United Lounge options at IAD - Where do I go?
 

I may be missing something (can't exactly find on the UA website). I have a Polaris First flight next month from IAD to SFO, can I access the Polaris lounge or is that only for international travel? Thanks for any help.

From UA's website:

Access policy
The following customers may access the United Polaris lounge by showing their United boarding pass for a flight arriving or departing on a same-day (within 24 hours) itinerary.

• United Polaris first class and United Polaris business class customers traveling on long-haul international flights*
• Star AllianceTM first and business customers departing on international flights

United Polaris first class and Star Alliance first customers are allowed to bring one adult or child with them as a guest.

*Long-haul international flights are between the U.S. and Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East or South America.

You have no lounge access. While you might be on a Polaris plane, the flight is not international First. Polaris-equipped flights flown domestically (outside of p.s/Coast) do not get provide lounge access.

Okay, so as I suspected, my FC ride only gains me access into the standard lounge?

No - you have NO access to any United facility based just on your domestic F ticket. A domestic flight in F (whether or not on a Polaris-equipped plane) DOES NOT provide any United lounge access outside of p.s./Coast flights. If you are *G, you can use the LH lounge at IAD.

Ouch!
Thanks.

Maybe someday IAD-SFO will be added to the p.s./Coast group.

There's no Polaris service on that route. If you are talking about UA 340, that's generally a 3-class internationally-configured 777, but it's not branded as and does not include any Polaris "extras". It's domestic F. Nicer hard product, but still F.

Not even the UC access which goes with TCON premium.

That's the bad news. The good news is that there are tons of great food & drink options on the C-D concourse at IAD.

As one Admirals Club agent curtly told me several years ago (on an itinerary that would have granted me access were I to fly UA, but evidently not with AA) - "It will be gate 23 today, Sir".

If you have a Priority Pass (from any of a number of CCs) you can access the AF, BA, and TK lounges in Concourses A/B (first two are subject to time of day restrictions, TK is not) which are honestly at least as good if not better than any of the standard UCs at IAD.

Just leave yourself enough time to get back to the C/D Concourses where UA departs, especially if you are unfamiliar with IAD.

I can just burn the free Chase one-time lounge access paper pass. Never fly FC, so I was surprised that there really isn't included lounge access...no biggie, just surprising to this non-elite flier.

Us-based carriers (and only in the US) do not allow lounge access on premium cabin tickets for domestic flights. There is just no way, given the large US domestic network, that they could accommodate the demand for this kind of access, at least not with the memebership-based access that they have (plus - the membership fees give them more revenue then including access in an already purchased ticket).

There is always the risk of getting turned away from the C/D UA lounges on a paper pass due to overcrowding. I see it frequently. I mainly use my Star Gold to access the TK and LH Senator lounges in A/B, but only if I am not in a hurry. And the TK has been very crowded in the late afternoons compared to LH.

What IAD really needs is an actual Polaris lounge in C/D for international flights. I remember thinking last time I was in one of the UA C/D lounges that if I was an occasional flyer and had actually paid for a UA business class ticket and that was what I got, I'd be sorely disappointed.

Sorry to piggyback on the OP, but my wife and I are flying DEN-IAD-BRU with IAD-BRU on SN. Which United Club is "closest" to terminal B? We have some passes we need to burn. Thanks.

Chris

The only UCs are in the C/D concourse, which requires a ride on the train or bus (~15-20 mins one way). Given your desire to use passes, I assume you are not Star Alliance Gold, but if you are either the Lufthansa or Turkish lounges in Concourse B are your best bet.

I'm sure a Polaris Lounge is in the plans that UA may be thinking about discussing with the MWAA after the Silver Line is completed to IAD (maybe in 2019) when they begin to contemplate replacing C/D with a real terminal (perhaps after 2024) -- and maybe one that actually sits over the people-mover station currently used for C/D. :confused::confused::confused:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...rovements.html

I believe there are also reports that the LH lounge will accept UA domestic F pax even if not *G. Not a lot of such on FT though, so the reports are very sporadic.

