jsloan

Irrelevant if BR has subcontracted to them for their responsibility on that UA flight.

dkc192

Doesn't align with *A lounge access policy, which states that J and *G pax have access to any J lounges that display the *G logo. Of course, it's in the fine print that airlines are allowed to turn away pax when a lounge is at capacity, but doing so on a blanket basis for all pax of a certain airline/on a certain flight violates the spirit of that provision IMO.

jsloan

OK, so they just need to cover up the logo.

The outcome you're hoping for -- UA pressuring BR to allow its guests into the Infinity or Star lounge -- is not going to happen.

ToadHallRacing

Hi, TPE newbie here. I’ll be flying soon from TPE-SFO—is there any need to stop by the UA counter to get a paper BP or is the electronic version fine for passport control, lounge access, etc? I didn’t see an answer upthread, apologies if I missed it.

bocastephen

Mobile is fine, no need for paper - keep in mind no BR lounge access for UA customers.

jsloan

I was able to access the Infinity lounge with my Polaris ticket earlier this year. I believe they're only restricting access to people on the earlier UA flight, not the later one.

1KChinito

That is correct.

bocastephen

That's an odd decision given how many late night departures there are for EVA, but interesting to know.

jsloan

Not sure if the schedule changes for the summer, but currently the UA flights are 10:20 AM and 1:10 PM. I think they were even closer together prior to the start of Daylight Saving Time. So while I agree with you that it's an odd decision, I'm not sure the evening block is relevant to their decision-making.

bocastephen

Oos I thought UA had a late night flight returning to the USA as they have a late night to Taipei. I've been to the BR lounges multiple times and it's very busy early morning so the 1020AM restriction makes sense, but certainly by noon and early afternoon it's a dead zone.

sfo3388

From 4/1 to 10/26:
UA 872: 9:50am departure
UA 852: 12:10pm departure

Then in winter:
UA 872: 11:10am departure
UA 852: 1:10pm departure

I think Polaris and *A Gold passengers on UA872 are not allowed to use BR lounge regardless of departure time.

uanj

BR has a large number of Asian departures in the morning, so there are a lot more people in the lounge and the "business" side seems full early in the morning. The Star Gold side always has seats. And honestly there are very minimal differences between the two.

I would bet money the BR reasoning is that they could not take accommodate an additional 60 pax on the business side from the first UA flight. But really, the morning rush is starting to die down as UA 872 passengers trickle in. Why BR could not use the Star Gold as an overflow lounge is mystifying since the showers are on that side anyway and the food is nearly identical.

The early afternoon flight comes at a time when the lounge is not that busy so BR has no reason to deny any passengers at that time. But honestly, considering the really high standards BR now consistently achieves in flight its flagship lounge in TPE is a bit underwhelming. The half late 80s disco bling half Jetsons decor is far more outstanding than the run of the mill food and drink selection. And the windows overlook departure immigration so no interesting plane spotting.

1KChinito

The only reason anyone would want to use EVA lounge is their shower. Food at EVA lounges is subpar, similar to a cafeteria. You would think TPE is their home base, they would have better food. If you have Priority Pass, go straight to Plaza Premium. Even Oriental Club has better food.

unitedwildcat

the Plaza Premium has a nice shower, better than BR’s imo

dkc192

I agree, but for the record my position that BR denying UA872 pax access to its own lounges is based on principle rather than lounge quality. If BR can systematically deny UA J/*G pax from its published *G lounges, that sets a precedent for other airlines to do the same.