will go into the Galleries Club lounge. You are unlikely to see a Gold Card holder there because they have access to the First lounge.

A lot of unnecessary outrage here considering it is here that I found this ba97.com and yes I know it�s not strangers exactly but not a million miles from it

I could not agree more

With ba97.com you can message and discuss in advance a potential meet and the offer comes from the person with lounge status, what the OP was proposing was "doorstepping" a complete stranger and was seeking guidance.

yes hence the caveat in the statement