http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...ess-rules.html

There is a thread people will find interesting over at the United forum about changes to Lounge access for F/C customers and domestic *G passengers.

You might wish to have a look before travel.

The only change from those new rules quoted for International First over rules in effect in 2007 are the rewording of "departing airport" ( 2007 version) to "local airport" (new version). Still the same rule, just a different way of stating it. Or I may be missing something.

I think you may be missing something Perhaps I can give an example which will apply to my family;-

Next summer my wife, 2 kids and I will be flying EDI-FRA (in Y)-MCO (in F), all on LH. I am *G and no other member of our party has FF status. Under the old rules we all could access the bmi Lounge in EDI as we had a same day boarding pass showing travel in F in a * carrier. Under the local airport revision, we cannot strictly access the EDI lounge as we are not departing locally in F. Strictly one party member and I can enter the EDI lounge by dint of my *G status.

It remains to be seen how strictly this rule is implemented.

It also prevents you accessing the F lounge at a gateway airport when arriving in International F and leaving on domestic F. E.g. LHR-IAD-CLE would not allow use of the F lounge at IAD any more.

In addition, the domestic restriction would deny access to the BMI lounge when flying EDI-LHR or the LH lounge when flying TXL-FRA, even if you are flying on in the F or C.

I don't get that one. I thought the "domestic" restriction applied only to US and UA STARGolds flying within the USA, but still don't understand what you're saying. What am I missing? The major change is the notation of "local" airport as a distinction.

Later this month I have a flight from ICN to HKG to SIN. My ICN-HKG segment is in C since TG only flies a two-class service, but my onward same-day connection on SQ is in F. Under the old wording, I might have made a case for getting into the OZ First Class lounge based on my "same day" HKG-SIN fight segment, but no longer since the "local" airport clarification now restricts me to the regular/business class lounges at ICN even though I have a same day F segment on a STAR carriers. That's the only major change as I can see it.

It would be a problem only if passenger has no status.

Basically, if a no-status pax was flying EDI-LHR (BD Y) and LHR-SFO (UA F), under the previous rule, the passenger would have had lounge access at EDI based on the LHR-SFO in F. Same scenario at LHR for SFO-LHR-EDI.

However, if the F boarding pass only grants lounge access at the airport where the F flight departs from, the new rules would mean that the passenger only receives access at LHR on the outbound, since EDI-LHR is in Y, and only at SFO on the inbound, because LHR-EDI is in Y.

This is obviously different from the scenario for Star Gold pax, since they will have access to the lounges at EDI and LHR in the above scenario.