windhund

For intra-Europe flights, are there any benefits that a US Airways Gold member receives on a BA flight?

I'll be traveling from London to Italy on a hand baggage-only fare. Do I have to pay to check a bag as a gold, or will I be able to get one checked for free? The benefits chart on BA's site says that OW Sapphires get an extra baggage allowance, though I'm not clear how that applies to hand-baggage only fare. I'm not expecting to get two or three bags for free, but it sounds like I'd be able to get one at least.

I put in my US DM number at booking, and it did let me select seats in advance, but it seemed like it wanted to charge me for a bag. Not sure if it has any impact on this situation, but on a recent flight, my AA BP still showed me as a OW Ruby, even though I was gold on US. US's website and boarding passes reflect gold status accurately, but I can't tell on BA's website what it thinks my status is.

Any help or info would be much appreciated! I tried searching around here and Google for a clear answer to this, but I haven't found one. (Searching for "British Airways" turns up a lot of US Airways threads here, since it matches on "Airways", and "BA" is too short...)

phlwookie

http://www.oneworld.com/ffp/extra-baggage-allowance seems to indicate you might be out of luck as the extra baggage features for OneWorld Emerald (US Chairman/AA EXP) and Sapphire (US Gold/Platinum, AA Plat) have the caveat that "This benefit is not available on British Airways 'Hand Baggage Only' fares on select short-haul routes."

I've been flying tons of both short and long haul BA in the past few months as a Chairman (OW Emerald). I never check bags so can't give you much intel in that space, but as Sapphire you'll get priority boarding and the ability to use the business class lounges as well as business class checkin. Don't expect more than that - not sure if you get "FastTrack" for security at LHR/LGW as a Sapphire in coach, but I think it's a decent possibility. BA's onboard hard product is pretty weak even compared to other legacy European carriers, both in long haul business and certainly on short haul "Club Europe". Their long haul business seats are not remarkable and a far inferior seat to, for instance, the seats on the US A330 fleet, even on BA's new A380s. My travel patterns have forced me to use BA or otherwise not earn any US miles as they've been the only OW carrier on the routes I've needed, but when I've had the option to use other OW carriers - CX and QF in the past week for instance - it's been pretty remarkable how far behind BA is. BA's service on board is usually pretty decent though.

windhund

Thank you, phlwookie.

It sounds like I probably won't get the baggage, but the priority boarding is better than nothing. I'm curious what the select short-haul routes are, but since it's trying to charge me, I'm guessing the one I'm taking is one of those.

Disappointing to hear that BA's product isn't as nice. I thought they'd be better given from what I've seen, especially for their new A380.

Re: CX / QF: I have not flown them yet as I usually fly *A on long-haul, but I have wanted to try them for awhile.

JAXBA

Just to clarify, it's the Hand Baggage Only (HBO) fare that's on 'select' (most if not all) short-haul routes, not that on select routes, Elites don't get the benefit - they don't get it on any route if/when travelling HBO.

mAAine_flyer

I flew on a UK domestic HBO fare last month and ended up having to check a bag (my brother gave me a rather nice bottle of whisky to bring home ^), but I did have to pay as OW Sapphire. Can't remember, but I think the checked bag fee was cheaper if done online prior to check-in (it basically brought the fare up to the non-HBO equivalent that was available at the time of purchase).

whimsey21

I've seen lots of complaints on the BA forum that elites don't get free bag benefits on hbo fares, so I do think you're out of luck there. Also, I've been told by BA and by the ground reps at LHR that you only get Fastrack if you're actually in the premium cabins, so I don't think that will happen either. Priority boarding is about it.
I've taken a fair number of BA flights within Europe in coach-- I've found the food and service more to my liking than on the other carriers I've tried (primarily LH), and have usually been able to snag a bulkhead or exit row at 24 hour OCI.

JAXBA

Yes, purchasing extra baggage allowance through ba.com/mmb will be cheaper than purchasing it at the airport.

If you intend to have a bag all along, it is usually cheaper to buy a non-HBO fare (the standard fare before HBOs were introduced). Buying HBO, and then adding baggage, generally costs a little bit more, even when the bag is added online.

Oaxaca

As OW Sapphire on a BA metal HBO fare:

You WILL get:
> Lounge access at LGW/LHR (no lounges at LCY, if your flight goes from there)
> Priority boarding at LGW/LHR, for what it is worth these days since half the flight has it. No priority boarding at LCY, that is for BA Gold/OWE or business class pax only.
> Free seat selection if you book before 26 Mar 2015. After this, nobody gets free seat selection on an HBO fare, even BA's own OWE (the cause of much anguish currently on the BA forum)

You will NOT get:
> Any free checked bag. That applies to everyone, including BA's own status pax. As JAXBA says, it is definitely cheaper to buy this when making the original booking, but if not, it will still be cheaper to buy online before getting to the airport, than it will be at the airport, should you need to check a bag.

You MIGHT get:
> Fast track security at LGW/LHR - it's a bit hit and miss, technically it's only for BA status pax if travelling in Y (and even they sometimes get questioned or refused), but depends on the agent checking the boarding passes at the entrance. Give it a try, as long as you don't mind if they turn you away. There is no fast track at LCY.

If there is possibly some confusion about your status registering across the carriers in bookings, recommend that you carry your physical card showing your OWS status for the lounge (and boarding, though technically you should still have it as OW Ruby).

kingstontoon

I can confirm that as USDM Gold flying BA, I've always received Fast Track security where available, including (recently) LHR, LGW, GLA and DUB. The signs for Fast Track at these also include the Oneworld Emerald and Sapphire logos.