What IAD really needs is a new, modern C/D concourse to replace the 20 year old "temporary" dungeon.

These tons of great food & drink options have somehow eluded me so far.

Yup. Also, can use the UC club card for those (which I assume you don't have) or Priority Pass for the AF or BA lounges (with frequent capacity limits for AF - though it is really one of my favorites - and time limits at BA that exclude the afternoon). I gather you will be arriving in C/D, so using a pass would be okay before going to A/B, and I'd just go to the one closest to the gate I came in on. One or more can get really crowded depending on the time. But you will find the A/B concourse nicer than any of the United clubs, with plenty of nice places to get bite and a drink. I will go to A/B when flying out of C/D when I have time, but I would not do the reverse.

Use the Lufthansa lounge in terminal B, assuming you're Star Gold, traveling in F or C, or are a paid club member.

Which is where you should go anyway, although it is in a different terminal than UA.

Yes, except it will then be a disaster flying UA from IAD, just like it is at LAX, LOL.

What they need to do is build a new terminal, not refurb the existing one.

I can confirm that they will, at least last year they did. The LH lounge is a far enough trek away that they don't get too many UA people mooching off of their far superior lounge.

One thing I really wish UA would do is take over the old AA admirals club location across from D7 or so. It would definitely help with the overcrowded in the UA clubs.

Once they take one of the existing UCs for Polaris, this would be a critical add. Losing one of the existing 3 is going to make the remaining clubs untenable.

I've wondered, since a lot of the people in the UA clubs seem to be on the International flights, so it might not add customers, just move them around.

That's the plan in the undetermined long run - and it will be built on top of the aerotrain station, not 500 yards from it.

No longer *G after having been 1P/Gold for seven years or so. I've transitted IAD a bunch of times, but only departed from A or B once, so I was just trying to see if the C or D lounge was a quicker trip to schlep it to the other side of the airport.

Chris

Indeed.. never even been to any lounge at IAD. Always too busy running the length of the dumb tunnel from the C train to make sure I don't miss my flight ;)

This. This, this, and more this.

From 2014-2016, I flew out of IAD weekly. Even though I have a UC membership, I found myself at Bar Symon far more often than I did at the United Club. Even when my flight was at some of the C gates, I still preferred taking the moon buggy ride to D, sitting at Bar Symon, and then walking to going into the UC.

About the only exception was the C8 Club, but that was at least partially because it's so off the main highway, that it was often less crowded. Even on Thursday afternoons.

-mvitale

My favorite UC at IAD.

For me, UC Club at IAD = free newspapers. Sometimes I just walk in, grab them and go. Other times, I am looking for a place to work, and the crowding situation can make that useless. But the front desk will tell sometimes tell you if any of the others aren't crowded.

So if possible, please confirm:
As long as I'm holding a FC boarding pass on a UA flight, I can possibly get into the LH lounge in concourse B? Will they require a MP status card (which I don't have), or is the BP enough?

Thanks.

Give it a try. Report back if they let you in or not.

BP was enough. They never ask for my card when I go on a Y ticket with UA *G.

Though different issue - a domestic BP for a *G member clearly entitles the passenger to access at the LH lounge. A domestic BP in F for a non-*G may or may not.

The worst that will happen is being told "This is not possible".

A domestic F BP does not qualify for *G, e.g. LH entry. It's just that the LH receptionists may not have cottoned on to that.

But, LH bills UA for the entry, so at some point someone auditing UA's payments through *A will figure it out and the LH receptionists will get clear orders.

So, worst you get is that you drag yourself over to LH, get told no and do the "shuffle of shame" out of the place.

A better deal is to forget lounges on a non-stop xIAD. You are seated in F on a 3-class aircraft, so OH space is not an issue. There is no reason to arrive at IAD earlier than necessary to board at T-15. Lounges may be useful on connections or if you are at loose ends for hours.

Well, Vino Volo ain't bad.....

Agree, but I may not get the late checkout I need from the Marriott, so plan B....