NRT is not really a domestic airport for Tokyo. Locals fly out of HND to points in Japan. The flights offer from NRT are done for connections with international flights. JL has a similar schedule to NH.

I realise that NRT is mostly international, but there are a heap to flights to the USA about 4pm. So, having the only Osaka-NRT flight get in at 9am is a pretty atrocious "connection".

What a mess it was. We went initially to a Club ANA lounge, then were asked to move to another since our departure gate had been changed.

We wanted to go to T1, but they wouldn't let us. First, they said the bus took a long time, but we pointed out we had a long time. Then, they told us NH wouldn't give us a free ticket on the bus when we didn't need to go to T1 for a connection, so we asked how much it would cost to buy a ticket. Then they came back and told us that we were not allowed to go to T1 without a connection, since we would have to go through immigration again. (This sounds like BS to me. What happens if they rebook someone to a plane out of one terminal when the original flight is late or something?!)

I spoke to UA's lounge by phone, and they said that it was up to the incoming airline to provide the bus ticket, and that cost them money, so it sounds like NH was too stingy to allow a bus transfer and too incompetent to be able to charge us for one.

When we pointed out that we wanted to go to T1 to use UA's reportedly vastly superior lounge and its facilities, we were allowed into the Signet lounge and given free passes to the T2 shower room, which was something at least.

It is unfortunate that in all its advertising of its lounge at NRT, UA never mentions that members flying in and out of T2 on UA partners have no way to actually get to the UA lounge!

Kremmen, sorry to hear what happened there.

About airside buses, did you go to the bus stop and ask the driver if he would take you to T1?

The last time in Feb., from T2 to T1, NH gave me a ticket without asking. Perhaps it was because I was one of their Platinum members then. Last year, when I did T1 to T2, I had nothing and told the bus driver that I have a connecting flight from T2 and it was no problem. Just sign my name on a board in the bus.

The only trouble-free way I can think of to get to the UA lounge is to go via immigration. Landside buses are also free. It's just that you have to go through passport control and customs, which should pose no problem at all, and then go downstairs and take the bus, which is more frequent than airside buses. But it's too late, I guess.

[This message has been edited by Chiangi (edited 05-21-2001).]

Doing anything in Japan which is either against guidelines or not considered in the guidelines generally elicits intake of air, scratching of head, tilted head, etc....without much progress naturally. The best procedure, as witnessed by Chiangi's response, is just to go ahead and do it and not to bother asking. If you look as though you know what you are doing then you are unlikely to be stopped (unless it is blatantly illegal or immoral...which a lounge change isn't). http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Mike

Nope. Of course, having never been there before, I have no idea where the bus stop is. I could have asked the NH lounge staff the way to the bus stop, if I had wanted to be really unsubtle.

Anyhow, it's disappointing that NH has such uninspiring lounges, it's disappointing that UA tells us its lounge is fantastic, but doesn't say we won't necessarily be able to get to it, and it's disappointing that Narita is so appallingly designed that something as simple as getting from one international terminal to another is such a big deal for them.

Kremmen, once again, I am sorry that your experiences at NRT were really bad.

I really should have told you about existing T2 via passport control/customs, rather than taking an airside bus. Sorry about this.

It's more or less like terminals at JFK, so if you arrive on an international flight and want to go to a lounge in another terminal, you can just 'enter' the country and take a landside bus.

But NH's lounges were that bad? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif NH's domestic services, yes, as you said in the NH forum but to me their lounges were just fine, not as good as UA's at NRT, which is exceptionally good compared with all other UA lounges that I know of.

Keep in mind that I'm used to AN and QF lounges. That means breakfast food at breakfast time, snack food throughout the day, showers, computers connected to the internet, free alcohol at the bar, etc, etc.

NH had some muffins and crackers and cheese, plus drinks. No computers (they did have phone and ISDN lines for those who have net access in Japan and have a computer with them, neither of which is true for me), no showers, no decent food, no TV.

Kremmen, if you care for food, then UA's RCC is no good. Their 1st class section has some food. And as reported by others, SQ's lounge, maybe, which is also in T1.

This is not relevant but ...

I just used JL's first class lounge last week at NRT T2. One (probably free) phone line (occupied when I was there), a pay phone with a modem jack. Comfortable seats, maybe for around 30 people. Sushi, fruit, some snacks, all in small portions. Attended by a very nice lady. But that was all. JL does have an arrangement for shower, which NH does not have, with a company that runs several shower cabines at T2. And their top-tier members (and I presume F passengers) are allowed to use them free of charge. The lounge itself does not have showers.

Are there any issues with departure tax with doing this. At SIN, once you go through immigration and 'enter' the country, you have to pay S$15 departure tax. I've actually never done this, but that is what I have been told twice by SQ flight attendants. It seems a bit odd though, as once I was supposed to connect to SYD on the midnight flight, but decided to stay over and leave on the 9am flight, and I have no memory of paying the tax. Was quite a while ago though.

If you have a boarding pass for your flight onward, there should be no problem both at NRT and SIN. (They don't have any 'tax collectors.' NRT used to have them but they have been got rid of.)

At NRT, the problem could arise if you check in at NRT and the check-in agent realises that your ticket does not include NRT taxes. I only had one CX agent who said, 'Sir, the ticket shows you have not paid airport taxes, so we must charge them now.'

But I would think it's very unlikely they will look into and examine the tax column of the ticket.

In SIN, I doubt they check it. I once had a BKK-SIN-NRT return ticket with SQ. I bought it, assuming I would not stop over in SIN but my plan changed and decided to stop over. SQ didn't take note of it, so I offered to pay.

Sorry to revive this thread again.

(exiting not existing ....)

After a thought, this most probably does not work as you would need to present a boarding pass at T1 security control and passport control, before entering T1 airside, where most lounges are located including UA's.